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Kansas car seat laws

K.S.A. 8-1344 · 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 K.S.A. 8-1344; subsection (a)(1) requires any child passenger safety restraining system meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child under four, 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 K.S.A. 8-1344; subsection (a)(1) requires any child passenger safety restraining system meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child under four, and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

Rear-facing until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Rear-facing until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Rear-facing until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Leaving rear-facing
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

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 K.S.A. 8-1344; subsection (a)(1) requires any child passenger safety restraining system meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child under four, 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 K.S.A. 8-1344; subsection (a)(1) requires any child passenger safety restraining system meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 for a child under four, and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

Harness until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Harness until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Harness until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Leaving the harness
Not addressed in statute

Not set in K.S.A. 8-1344.

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

For a child four years of age, but under the age of eight years and who weighs less than 80 pounds or is less than 4 feet 9 inches in height, an appropriate child passenger safety restraining system that meets or exceeds the standards and specifications contained in federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 213.

K.S.A. 8-1344(a)(2). The statute does not name booster seats; it requires any child passenger safety restraining system, and these booster fields record when that requirement ends. Under subsection (c), a child in a seating position with only a lap belt follows subsection (a)(3) instead.

What the law sets

Booster required by law
Yes

Any child passenger safety restraining system meeting FMVSS 213 satisfies K.S.A. 8-1344(a)(2); a booster is not specifically required.

Booster until age
8 years
Booster until weight
80 lb

K.S.A. 8-1344(a)(3) allows a safety belt for a child who weighs more than 80 pounds, so a child at 80 pounds is at the edge of the requirement.

Booster until height
57 in (4 ft 9 in)

K.S.A. 8-1344(a)(3) allows a safety belt for a child more than 4 feet 9 inches tall.

Leaving the booster
Meeting any one listed limit is enough

Subsection (a)(3) lets a child eight years of age, or over 80 pounds, or over 4 feet 9 inches use a safety belt, so any one of the three limits ends the restraint requirement.

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

For a child eight years of age but under the age of 14 years or who weighs more than 80 pounds or is more than 4 feet 9 inches in height, a safety belt manufactured in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208.

K.S.A. 8-1344(a)(3).

What the law sets

Seat belt alone from age
8 years
Seat belt alone from height
57 in (4 ft 9 in)
Moving to the seat belt
A combination of conditions (see statute text)

The belt is allowed at eight, or over 80 pounds, or over 4 feet 9 inches; the belt fields have no weight, so the condition is written out.

Moving to the seat belt — conditions
age>=8yr OR weight>=80lb OR height>=57in

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
Not addressed in statute

No front-seat provision in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Minimum age for the front seat
Not addressed in statute

No front-seat provision in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Conditions
Not addressed in statute

No front-seat provision in K.S.A. 8-1344.

Penalties

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

First offense — fine
$60

K.S.A. 8-1345(a): a fine of $60 on conviction. Failing to restrain more than one child in the same car at the same time is a single violation.

Repeat offense — fine
$60

K.S.A. 8-1345(a) sets one $60 fine for every violation; there is no separate repeat penalty.

License points
None

K.S.A. 8-1345(a): a conviction is not construed as a moving traffic violation for the purpose of K.S.A. 8-255. K.S.A. 8-255 suspends driving privileges on a count of convictions and has no point schedule.

Fine waiver
The $60 fine is waived if the driver convicted of violating K.S.A. 8-1344(a)(1) or (2) proves to the court that an appropriate and approved child passenger safety restraining system was purchased or acquired; the officer must give notice of the waiver when issuing the citation (K.S.A. 8-1345(b)). A driver is not convicted at all on proof that the child was 14 or older (K.S.A. 8-1345(c)).

Exemptions

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

Taxis
Not addressed in statute

K.S.A. 8-1344 does not address taxis or vehicles for hire.

Rideshare (Uber, Lyft)
Not addressed in statute

K.S.A. 8-1344 does not address transportation network companies.

Buses
Exempt

K.S.A. 8-1344 covers a "passenger car", which K.S.A. 8-1343a defines as a vehicle designed for carrying 10 passengers or fewer; buses are not included.

Medical exemption
Not addressed in statute

K.S.A. 8-1344 and 8-1345 have no medical exemption.

Out-of-state vehicles
Not addressed in statute

K.S.A. 8-1344 applies to every driver on a Kansas highway and does not address nonresident drivers or out-of-state vehicles.

How Kansas compares

Kansas is tied for 6th of 47 jurisdictions with a numeric booster age: 33 jurisdictions, including Kansas, require a booster until age 8.

Compared with Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, Kansas differs on: rear-facing rules (from Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma), booster rules (from Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma), and front-seat rules (from Colorado and Nebraska).

Law compared with the AAP recommendation

  • Kansas 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.
  • Kansas 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.
  • Kansas law: a booster seat is required until the child reaches age 8, 80 lb, or 57 in, whichever comes first. 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.
  • Kansas law: a child may use the seat belt alone once this condition is met: age ≥ 8 yr or weight ≥ 80 lb or height ≥ 57 in. 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.

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 Kansas Highway Patrol, Child Passenger Safety Program.

State law

Recommendations

Disclaimer

This page summarizes Kansas 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 Kansas Highway Patrol, Child Passenger Safety Program before relying on anything here.