Booster seat requirements in Virginia
A car seat or booster until age 8.
Virginia sets no height or weight that ends the requirement early. Age is the only test.
- Rear facing until
- 24 months
- Back seat until
- age 8
- Seat belt alone from
- age 8
- First offense
- $50
Every figure on this page was read at Va. Code § 46.2-1095 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Virginia 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 Virginia requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rear facing | under 24 months | Until 24 months (2 years). |
| Car seat or booster | under 8 years | Until age 8. |
| Back seat | under 8 years | Required for a child under age 8. |
| Adult seat belt alone | from 8 years | Lawful from age 8. |
| Penalty | $50 | $50 for a first offense. Condition A civil penalty of $50 that may not be suspended in whole or in part, and up to $500 for a second or later violation committed on a different date. No demerit points are assigned and no court costs are assessed. The court may waive or suspend the penalty if the driver could not afford a child restraint system (Va. Code § 46.2-1098). |
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
Virginia sets this in Va. Code § 46.2-1095. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Virginia 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
- Va. Code § 46.2-1095
- Source
- law.lis.virginia.gov
- Jurisdiction
- Virginia (VA), 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
- 2019, cc. 196, 319