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North Carolina car seat laws

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-137.1 · 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 § 20-137.1; the section requires a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system but sets no rear-facing rule.

What the law sets

Rear-facing seat required by law
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1; the section requires a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system but sets no rear-facing rule.

Rear-facing until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Rear-facing until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Rear-facing until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Leaving rear-facing
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

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 § 20-137.1; the section requires a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system but sets no harness rule.

What the law sets

Forward-facing harness required by law
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1; the section requires a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system but sets no harness rule.

Harness until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Harness until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Harness until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Leaving the harness
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

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

A child less than eight years of age and less than 80 pounds in weight shall be properly secured in a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system.

§ 20-137.1(a1). The statute does not name booster seats; it requires a weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system, and these booster fields record when that requirement ends.

What the law sets

Booster required by law
Yes

Any weight-appropriate child passenger restraint system satisfies § 20-137.1(a1); a booster is not specifically required.

Booster until age
8 years
Booster until weight
80 lb
Booster until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Leaving the booster
Meeting any one listed limit is enough

The rule covers a child under 8 AND under 80 pounds, so reaching either age 8 or 80 pounds ends the 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

Every driver who is transporting one or more passengers of less than 16 years of age shall have all such passengers properly secured in a child passenger restraint system or seat belt which meets federal standards applicable at the time of its manufacture.

§ 20-137.1(a).

What the law sets

Seat belt alone from age
8 years
Seat belt alone from height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 20-137.1.

Moving to the seat belt
A combination of conditions (see statute text)

A child may use the seat belt alone at age 8 or at 80 pounds; there is no belt weight field, so the condition is written out.

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

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
In vehicles equipped with an active passenger-side front air bag, if the vehicle has a rear seat, a child less than five years of age and less than 40 pounds in weight shall be properly secured in a rear seat, unless the child restraint system is designed for use with air bags.

§ 20-137.1(a1).

Minimum age for the front seat
5 years

The rule covers a child under 5 AND under 40 pounds, so a child who is 5 or who weighs 40 pounds or more is not covered.

Conditions
Applies only in a vehicle with an active passenger-side front air bag and a rear seat, and not when the child restraint system is designed for use with air bags.

Penalties

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

First offense — fine
Up to $25

§ 20-137.1(c): penalty not to exceed $25, even when more than one child was not properly secured.

Repeat offense — fine
Up to $25

§ 20-137.1(c) sets one limit for every offense; there is no separate repeat penalty.

License points
2 driver license points

§ 20-137.1(d)(1): two driver license points are assessed under G.S. 20-16. No insurance points are assessed (§ 20-137.1(d)(2)).

Fine waiver
A driver charged for not properly securing a child under eight is not convicted if he shows the court at trial that he has since acquired an approved child passenger restraint system for the vehicle in which the child is normally transported (§ 20-137.1(c)).

Exemptions

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

Taxis
Not addressed in statute

§ 20-137.1 does not address taxis.

Rideshare (Uber, Lyft)
Not addressed in statute

§ 20-137.1 does not address transportation network companies.

Buses
Not addressed in statute

§ 20-137.1(b)(iii) exempts vehicles not required by federal law to have seat belts, but buses are not named.

Medical exemption
Not addressed in statute

§ 20-137.1 has no medical exemption; § 20-137.1(b)(i) exempts ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

Out-of-state vehicles
Not addressed in statute

§ 20-137.1 does not address nonresident drivers or out-of-state vehicles.

How North Carolina compares

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

Compared with Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, North Carolina differs on: rear-facing rules (from South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia), booster rules (from Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia), and front-seat rules (from Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia).

Law compared with the AAP recommendation

  • North Carolina 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.
  • North Carolina 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.
  • North Carolina law: a booster seat is required until the child reaches age 8 or 80 lb, 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.
  • North Carolina law: a child may use the seat belt alone once this condition is met: age ≥ 8 yr or weight ≥ 80 lb. 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina Department of Transportation.

State law

Recommendations

Disclaimer

This page summarizes North Carolina 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 North Carolina Department of Transportation before relying on anything here.