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Idaho car seat laws

Idaho Code § 49-672 · Last checked September 23, 2026

Car seat stages

The statute text comes first. Numbers are a summary for comparison, not a replacement for the law.

Rear-facing seat

Statute text

Not addressed in statute.

Not set in Idaho Code § 49-672; the section requires a child safety restraint meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child six or younger and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

What the law sets

Rear-facing seat required by law
Not addressed in statute

Not set in Idaho Code § 49-672; the section requires a child safety restraint meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child six or younger and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

Rear-facing until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Rear-facing until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Rear-facing until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Leaving rear-facing
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Recommended (not law)

NHTSA

Children under age 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. Keep your child rear-facing as long as possible — it's the best way to keep them safe — until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat's manufacturer.

NHTSA – Car Seats and Booster Seats

AAP

All infants should ride rear-facing, starting with their first ride home from the hospital, and should continue riding rear-facing as long as possible until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat's manufacturer.

HealthyChildren.org (AAP) – Car Safety Seats: Information for Families

Forward-facing harness seat

Statute text

Not addressed in statute.

Not set in Idaho Code § 49-672; the section requires a child safety restraint meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child six or younger and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

What the law sets

Forward-facing harness required by law
Not addressed in statute

Not set in Idaho Code § 49-672; the section requires a child safety restraint meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child six or younger and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

Harness until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Harness until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Harness until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Leaving the harness
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Recommended (not law)

NHTSA

Once a child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, they are ready for a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether. Keep the child in the forward-facing seat until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat's manufacturer, then move to a booster seat, still in the back seat.

NHTSA – Car Seats and Booster Seats

AAP

Children should use a forward-facing car seat with a harness after outgrowing the rear-facing weight or height limit. It is best for children to ride in a seat with a harness as long as possible, at least to 4 years of age.

HealthyChildren.org (AAP) – Car Safety Seats: Information for Families

Booster seat

Statute text

No noncommercial motor vehicle operator shall transport a child who is six (6) years of age or younger in a motor vehicle manufactured with seat belts after January 1, 1966, unless the child is properly secured in a child safety restraint that meets the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 213.

Idaho Code § 49-672(1). The statute does not name booster seats; it requires any child safety restraint, and these booster fields record when that requirement ends.

What the law sets

Booster required by law
Yes

Any child safety restraint meeting FMVSS 213 satisfies § 49-672(1); a booster is not specifically required.

Booster until age
7 years

The statute covers a child "six (6) years of age or younger", so the requirement ends on the seventh birthday.

Booster until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Booster until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 49-672.

Leaving the booster
Meeting any one listed limit is enough

Age is the only limit in § 49-672.

Recommended (not law)

NHTSA

Keep your child in a booster seat until they are big enough to fit in a seat belt properly — the lap belt lying snugly across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt snug across the shoulder and chest (not the neck or face).

NHTSA – Car Seats and Booster Seats

AAP

All children whose weight or height exceeds the forward-facing limit for their car safety seat should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically when they have reached 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years of age.

HealthyChildren.org (AAP) – Car Safety Seats: Information for Families

Seat belt

Statute text

Except as provided in section 49-672, Idaho Code, and subsection (2) of this section, each occupant of a motor vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight of not more than eight thousand (8,000) pounds, and that was manufactured with safety restraints in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, shall have a safety restraint properly fastened about the occupant's body at all times when the vehicle is in motion.

Idaho Code § 49-673(1).

What the law sets

Seat belt alone from age
7 years

A child is out of the § 49-672 restraint requirement on the seventh birthday and is then covered by the safety restraint rule in § 49-673.

Seat belt alone from height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in Idaho Code §§ 49-672 or 49-673.

Moving to the seat belt
Meeting any one listed limit is enough

Recommended (not law)

NHTSA

Once a child is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly, they can ride with just the lap-and-shoulder belt, but should still ride in the back seat — NHTSA recommends keeping children in the back seat at least through age 12.

NHTSA – Car Seats and Booster Seats

AAP

Children should transition to the vehicle seat belt once it fits properly, typically at about 4 feet 9 inches in height and 8 to 12 years of age; all children younger than 13 years should ride in the back seat.

HealthyChildren.org (AAP) – Car Safety Seats: Information for Families

Front seat

Many states have no front-seat age in statute. Where that is the case, we say so and cite the section we read.

Front seat — statute text
The provisions of this section shall not apply: (a) If all of the motor vehicle's seat belts are in use, but in such an event any unrestrained child to which this section applies shall be placed in the rear seat of the motor vehicle, if it is so equipped.

Idaho Code § 49-672(2)(a). This is the only seating-position rule in the section.

Minimum age for the front seat
Not addressed in statute

No minimum front-seat age in Idaho Code § 49-672.

Conditions
When every seat belt is already in use, a child six or younger who is left unrestrained must be placed in the rear seat if the vehicle has one.

Penalties

What a car seat ticket costs, and whether showing proof of a proper seat can cancel it.

First offense — fine
Up to $300

§ 49-672 sets no fine. A violation of chapter 6 of title 49 is an infraction (§ 49-236(2)), and Idaho Code § 18-113A caps an infraction penalty at $300; the exact amount is the fixed penalty set by Idaho Supreme Court Infraction Rule 9, which is a court rule, not a statute.

Repeat offense — fine
Up to $300

§ 49-672 sets no separate repeat penalty; the infraction cap in Idaho Code § 18-113A applies to every violation.

License points
3 points

Idaho Code § 49-672 sets no points itself; § 49-326(2)-(3) delegates the point count system to department rule. IDAPA 39.02.71 § 200.02 gives three violation points to convictions of state traffic violations not listed in § 200, except where the Code requires withdrawal or grants a point exemption. § 49-672 is not listed and carries no exemption (unlike § 49-673), so three points apply. This value is inferred from the catch-all, not from a provision that names § 49-672.

Fine waiver
Not addressed in statute

Not set in Idaho Code § 49-672; there is no proof-of-seat waiver.

Exemptions

Exempt means the statute excludes it. Silent means the statute does not address it.

Taxis
Exempt

Idaho Code § 49-672(1) binds only a "noncommercial motor vehicle operator", which leaves out a driver carrying passengers for hire.

Rideshare (Uber, Lyft)
Not addressed in statute

Idaho Code § 49-672 does not name transportation network companies.

Buses
Not addressed in statute

Idaho Code § 49-672 does not name buses; it covers noncommercial operators of motor vehicles manufactured with seat belts after January 1, 1966.

Medical exemption
Not addressed in statute

Idaho Code § 49-672 has no medical exemption; the physician-statement exemption in § 49-673(2)(a) is written for the safety restraint rule.

Out-of-state vehicles
Not addressed in statute

Idaho Code § 49-672 does not address nonresident drivers or out-of-state vehicles.

How Idaho compares

Idaho is tied for 39th of 47 jurisdictions with a numeric booster age: 3 jurisdictions, including Idaho, require a booster until age 7.

Compared with Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, Idaho differs on: rear-facing rules (from Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington), booster rules (from Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming), and front-seat rules (from Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming).

Law compared with the AAP recommendation

  • Idaho law does not address this stage. AAP recommends: All infants should ride rear-facing, starting with their first ride home from the hospital, and should continue riding rear-facing as long as possible until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat's manufacturer.
  • Idaho law does not address this stage. AAP recommends: Children should use a forward-facing car seat with a harness after outgrowing the rear-facing weight or height limit. It is best for children to ride in a seat with a harness as long as possible, at least to 4 years of age.
  • Idaho law: a booster seat is required until the child reaches age 7. AAP recommends: All children whose weight or height exceeds the forward-facing limit for their car safety seat should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically when they have reached 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years of age.
  • Idaho law: a child may use the seat belt alone once reaching age 7. AAP recommends: Children should transition to the vehicle seat belt once it fits properly, typically at about 4 feet 9 inches in height and 8 to 12 years of age; all children younger than 13 years should ride in the back seat.

See every state side by side on the comparison pages.

Guides covering Idaho

Sources

State law comes from the statute or state agency below. Recommendations come from NHTSA and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The responsible agency is Idaho Transportation Department, Office of Highway Safety.

State law

Recommendations

Disclaimer

This page summarizes Idaho law for reference. It is not legal or medical advice. The statute text is the law; the numbers are our summary of it. Legal minimums are not safety recommendations: NHTSA and the AAP recommend keeping a child in each stage for as long as the seat allows. Check the statute or Idaho Transportation Department, Office of Highway Safety before relying on anything here.