Booster seat requirements in Alabama
A car seat or booster until age 6.
Alabama sets no height or weight that ends the requirement early. Age is the only test.
- Rear facing until
- 12 months
- Seat belt alone from
- age 6
- First offense
- $25
Every figure on this page was read at Ala. Code § 32-5-222 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Alabama booster seat law says
The stages below are separate rules in the statute, not one rule in steps.
| Rule | Figure | What Alabama requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rear facing | under 12 months | Until 12 months (1 year), unless the child weighs at least 20 lb. |
| Car seat or booster | under 6 years | Until age 6. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 6 years | Lawful from age 6. |
| Penalty | $25 | $25 for a first offense. Condition Twenty five dollars for each offense. The judge hearing the case may dismiss the charge with no court costs on proof that an appropriate restraint has since been acquired. Fifteen dollars of any fine funds vouchers for restraints for low income families. One point is added to the driving record for a first offense and two for a later one. |
Where this and size guidance disagree, follow the stricter one. A belt that crosses the neck rather than the middle of the chest is worse protection than a booster even where the statute allows it.
The statute
Alabama sets this in Ala. Code § 32-5-222. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Alabama can set a stricter rule than the state one, and an officer enforces the text of the statute rather than a summary of it. Where this page and the statute differ, the statute is right and this page is a bug.
Where this comes from
- Statute
- Ala. Code § 32-5-222
- Jurisdiction
- Alabama (AL), state law only
- Last reviewed
- 4 October 2026 0 days ago
- Read at the statute
- 4 October 2026
- Signed off by a person
- Not yet
- Amendment history
- Act 2014-300, p. 1092, § 1