Car seat laws in Tennessee

Children under 1, or any child weighing 20 pounds or less, must ride in a rear-facing child restraint in the rear seat if available. 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.

Children 4 through 8 who are shorter than 4'9" must ride in a belt-positioning booster in the rear seat if available. 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 in rear-facing, harnessed or booster seats (through age 8) must ride in the rear seat if available. The rear seat is recommended, not required, for ages 9 through 12. NHTSA and the AAP recommend going further: keeping all children younger than 13 in the back seat.

Each unrestrained child 8 or younger is a separate violation, with court costs; the statute makes it a Class C misdemeanor, and a court may order a first offender to attend a child passenger safety class. For the age 9-12 belt rule, only one citation per vehicle is issued: a $50 fine with no court costs or litigation taxes.

NHTSA's locator lists 161 car seat inspection stations in Tennessee, in 96 cities and towns. Memphis has the most (8), then Jackson (6). Certified technicians check seats for free in most cases. Search NHTSA's locator by ZIP code and call the station before you go.