Booster seat requirements in Arkansas
A car seat or booster until age 6.
Unless the child weighs at least 60 lb, which ends the requirement whatever their age.
- Seat belt alone from
- age 6
- First offense
- $25
Every figure on this page was read at Ark. Code Ann. § 27-34-104; penalty § 27-34-103 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Arkansas booster seat law says
The stages below are separate rules in the statute, not one rule in steps.
| Rule | Figure | What Arkansas requires |
|---|---|---|
| Car seat or booster | under 6 years | Until age 6, unless the child weighs at least 60 lb. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 6 years | Lawful from age 6, or once the child reaches 60 lb. |
| Penalty | $25 | $25 for a first offense. Condition Section 27-34-103 sets a fine of not less than twenty five dollars and not more than one hundred, so twenty five is the floor rather than a fixed figure. The court must consider whether the child was restrained some other way, such as by a seat belt. On satisfactory proof that an approved seat has since been acquired, purchased or rented, the court assesses no more than the minimum fine allowed. |
Size ends the requirement, whichever comes first. A child who weighs at least 60 lb is out of the booster in Arkansas whatever their age. A child who has not reached that stays in one until age 6. The size is an escape from the age rule rather than a second thing that also has to be true.
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
Arkansas sets this in Ark. Code Ann. § 27-34-104; penalty § 27-34-103. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Arkansas 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
- Ark. Code Ann. § 27-34-104; penalty § 27-34-103
- Source
- www.arkleg.state.ar.us
- Jurisdiction
- Arkansas (AR), 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
- Acts 2003, No. 1776, § 3, which enacted the present subsections (b) and (c); subsection (a) later amended by Acts 2013, No. 224