Booster seat requirements in Michigan
A car seat or booster until age 8.
Unless the child is at least 57 inches (4 ft 9 in) tall, which ends the requirement whatever their age.
- Rear facing until
- 24 months
- Back seat until
- age 13
- Seat belt alone from
- age 8
Every figure on this page was read at Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710d on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Michigan 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 Michigan 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. |
| Back seat | under 13 years | Required for a child under age 13. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 8 years | Lawful from age 8, or once the child reaches 57 inches (4 ft 9 in). |
| Penalty | no figure | No amount recorded. Condition A civil infraction. The statute sets no dollar figure. It does say no points are assessed under section 320a and no abstract goes to the secretary of state, so a violation does not reach the driving record. |
Size ends the requirement, whichever comes first. A child who is at least 57 inches (4 ft 9 in) tall is out of the booster in Michigan 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.
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
Michigan sets this in Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710d. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Michigan 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
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710d
- Source
- www.legislature.mi.gov
- Jurisdiction
- Michigan (MI), 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
- Am. 2024, Act 21, Eff. Apr. 2, 2025