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Safety belt and child restraint laws

September 2012

Safety belt laws

There are mandatory safety belt laws in all states except New Hampshire. In some states, these laws cover front-seat occupants only, but belt laws in 26 states and the District of Columbia cover all rear-seat occupants, too.

Belt use laws in 32 states and the District of Columbia are primary, meaning police may stop vehicles solely for belt law violations. In other jurisdictions, police must have some other reason to stop a vehicle before citing an occupant for failing to buckle up.

Safety belt use can have implications in civil suits — 16 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia and Wisconsin) allow the "safety belt defense," which can reduce damages collected by someone in a crash if the person failed to buckle up. The reduction is permitted only for injuries that would have been prevented by a belt. In some states, the reduction may not exceed a fixed percentage of the damages.

Child restraint laws

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have child restraint laws. Child restraint laws require children to travel in approved child restraint devices, and some permit or require older children to use adult safety belts. The age at which belts can be used instead of child restraints differs among the states. Young children usually are covered by child restraint laws, while safety belt laws cover older children and adults.

Because enforcement and fines differ under belt use and child restraint laws, it's important to know which law is being violated when a child isn't restrained. Most child restraint laws are primary, meaning police may stop vehicles solely for child restraint violations. Nebraska and Ohio leave some children under a secondary enforcement law, meaning that police must have an additional reason to make a stop. Nebraska's law is secondary only for those children who may be in safety belts and primary for those who must be in a child restraint device. Ohio's law is secondary for children ages 4 through 14 years.

Ideally, all infants and children in all vehicles should be covered by enforceable safety belt laws or child restraint laws or both. But differences in the way the laws in various states are worded result in many occupants, especially children, being covered by neither law. Lawmakers have eliminated most of these gaps by amending their child restraint and safety belt laws; still, 15-year-olds riding in the rear seat in Arkansas, Alabama and Ohio, children age 7 and older riding in the rear seat in Mississippi, and children age 13 through 15 riding in the rear seat in Oklahoma are covered by neither law. All children younger than 16 in the other 45 states and the District of Columbia are covered by one, or both laws.

	Safety belt law				Child restraint law
State	Initial effective date	Primary enforcement?	Who is covered? In what seats?	Maximum base fine 1st offense, additional fees may apply	Must be in child restraint	Adult belt permissible	Maximum base fine 1st offense, additional fees may apply	Preference for rear seat
AL	07/18/91	yes; effective 12/09/99	15+ years in front seat	$25	younger than 1 or less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 4 years or 20-40 pounds in a forward-facing child safety seat; 5 but not yet 6 in a booster seat.	6 through 14 years	$25¹	law states no preference for rear seat
AK	09/12/90	yes; effective 05/01/06	16+ years in all seats	$15	younger than 1 or less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 4 years and more than 20 pounds in a child restraint, 4 through 15 years who are either shorter than 57 inches or who weigh more than 20 but less than 65 pounds in a booster	4 through 7 years who are at least 57 inches or 65+ pounds; 7 through 15 who are shorter than 57 inches or weigh less than 65 pounds	$50¹	law states no preference for rear seat
AZ	01/01/91	no	8+ years in front seat; 8 through 15 in all seats	$10	4 years and younger; children 5 through 7 who are 57 inches or shorter	5 through 7 who are taller than 57 inches	$50	law states no preference for rear seat
AR	07/15/91	yes, effective 06/30/09	15+ years in front seat	$25²	5 years and younger and less than 60 pounds	6 through 14 years or 60+ pounds	$100	law states no preference for rear seat
CA	01/01/86	yes; effective 01/01/93	16+ years in all seats	$20	7 years and younger who are less than 57 inches³	8 through 15 years or at least 57 inches	$100¹	children 7 years and younger who are less than 57 inches must be in the rear seat³
CO	07/01/87	no	16+ years in front seat	$71	younger than 1 year and less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 3 years and 20-40 pounds in a child safety seat; 4 through 7 years in a booster seat	8 through 15 years	$81	1 year and younger and less than 20 pounds must be in the rear seat if available
CT	01/01/86	yes; effective 01/01/86	7+ years in front seat	$15	younger than 1 year or less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing restraint system; 1 through 6 years who is less than 60 pounds in a child restraint system (booster seats may only be used in a seating position with a lap and shoulder belt)	7 through 15 years and 60+ pounds⁴	$60⁴	law states no preference for rear seat
DE	01/01/92	yes; effective 06/30/03	16+ years in all seats	$25	7 years and younger and less than 66 pounds⁵	8 through 15 years or 66+ pounds⁵	$25	children 11 years and younger and 65 inches or less must be in rear seat if passenger airbag is active⁵
DC	12/12/85	yes; effective 10/01/97	16+ years in all seats	$50¹	7 years and younger	8 through 15 years	$75¹	law states no preference for rear seat
FL	07/01/86	yes; effective 6/30/09	6+ years in front seat; 6 through 17 years in all seats	$30	3 years and younger	4 through 5 years	$60¹	law states no preference for rear seat
GA	09/01/88	yes; effective 07/01/96	8 through 17 years in all seats; 18+ years in front seat	$15⁶	7 years and younger and 57 inches or less⁷	more than 57 inches	$50¹	7 years and younger must be in rear seat if avaliable
HI	12/16/85	yes; effective 12/16/85	8 through 17 years in all seats; 18+ years in front seat	$45	3 years and younger in a child safety seat; 4 years through 7 years must be in a booster seat or child restraint	4 through 7 years who are taller than 4'9"; 4 through 7 years who are at least 40 pounds seated in a rear seat where if there are no available lap/shoulder belts, may be restrained by a lap belt	$100⁸	law states no preference for rear seat
ID	07/01/86	no	7+ years in all seats	$10	6 years and younger	not permissible	$79	law states no preference for rear seat
IL	01/01/88	yes; effective 07/03/03	16+ years in all seats	$25	7 years and younger	8 through 15 years; children who weigh more than 40 pounds seated in the rear where only a lap belt is available	$75	law states no preference for rear seat
IN	07/01/87	yes; effective 07/01/98	16+ years in all seats	$25	7 years and younger⁹	8 through 15 years	$25¹	law states no preference for rear seat
IA	07/01/86	yes; effective 07/01/86	18+ years in front seat	$25	younger than 1 year and less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing child seat; 1 through 5 years	6 through 17 years	$25	law states no preference for rear seat
KS	07/01/86	yes; effective 6/10/10 (secondary for rear seat occupants >18)	14+ years in all seats	$60/no court costs: 14 -17 years; $10/no court costs: 18+ years	all children 3 and younger must be in a child restraint; children 4 through 7 who weigh less than 80 pounds and children 4 through 7 who are less than 57 inches tall must be in a child restraint or booster seat	all children 8 through 13 years; children 4 through 7 years who weigh more than 80 pounds, and children 4 through 7 years who are taller than 57 inches	$60	law states no preference for rear seat
KY	07/15/94	yes; effective 07/20/06	6 and younger and more than 50 inches in all seats; 7+ in all seats	$25	40 inches or less in a child restraint; 6 and younger who are between 40 and 50 inches tall in a booster seat	6 and younger who are taller than 50 inches	$50 child restraint; $30 booster seat	law states no preference for rear seat
LA	07/01/86	yes; effective 09/01/95	13+ years in all seats	$25, $45 Orleans Parish	younger than 1 year or less than 20 pounds in a child safety seat; 1 through 3 years or 20-39 pounds in a forward-facing child safety seat; 4 through 5 years or 40-60 pounds in a child booster seat	6 through 12 years or greater than 60 pounds	$100	law states no preference for rear seat
ME	12/26/95	yes; effective 09/20/07	18+ years in all seats	$50	less than 40 pounds in a child safety seat; 40-80 pounds and less than 8 years in a safety system that elevates the child so that an adult seat belt fits properly	8 through 17 years or less than 18 years and more than 4'9"	$50	11 years and younger and less than 100 pounds must be in rear seat if available
MD	07/01/86	yes; effective 10/01/97	16+ years in front seat	$25	7 years and younger and less than 57 inches (effective 10/01/12)	8 through 15 years; children who are at least 57 inches (effective 10/01/12)	$25	law states no preference for rear seat
MA	02/01/94	no	13+ years in all seats	$25¹⁰	7 years and younger and less than 57 inches	8 through 12 years; children who are at least 57 inches tall	$25	law states no preference for rear seat
MI	07/01/85	yes; effective 04/01/00	16+ years in front seat	$25	7 years and younger and less than 57 inches	8 through 15 years; children who are at least 57 inches tall	$10	3 years and younger must be in the rear seat if available
MN	08/01/86	yes; effective 06/09/09	7 and younger and more than 57 inches in all seats; 8+ in all seats	$25	7 years and younger and less than 57 inches	not permissible	$50	law states no preference for rear seat
MS	07/01/94	yes; effective 05/27/06	7+ years in front seat	$25	3 years and younger must be in a child restraint; 4 through 6 years and either less than 57 inches or less than 65 pounds must be in a booster seat	6 years and younger who either weigh 65 pounds or more or who are 57 inches or taller	$25	law states no preference for rear seat
MO	09/28/85	no (yes for children <16)	16+ years in front seat	$10	3 years and younger must be in a child restraint; all children who weigh less than 40 pounds must be in a CR; 4 through 7 years who weigh at least 40 pounds but less than 80 pounds and who are 4'9" or shorter must be in either a CR or booster seat; children 4 years and older who weigh at least 80 pounds or who are at least 4'9" tall must be in either a booster seat or safety belt	all children 8 through 16 years; all children 4 years and older who weigh 80 pounds or more or who are taller than 4'9"	$50; $10 for violations involving children taller than 4'9" or who weigh 80 pounds or more	law states no preference for rear seat
MT	10/01/87	no	6+ years in all seats	$20	5 years and and younger and less than 60 pounds	not permissible	$100	law states no preference for rear seat
NE	01/01/93	no	18+ years in front seat	$25	5 years and younger	6 through 17 years¹¹	$25¹	law states no preference for rear seat
NV	07/01/87	no	6+ years in all seats	$25	5 years and younger and 60 pounds or less	not permissible	$500¹²	law states no preference for rear seat
NH	n/a	no law	no law	no law	5 years and younger who are less than 55 inches	6 through 17 years; younger than 6 who are at least 55 inches tall	$50	law states no preference for rear seat
NJ	03/01/85	yes; effective 05/01/00 (secondary for rear seat occupants; effective 1/20/11)	7 years and younger and more than 80 pounds; 8+ in all seats	$20	7 years and younger and less than 80 pounds	not permissible	$25	children 7 years and younger and less than 80 pounds must be in the rear seat if available
NM	01/01/86	yes; effective 01/01/86	18+ years in all seats	$25¹	younger than 1 year in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 4 years or less than 40 pounds in a child safety seat; 5 through 6 or less than 60 pounds in a booster seat	7 through 17 years	$25	children younger than 1 year in a rear-facing infant seat must be in the rear seat if available
NY	12/01/84	yes; effective 12/01/84	16+ years in front seat	$50¹³	3 and younger unless they weigh more than 40 pounds and are seated where there is no available lap/shoulder belt; 4 through 7 years unless they are seated where there is no available lap/shoulder belt	8 through 15 years; children who weigh more than 40 pounds or children 4 through 7 years in a seating position where there is no available lap/shoulder belt	$100¹	law states no preference for rear seat
NC	10/01/85	yes; effective 12/01/06 (secondary for rear seat occupants)	16+ years in all seats	$25	7 years and younger and less than 80 pounds	8 through 15 years + children 40-80 pounds in seats without shoulder belts	$25¹	children 4 years and younger who weigh less than 40 pounds must be in the rear seat unless the front passenger airbag is deactivated or the restraint is designed for use with airbags
ND	07/14/94	no	18+ years in front seat	$20	6 years and younger and less than 57 inches or less than 80 pounds	7 through 17 years; 6 years and younger and at least 57 inches tall and at least 80 pounds; 6 years and younger and at least 40 pounds, if there are no available lap/shoulder belts, may be restrained by a lap belt	$25¹	law states no preference for rear seat
OH	05/06/86	no	8 through 14 in all seats; 15+ years in front seat	$30 driver/$20 passenger	3 years and younger or less than 40 pounds in child restraint; 4 through 7 years who weigh 40 pounds or more and who are shorter than 57 inches in booster seat	8 through 14 years¹⁴	$75¹⁴	law states no preference for rear seat
OK	02/01/87	yes; effective 11/01/97	13+ years in front seat	$20	5 years and younger¹⁵	6 through 12 years	$50	law states no preference for rear seat
OR	12/07/90	yes; effective 12/07/90	16+ years in all seats	$110	younger than 1 year or 20 pounds or less must be in a rear facing child safety seat; 7 or younger: 40 pounds or less must be in a child safety seat; more than 40 pounds but 4 feet and 9 inches or less must be in a safety system that elevates the child so that an adult seat belt fits properly	taller than 4 feet and 9 inches; 8 through 15	$110	law states no preference for rear seat
PA	11/23/87	no (yes for children <18 years)	8 through 17 years in all seats; 18+ years in front seat	$10	7 years and younger	not permissible	$75	law states no preference for rear seat
RI	06/18/91	yes; effective 6/30/11	18+ years in all seats	$75	7 years and younger and less than 57 inches and less than 80 pounds	7 years and younger who either weigh 80 pounds or more or who are at least 57 inches tall; 8 through 17	$75	children 7 and younger must be in rear seat if available
SC	07/01/89	yes; effective 12/09/05¹⁶	6+ years in all seats	$25	younger than 1 year or less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 5 years and 20-39 pounds in a forward-facing child safety seat; 1 through 5 years and 40-80 pounds in a booster seat secured by lap-shoulder belt (lap belt alone is impermissible)	1 through 5 years and 80+ pounds or any child 5 years and younger if the child's knees bend over the seat edge when sitting up straight with his/her back firmly against the seat back	$150	children 5 years and younger must be in rear seat if available
SD	01/01/95	no	18+ years in front seat	$20	4 years and younger and less than 40 pounds	5 through 17 years; all children 40+ pounds, regardless of age	$25	law states no preference for rear seat
TN	04/21/86	yes; effective 07/01/04	16+ years in front seat	$50¹⁷	younger than 1 year or 20 pounds or less in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 3 years and 20+ pounds in a forward-facing infant seat; 4 through 8 years and less than 4'9" in a booster seat	9 through 15 years or any child 12 or younger who is 4'9" or taller	$50	children 8 years and younger and less than 4'9" must be in rear seat if available; rear seat recommended for children 9 through 12
TX	09/01/85	yes; effective 09/01/85	7 years and younger who are 57 inches or taller; 8+ years in all seats	$200	7 years and younger and less than 57 inches	not permissible	$25	law states no preference for rear seat
UT	04/28/86	no (yes for children <19 years)	16+ years in all seats	$45	7 years and younger and shorter than 57 inches	8 through 15 years; all children 57 inches or taller	$45	law states no preference for rear seat
VT	01/01/94	no	18+ years in all seats	$25	younger than 1 year or less than 20 pounds in a rear-facing infant seat; 1 through 7 and more than 20 pounds	8 through 17 years and more than 20 pounds	$25	children 1 year and younger or less than 20 pounds must be in the rear seat unless the front passenger airbag is deactivated
VA	01/01/88	no	18+ years in front seat	$25	7 years and younger unless they have a physician exemption¹⁸	8 through 17 years¹⁸	$50	children in rear-facing devices must be in a rear seat if available; if not available, they may be placed in front only if front passenger airbag is deactivated¹⁸
WA	06/11/86	yes; effective 07/01/02	16+ years in all seats	$124	7 years and younger and less than 4'9"	8 through 15; 7 years and younger and 4'9" or taller; children who weigh more than 40 pounds in a seating position where there is only a lap belt available	$124	12 years and younger must be in rear seat if practical
WV	09/01/93	no	8+ years in front seat; 8 through 17 years in all seats	$25	7 years and younger and less than 4'9"	7 years and younger and 4'9" or taller	$20	law states no preference for rear seat
WI	12/01/87	yes; effective 06/30/09	8+ years in all seats	$10	children younger than 1 and all children who weigh less than 20 pounds are required to be in a rear-facing infant seat; children 1 through 3 years who weigh at least 20 pounds but less than 40 pounds are required to be in a rear-facing infant seat or a forward-facing child safety seat; children 4 through 7 who both weigh at least 40 pounds but less than 80 pounds and who are less than 57 inches tall are required to be in a forward-facing child safety seat or a booster seat	8 years and younger and more than 80 pounds and 57 inches or taller	$75	children 3 and younger must be in a rear seat, if available
WY	06/08/89	no	9+ years in all seats	$25¹⁹driver/$10 passenger	8 years and younger	not permissible	$50	children 8 years and younger must be in the rear seat if available

¹This state assesses points for violations.

²Arkansas rewards belt use by reducing the fine for the primary violation by $10.

³In California, children weighing more than 40 pounds may be belted without a booster seat if they are seated in the rear seat of a vehicle not equipped with lap/shoulder belts. The California rear seat requirement does not apply if: there is no rear seat; the rear seats are side-facing jump seats; the rear seats are rear-facing seats; the child passenger restraint system cannot be installed properly in the rear seat; all rear seats are already occupied by children under 12 years; or medical reasons necessitate that the child not ride in the rear seat. A child may not ride in the front seat of a motor vehicle with an active passenger airbag if the child is riding in a rear-facing child restraint system.

⁴The fine in Connecticut is $15 if the child is 4-16 years and 40 pounds or more. Connecticut also requires a mandatory child restraint education program for first or second violation.

⁵In Delaware, children younger than 12 years/65 inches or less must be restrained in a rear seat if a vehicle has a passenger airbag unless the airbag has been either deactivated or designed to accommodate smaller people. Exceptions: no rear seat or rear seat occupied by other children younger than 12 years/65 inches or less.

⁶In Georgia, the maximum fine is $25 if the child is 6-18 years.

⁷In Georgia, children weighing more than 40 pounds are permitted to be restrained in the back seat of a vehicle by a lap belt if the vehicle is not equipped with lap and shoulder belts or when the lap and shoulder belts are being used by other children who weigh more than 40 pounds.

⁸Hawaii drivers are charged $50 for a mandatory child restraint education program and a $10 surcharge deposited into a neurotrauma special fund.

⁹In Indiana, children weighing more than 40 pounds are permitted to be restrained by a lap belt if the vehicle is not equipped with lap and shoulder belts or if all lap and shoulder belts other than those in the front seat are being used to restrain other children who are younger than 16.

¹⁰Drivers in Massachusetts may be fined $25 for violating the belt law themselves and $25 for each unrestrained passenger 12-16 years.

¹¹Nebraska's law is secondary for those children who may be in safety belts and standard for those who must be in a child restraint device.

¹²In Nevada, the minimum fine is $100. An alternative to the fine is at least 10 but not more than 50 hours of community service.

¹³New York only assesses points when the violation involves a child under 16.

¹⁴In Ohio, the law is secondary for children 4 through 14 years.

¹⁵In Oklahoma, children weighing more than 40 pounds are permitted to be restrained in the back seat of a vehicle by a lap belt if the vehicle is not equipped with lap and shoulder belts or when the lap and shoulder belts are being used by other children who weigh more than 40 pounds.

¹⁶Police are prohibited in South Carolina from enforcing safety belt laws at checkpoints designed for that purpose. However, safety belt violations may be issued at license and registration checkpoints to drivers cited for other offenses.

¹⁷Drivers 18 and older in Tennessee who choose not to contest the citation pay a $10 fine by mail; $20 for drivers who are 16 and 17 years old.

¹⁸In Virginia, children at least 4 years but less than 8 years may be belted if any licensed physician determines that use of a child restraint system by a particular child would be impractical by reason of the child's weight, physical fitness, or other medical reason, provided that any person transporting a child so exempted shall carry on his person or in the vehicle a signed written statement of the physician identifying the child so exempted and stating the grounds for the determination.

¹⁹Wyoming rewards belt use by reducing the fine for the primary violation by $10.