Booster seat requirements in Maine
A car seat or booster until age 8.
Unless the child is at least 57 inches (4 ft 9 in) tall or weighs at least 80 lb, which ends the requirement whatever their age.
- Rear facing until
- 24 months
- Back seat until
- age 12
- Seat belt alone from
- age 8
- First offense
- $50
Every figure on this page was read at 29-A M.R.S. § 2081 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Maine 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 Maine requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rear facing | under 24 months | Until 24 months (2 years). |
| Car seat or booster | under 8 years | Until age 8, unless the child is at least 57 inches (4 ft 9 in) tall or weighs at least 80 lb. |
| Back seat | under 12 years | Required for a child under age 12. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 8 years | Lawful from age 8, or once the child reaches 57 inches (4 ft 9 in) or 80 lb. |
| Penalty | $50 | $50 for a first offense. Condition A traffic infraction. Fifty dollars for a first offense, one hundred and twenty-five for a second, two hundred and fifty for a third or later. The statute says in terms that the court may not suspend the fine. The same scale applies separately to the rear facing rule in subsection 2-A, the harness rule in 2-B and the general rule in subsection 3. |
Size ends the requirement, whichever comes first. A child who is at least 57 inches (4 ft 9 in) tall or weighs at least 80 lb is out of the booster in Maine whatever their age. A child who has not reached that stays in one until age 8. The size is an escape from the age rule rather than a second thing that also has to be true. Maine gives more than one, and meeting either is enough.
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
Maine sets this in 29-A M.R.S. § 2081. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Maine 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
- 29-A M.R.S. § 2081
- Source
- legislature.maine.gov
- Jurisdiction
- Maine (ME), 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
- PL 2019, c. 577, §§1-6 set the current child restraint stages; the section was last amended by PL 2023, c. 634, §31