Booster seat requirements
Some records here have never been checked. 1 of the 51 records has not been compared against its statute since it was drafted, and says so on its own page. Treat those figures as a draft and read the statute the page links to.
There is no national booster seat law.
Each state writes its own, and they do not agree with each other. The rule that applies to you is your state’s. In 31 of the 51 it also ends once the child is big enough, whichever comes first.
- Car seat or booster until
- age 5 to 16
- Or until the child reaches
- 57 in (4 ft 9 in)
- Back seat until
- age 1 to 13
Booster seat age
A car seat or booster is required until an age between 5 and 16, depending on the state. The states disagree by 11 years, which is why a single national number does not exist.
Age is not the only test. 28 of the 51 jurisdictions published here let the requirement end early once a child is tall enough, and that height is 57 inches (4 ft 9 in). 10 of them set a weight as an alternative to the height, so meeting either one is enough. A child who reaches the size stops being covered by the age rule, whichever comes first. That is an escape from the age rule, not a second condition added to it, and reading it the other way round is the commonest error on this subject. The exception is Hawaii, where the size only releases a child who has also reached a set age, so there both have to be true.
Where the law and size guidance disagree, follow the stricter one. A state can lawfully allow a seat belt before a child fits one properly, and a belt that crosses the neck rather than the chest is worse protection whatever the statute permits.
Booster seat requirements by state
Every jurisdiction below is a page of its own, with the statute, the penalty, the back seat rule and anything not yet in force. Pick yours.
| State | Car seat or booster until | Or this size | Back seat until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | age 6 | age only | not recorded |
| Alaska | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 65 lb | not recorded |
| Arizona | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Arkansas | age 6 | 60 lb | not recorded |
| California | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 8 |
| Colorado | age 9 | age only | age 9 |
| Connecticut | age 8 | age only | not recorded |
| Delaware | not recorded | age only | age 12 |
| District of Columbia | age 8 | age only | not recorded |
| Florida | age 6 | age only | not recorded |
| Georgia | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 8 |
| Hawaii | age 10 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in), from age 7 | not recorded |
| Idaho | age 7 | age only | not recorded |
| Illinois | age 8 | age only | not recorded |
| Indiana | age 8 | age only | not recorded |
| Iowa | age 6 | age only | not recorded |
| Kansas | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 80 lb | not recorded |
| Kentucky | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Louisiana | age 9 | age only | age 13 |
| Maine | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 80 lb | age 12 |
| Maryland | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Massachusetts | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Michigan | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 13 |
| Minnesota | age 9 | age only | age 13 |
| Mississippi | age 7 | conditions apply | not recorded |
| Missouri | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 80 lb | not recorded |
| Montana | age 9 | age only | not recorded |
| Nebraska | age 8 | age only | age 8 |
| Nevada | age 6 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 2 |
| New Hampshire | age 7 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| New Jersey | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 8, with conditions |
| New Mexico | age 7 | conditions apply | age 1, with conditions |
| New York | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 100 lb plus conditions | not recorded |
| North Carolina | age 8 | 80 lb plus conditions | age 5, with conditions |
| North Dakota | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Ohio | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) plus conditions | not recorded |
| Oklahoma | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Oregon | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Pennsylvania | age 8 | age only | not recorded |
| Rhode Island | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 80 lb | age 8 |
| South Carolina | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 8 |
| South Dakota | age 5 | 40 lb | not recorded |
| Tennessee | age 9 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 9, with conditions |
| Texas | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Utah | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Vermont | age 8 | age only | age 13 |
| Virginia | age 8 | age only | age 8 |
| Washington | age 16 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | age 13 |
| West Virginia | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) | not recorded |
| Wisconsin | age 8 | 57 in (4 ft 9 in) or 80 lb | not recorded |
| Wyoming | age 9 | age only | age 9 |
1 jurisdiction has a change that is not in force yet. It is on that page, marked as upcoming and kept separate from the rule that applies today.
How these figures are checked
Each record was read at the state’s own vehicle code, its legislature’s site or its transport department’s own page citing the section. Not from a roundup, not from a safety charity’s summary table and not from a search result. Those sources contradict each other, which is the reason this site exists.
Every figure carries the statute it came from and the date a person last looked at it. A record a person has not checked says so at the top of its page. A record past its review window says that too, rather than being served quietly as current.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county rule can be stricter than the state one, and a police officer enforces the text of the statute rather than a summary of it.
- Source
- Each state’s own vehicle code, cited in full on that state’s page
- Published
- 51 of 51 jurisdictions
- Oldest record reviewed
- 4 October 2026
- Newest record reviewed
- 4 October 2026
- Read at the statute
- 50 of 51
- Signed off by a person
- 0 of 51