Overview

Machine seats and boosters provide protection for infants and children in a crash, yet car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages one to 13. That'due south why it's so important to choose and use the correct motorcar seat correctly every fourth dimension your child is in the auto. Follow these important steps to choose the right seat, install it correctly and keep your kid safe.

Don't remember yous know. Know you know.

Notice the Correct Car Seat for Your Kid

Car Seats and Booster Seats

  • Find The Right Automobile Seat
    • The Process
    • Car Seat Types
    • Car Seat Recommendations
    • Find & Compare Seats
  • Installation Help
    • Parts & Tips
    • Car Seat Installation Instructions
    • Inspection
  • Registration
  • Resources

Find The Right Car Seat

The Process

Related Topic

Follow these steps to aid you through the procedure of finding the right car seat, installing it correctly, and keeping your child safe.

Find the right car seat

  • Learn about the four car seat types
  • Follow NHTSA's automobile seat recommendations based on your child's age and size
  • Find and compare car seats and ease-of-use-ratings using NHTSA's Car Seat Finder

Install your machine seat correctly

  • Empathize the parts and tips used for installation
  • Follow our detailed car seat installation instructions and videos
  • Get your car seat inspected at a station nearest you lot

Keep your child safe in a car seat

  • Register your machine seat and sign up for recall notices to receive safety updates

Car Seat Safe Tips

How to Choose the Right Seat

Notice The Right Car Seat

Automobile Seat Types

Learn about the four types of machine seats, while keeping in listen the post-obit tips:

  • As children grow, how they sit in your auto volition alter. Make sure you use a car seat that fits your child's current size and age.
  • Non all automobile seats fit in all vehicles. Make sure the auto seat is the correct fit for your vehicle (PDF, ane.77 MB). Exam the car seat you plan to buy to brand certain it fits well in your vehicle.
  • Buy a motorcar seat that can be installed and used correctly every time.

Rear-Facing Automobile Seat

Car seat rear-facing

The best seat for your young child to use. It has a harness and, in a crash, cradles and moves with your child to reduce the stress to the kid's fragile neck and spinal cord.

Types

  • Infant Car Seat (Rear-Facing but): Designed for newborns and small babies, the infant-only auto seat is a small, portable seat that can merely be used rear-facing. Virtually babies outgrow their infant seats before their first birthday. When that happens, we recommend that parents buy a convertible or all-in-i car seat and utilise it rear-facing.
  • Convertible Seat: As a child grows, this seat can change from a rear-facing seat to a frontwards-facing seat with a harness and tether. Because it tin can be used with children of various sizes, information technology allows for children to stay in the rear-facing position longer.
  • All-in-One Seat: This seat tin can change from a rear-facing seat to a forward-facing seat (with a harness and tether) and to a booster seat as a child grows. Because it can be used with children of various sizes, it allows for children to stay in the rear-facing position longer.

Forward-Facing Car Seat

Car seat forward-facing

Has a harness and tether that limits your child's forward motility during a crash.

Types

  • Convertible Seat: As a child grows, this seat can change from a rear-facing seat to a forward-facing seat with a harness and tether.
  • Combination Seat: As a child grows, this seat transitions from a forwards-facing seat with a harness and tether into a booster.
  • All-in-One Seat: This seat tin change from a rear-facing seat to a frontwards-facing seat (with a harness and tether) and to a booster seat every bit a kid grows.

Booster Seat

Car seat booster

Raises and positions a kid so the vehicle's lap-and-shoulder chugalug fits properly over the stronger points of a kid'southward body, the hips and across the chest.

Types

  • Booster Seat With Loftier Dorsum: This blazon of booster seat is designed to boost the child'south elevation so the seat belt fits properly. It besides provides neck and head support and is platonic for vehicles that don't have head rests or high seat backs.
  • Backless Booster Seat: A backless booster seat is designed to boost the child's height so the seat belt fits properly. It does not provide head and cervix support. It is ideal for vehicles that accept caput rests.
  • Combination Seat: As a child grows, this seat transitions from a forrard-facing seat with a harness into a booster.
  • All-in-I Seat: This seat can modify from a rear-facing seat to a forward-facing seat (with a harness and tether) and to a booster seat equally a kid grows.

Seat Chugalug

Seat Belt

Should lie across the upper thighs and exist snug across the shoulder and chest to restrain your kid safely in a crash. It should not residuum on the breadbasket area or across the neck or face up.

Find The Right Car Seat

Car Seat Recommendations

There are many car seat choices on the market. Employ the data below to help you choose the type of automobile seat that best meets your child'south needs or impress out NHTSA's car seat recommendations for children (PDF, 370 KB).

  • Select a automobile seat based on your kid's age and size, then choose a seat that fits in your vehicle, and apply it every time.
  • E'er refer to your specific auto seat manufacturer's instructions (check tiptop and weight limits) and read the vehicle owner's manual on how to install the machine seat using the seat chugalug or lower anchors and a tether, if available.
  • To maximize safe, keep your child in the car seat for as long as possible, as long as the kid fits inside the manufacturer'southward superlative and weight requirements.
  • Keep your child in the dorsum seat at to the lowest degree through age 12.

Recommended machine seats based on your kid's historic period and size

Rear-Facing Car Seat

Car seat rear-facing

Nativity-12 Months

Your child under historic period 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. In that location are different types of rear-facing car seats:

  • Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing.
  • Convertible and all-in-one car seats typically have college height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of fourth dimension.

ane – three Years

Go along your child rear-facing as long as possible. It's the best way to continue him or her condom. Your child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top summit or weight limit immune by your auto seat's manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is gear up to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether.


Frontward-Facing Car Seat

Car seat forward-facing

1 – 3 Years

Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. It's the best way to go on him or her safe. Your child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the pinnacle height or weight limit allowed by your car seat'southward manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether.

4 – 7 Years

Keep your child in a forward-facing machine seat with a harness and tether until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your machine seat's manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it's fourth dimension to travel in a booster seat, simply still in the back seat.


Booster Seat

Car seat booster

4 – 7 Years

Go along your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat'due south manufacturer. Once your kid outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it's time to travel in a booster seat, just however in the back seat.

8 – 12 Years

Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big plenty to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the tum. The shoulder belt should prevarication snugly across the shoulder and chest and not cantankerous the cervix or confront. Recollect: your child should however ride in the back seat because it's safer there.


Seat Belt

Seat Belt

8 – 12 Years

Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat chugalug properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly beyond the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across the shoulder and chest and non cantankerous the cervix or face. Call back: your child should still ride in the back seat considering it's safer at that place.

Find The Right Car Seat

Find & Compare Seats

Search car seats past brand proper name and model

Observe car seats for your child by make, or wait up the details of a specific auto seat model.

Ease-of-Use Ratings Explained

The Car Seat Finder is an easy-to-use tool that lets you compare seats and ease-of-employ ratings to find the right car seat for your child. Just make full out your kid's age, elevation and weight above, and y'all'll be provided machine seat types that fit your child. Before you go started, make sure you're familiar with the 4 types of machine seats and NHTSA's recommendations for choosing the right type of seat for your child.

Installation Help

Car Seat Installation Parts and Tips

Motorcar Seat Installation Tips

Your child'due south prophylactic could be in jeopardy if your motorcar seat is not installed correctly. Before you install your machine seat, brand sure you're familiar with vehicle and car seat parts used in the installation procedure and these important installation prophylactic tips.

Vehicle and Motorcar Seat Parts Explained

Every automobile seat needs to be installed using either the lower anchors or a seat chugalug to secure information technology in identify, never both. If you choose to apply a seat belt to install your motorcar seat, pay shut attending to how to  "lock" your seat belt co-ordinate to the vehicle's owner manual. With a forward-facing car seat, use a tether if one is available. Before installing your motorcar seat brand sure you understand the function and location of the vehicle and machine seat parts that are used in installation.

Automobile Seat Glossary

Vehicle Parts

Lower Anchors

Used for installing a machine seat using its lower ballast attachments

The lower anchors are found in a minimum of ii rear seating positions in a vehicle. Each lower-ballast-equipped seating position has two small horizontal bars found in the space between the vehicle seat's back and bottom absorber (the "seat bight").

Tether Anchor

Used for attaching a car seat's tether to the vehicle

Typically there are a minimum of 3 tether anchors in a vehicle. In sedans, these are usually located above/behind the vehicle's back seat on the rear shelf. In some larger vehicles such as vans, pickup trucks, and SUVs, these tether anchors may be constitute on the back of a vehicle seat, on the flooring, the ceiling, or other location.

To avoid confusing tether anchors with other hardware such as luggage tie-downs, be sure to read your vehicle's possessor manual carefully to find out where they are located in your particular vehicle.

Car Seat Parts

Attach top tether from the car seat to the tether anchor in the vehicle.
Fasten lower anchor attachments on the car seat to the lower anchors in the vehicle.

Lower Anchor Attachments

Used to install the automobile seat in a vehicle with lower anchors

Tether

Used to secure a frontwards-facing motorcar seat and limit forward head movement in a crash

The tether is located on the meridian rear of convertible, combination, and all-in-one auto seats. It's adjustable and has a hook and strap that connects to one of your vehicle'south tether anchors. Most rear-facing car seats in the United States do not use a tether for installation. However, installations vary from model to model, then you must review your particular automobile seat'due south instructions and your vehicle's owner manual carefully.

Follow your car seat manufacturer'south instructions regarding when and how to use the tether for your particular seat. NHTSA recommends always using a tether with a forward-facing machine seat—installed with your vehicle's seat belt OR the lower anchors—as long equally information technology is permitted past both the car seat and vehicle manufacturers. Important: Both installation methods are designed to work with the tether to accomplish the highest level of safety for child passengers restrained in forwards-facing car seats.

Lower Ballast Weight Limits

Lower anchors have weight limits set past the vehicle and car seat manufacturers. Yous can make up one's mind the lower anchor weight limit by checking the warning label or installation diagrams located on the side of the car seat. If your auto seat does not have a label, you can determine the maximum allowable kid weight for lower anchor use by subtracting the weight of the car seat (usually available in the car seat's instruction manual) from 65 pounds.

Lower ballast weight limit = 65 lbs – weight of machine seat

Know the Facts

Once your child outgrows the vehicle or car seat manufacturer's established limits for the lower anchors, stop using the lower anchor attachments and reinstall the auto seat using the vehicle's seat chugalug.

Installation Help

Motorcar Seat Installation Instructions

One time you've become familiar with vehicle and car seat parts used for installation and NHTSA's tips to install your car seat, you lot're set to follow these detailed car seat installation instructions and videos by type.

Installation Aid

Car Seat Inspection

Get your car seat inspected

Whether you've just installed a motorcar seat or demand help installing or using one, become aid at a car seat inspection station nearly you. Certified technicians will inspect your car seat free of charge, in most cases, and prove you how to correctly install and use information technology. Some locations now offer virtual inspections.

Can't discover an inspection station near you? You may be able to find a tech through Safe Kids Worldwide.

Registration

Register Your Machine Seat

Congratulations—you chose the right car seat and installed it correctly. Now it's fourth dimension to register your machine seat with the manufacturer to receive recalls and condom notices so your child can remain prophylactic. Too, yous can sign up with NHTSA to receive e-mail alerts about car seat and booster seat recalls.

Register your car seat to receive important safety updates

Registering your seat makes sense: Information technology gives the manufacturer the ability to contact you near recalls and safety notices. Information technology's too piece of cake: Just send in the bill of fare that came with your car seat or make full out a simple form on the manufacturer'south website.

Your child's safety could depend on it.

Transport registration data to NHTSA

If you would like NHTSA to provide your child restraint registration information to the manufacturer, please fill out this Registration Form and mail it to the address below. You may besides electronic mail or fax information technology if you choose.

U. Southward. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Condom Administration
Office of Defects Investigation

Correspondence Research Division (NVS-216)
Room W48-301
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.
Washington, DC 20590
Fax: 202-366-1767
East-postal service: childseatregister@dot.gov

Get Automobile Seat Recall Notices

In improver to registering your auto seat to receive recalls and safe notices from your car seat manufacturer, you tin can sign up to receive electronic mail alerts from NHTSA about car seat and booster seat recalls to make sure your child remains safe.

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