Pennsylvania Car Seat Laws

According to Pennsylvania State Law, until children are eight years old, they must be placed in a car restraint system approved by the United States Department of Transportation Standards and in accordance with the seat manufacturer’s height and weight suggestions.

Pennsylvania recently updated their child safety seat laws to match up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new guidelines. If you’re a parent in the Keystone State, you’ll find everything you need to know about Pennsylvania’s child passenger safety laws here. We’ll also supply you with a ton of URLs you can use to increase your knowledge of Pennsylvania’s safety laws.

Current laws

  • Infants under the age of two must be placed in a rear-facing restraint in the car’s back seat. Be sure to see the top rated rear facing car seats.
  • After your child turns two, you can transition him/her to a forward-facing restraint provided s/he exceeds the rear-facing seat manufacturer’s height and weight recommendations.
  • Children between the ages of four and seven can move on to a booster seat only when they are over the forward-facing seat manufacturer’s height and weight limits.
  • Finally, children between eight and 12 can wear the car’s backseat safety belt once they are at least 4’9”.

Drivers can be charged up to $75 if they fail to abide by the laws listed above.

Additional resources

  • For an informative (and funny!) recap of all the information listed above, check out this live news report on Fox 29 Philly’s YouTube page. Not only will you learn about Pennsylvania’s child safety seat laws, you’ll also get to see the “adorbs” Noah demonstrate how not to get into a car seat. This video, entitled “Noah Wants No Part of Good Day’s Car Seat Demo,” has an incredible 872,000 views online.
  • Here’s why children need car seats to prevent injury.
  • Pennsylvania DOT’s “Child Passenger Safety” page.
  • There are approximately 75 locations across Pennsylvania with safety technicians more than willing to help you adjust your child’s safety seat. To find a fitting station near your hometown, check out this website.
  • To read Pennsylvania’s child passenger safety laws in full, please click on this link.