Booster seat requirements in Colorado
A car seat or booster until age 9.
Colorado sets no height or weight that ends the requirement early. Age is the only test.
- Rear facing until
- 24 months
- Back seat until
- age 9
- Seat belt alone from
- age 9
- First offense
- $65
Every figure on this page was read at Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-236 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Colorado booster seat law says
The stages below are separate rules in the statute, not one rule in steps. The back seat requirement and the restraint requirement are different obligations, and a child can be caught by both at once.
| Rule | Figure | What Colorado requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rear facing | under 24 months | Until 24 months (2 years), unless the child weighs at least 40 lb. |
| Car seat or booster | under 9 years | Until age 9. |
| Back seat | under 9 years | Required for a child under age 9. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 9 years | Lawful from age 9. |
| Penalty | $65 | $65 for a first offense. Condition A class B traffic infraction. The penalty assessment schedule in Title 42 sets this section at a sixty five dollar fine plus a sixteen dollar surcharge. The fine may be waived if the driver shows the court proof of acquiring, buying or renting a restraint by the time of the court appearance. A driver under eighteen is punished under § 42-2-105.5 instead. |
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
Colorado sets this in Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-236. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Colorado 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
- Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-236
- Source
- content.leg.colorado.gov
- Jurisdiction
- Colorado (CO), 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
- HB 24-1055, ch. 376, § 2, effective 1 January 2025. The definition of "motor vehicle" in (1)(a.8) was separately widened by SB 26-026, in force since 12 August 2026, which changed no age, weight or height figure.