Booster seat requirements in Connecticut
A car seat or booster until age 8.
Connecticut sets no height or weight that ends the requirement early. Age is the only test.
- Rear facing until
- 24 months
- Seat belt alone from
- age 8
Every figure on this page was read at Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-100a(d) on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Connecticut booster seat law says
The stages below are separate rules in the statute, not one rule in steps.
| Rule | Figure | What Connecticut requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rear facing | under 24 months | Until 24 months (2 years). |
| Car seat or booster | under 8 years | Until age 8. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 8 years | Lawful from age 8. |
| Penalty | no figure | No amount recorded. Condition A first violation is an infraction, and the statute names no amount for it. A second is fined up to one hundred and ninety nine dollars, and a third or later one is a class A misdemeanor. The court may remit a first offender’s fine on proof, within fourteen days, of getting a seat or booster suited to the child. A first or second offender must attend a child car seat safety course, and failing to complete it can suspend the license for up to two months. |
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
Connecticut sets this in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-100a(d). Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Connecticut 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
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-100a(d)
- Source
- www.cga.ct.gov
- Jurisdiction
- Connecticut (CT), 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
- P.A. 17-230, S. 11, which set the present stages; P.A. 23-40, S. 15, which added the remission of a first offender’s fine