Car seat laws in California

A child under two must ride in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall, secured within the seat maker's height and weight limits. NHTSA and the AAP recommend going further: keeping your child rear-facing as long as possible, until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat's manufacturer. A child under age 1 should always ride rear-facing, and most convertible seats allow rear-facing for 2 years or more.

A child under eight must be properly secured in a rear seat in an appropriate child passenger restraint system. A child under eight who is 4'9" or taller may use a safety belt instead. NHTSA and the AAP recommend going further: using a belt-positioning booster seat after your child outgrows the harnessed seat, until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically when they reach about 4 feet 9 inches tall and are 8 to 12 years old. The AAP says an adult seat belt fits when: the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly; and the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with knees bent over the edge of the seat without slouching, and can stay that way for the whole trip. NHTSA uses the same lap-belt and shoulder-belt checks. The 5-step test, which California writes into law from January 1, 2027, asks: 1) Does the child sit all the way back against the seat? 2) Do the knees bend over the edge of the seat? 3) Does the shoulder belt snugly cross the center of the chest and shoulder, not the neck? 4) Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs? 5) Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

Children under 8 must ride in the rear seat. Exceptions: no rear seat, side-facing jump seats, rear-facing rear seats, the restraint can't be installed properly in back, all rear seats are taken by children 7 or under, or a medical reason. A rear-facing seat may never go in front of an active frontal passenger airbag. NHTSA and the AAP recommend going further: keeping all children younger than 13 in the back seat.

$100 for a first offense and $250 for a second or later one (before court penalty assessments). The court may reduce or waive the fine for an economically disadvantaged defendant who completes a community child passenger safety education program.

Yes, from January 1, 2027. AB 435 (Stats. 2025, Ch. 434) takes effect January 1, 2027. A child 8 to 15, or a child under 8 who is 4'9" or taller, will count as 'properly restrained by a safety belt' only if they pass all five steps of the 5-step test: sitting all the way back against the seat, knees bending over the seat edge, shoulder belt snug across the center of the chest and shoulder and not the neck, lap belt as low as possible and touching the thighs, and able to stay seated like this for the whole trip. Otherwise they must stay in a child passenger restraint system such as a booster.

NHTSA's locator lists 205 car seat inspection stations in California, in 135 cities and towns. Los Angeles has the most (18), then Pasadena and Sacramento (5 each). NHTSA flags 21 of them as Spanish-speaking. Certified technicians check seats for free in most cases. Search NHTSA's locator by ZIP code and call the station before you go.