Booster seat requirements in South Carolina
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 8
- Seat belt alone from
- age 8
- First offense
- $150
Every figure on this page was read at S.C. Code §§ 56-5-6410, 56-5-6420, 56-5-6450 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 8 years | Required for a child under age 8. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 8 years | Lawful from age 8, or once the child reaches 57 inches (4 ft 9 in). |
| Penalty | $150 | $150 for a first offense. Condition A maximum rather than a fixed fine: 56-5-6450 says a person "must be fined not more than one hundred fifty dollars". The court shall waive the fine entirely for anyone who, before or upon the appearance date on the summons, supplies evidence of acquiring, buying or renting a conforming restraint. |
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 South Carolina 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
South Carolina sets this in S.C. Code §§ 56-5-6410, 56-5-6420, 56-5-6450. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in South Carolina 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
- S.C. Code §§ 56-5-6410, 56-5-6420, 56-5-6450
- Source
- www.scstatehouse.gov
- Jurisdiction
- South Carolina (SC), 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
- 2017 Act No. 78 (H.3864), § 1, effective 19 May 2017, which rewrote 56-5-6410 into the present ladder, and § 2, which rewrote the front seat rule at 56-5-6420