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Texas car seat laws

Tex. Transp. Code § 545.412 · 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 § 545.412; the section requires a child passenger safety seat system used per the manufacturer's instructions but sets no rear-facing rule.

What the law sets

Rear-facing seat required by law
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412; the section requires a child passenger safety seat system used per the manufacturer's instructions but sets no rear-facing rule.

Rear-facing until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Rear-facing until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Rear-facing until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Leaving rear-facing
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

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 § 545.412; the section requires a child passenger safety seat system used per the manufacturer's instructions but sets no harness rule.

What the law sets

Forward-facing harness required by law
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412; the section requires a child passenger safety seat system used per the manufacturer's instructions but sets no harness rule.

Harness until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Harness until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Harness until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Leaving the harness
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

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 person commits an offense if the person operates a passenger vehicle, transports a child who is younger than eight years of age, unless the child is taller than four feet, nine inches, and does not keep the child secured during the operation of the vehicle in a child passenger safety seat system according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system.

§ 545.412(a). The statute does not name booster seats; it requires any child passenger safety seat system, and these booster fields record when that requirement ends.

What the law sets

Booster required by law
Yes

Any child passenger safety seat system satisfies § 545.412(a); a booster is not specifically required.

Booster until age
8 years
Booster until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in § 545.412.

Booster until height
57 in (4 ft 9 in)

The statute says "taller than four feet, nine inches", so a child of exactly 57 inches is still covered.

Leaving the booster
Meeting any one listed limit is enough

A child leaves the requirement on turning eight or on being taller than 4 feet 9 inches, whichever comes first.

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

A person commits an offense if the person: (1) operates a passenger vehicle that is equipped with safety belts; and (2) allows a child who is younger than 17 years of age and who is not required to be secured in a child passenger safety seat system under Section 545.412(a) to ride in the vehicle without requiring the child to be secured by a safety belt, provided the child is occupying a seat that is equipped with a safety belt.

§ 545.413(b).

What the law sets

Seat belt alone from age
8 years
Seat belt alone from height
57 in (4 ft 9 in)

Taller than 57 inches, per § 545.412(a).

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
Not addressed in statute

No front-seat provision in § 545.412.

Minimum age for the front seat
Not addressed in statute

No front-seat provision in § 545.412.

Conditions
Not addressed in statute

No front-seat provision in § 545.412.

Penalties

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

First offense — fine
$25 – $250

§ 545.412(b): misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $25 and not more than $250.

Repeat offense — fine
$25 – $250

§ 545.412(b) sets one range for every offense; there is no separate repeat penalty.

License points
None

Not set in § 545.412. Texas assesses no license points: the point system was in Transp. Code ch. 708 (Driver Responsibility Program), repealed effective September 1, 2019, and DPS states it no longer assesses those points; the department now suspends by counting convictions — a “habitual violator” is four moving-violation convictions in 12 consecutive months or seven in 24 (§ 521.292(a)(3), (b)).

Fine waiver
It is a defense to prosecution if the driver had no seat in the vehicle at the time, was not cited for any other offense, was not in a collision, and later obtained an appropriate child passenger safety seat system for each child (§ 545.4121).

Exemptions

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

Taxis
Exempt

§ 545.412(e)(1) excludes a person operating a vehicle transporting passengers for hire (except nonemergency Medicaid transport providers).

Rideshare (Uber, Lyft)
Not addressed in statute

§ 545.412 does not name transportation network companies; whether the for-hire exclusion in § 545.412(e)(1) reaches them is not stated.

Buses
Exempt

§ 545.412(f)(2) defines "passenger vehicle" as cars, light trucks, SUVs, vans for 15 or fewer passengers, trucks and truck tractors; buses are not included.

Medical exemption
Not addressed in statute

§ 545.412 has no medical exemption; the physician-statement defense in § 545.413(e) applies to safety belts only.

Out-of-state vehicles
Not addressed in statute

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

How Texas compares

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

Compared with Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, Texas differs on: rear-facing rules (from Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma), booster rules (from Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico), and front-seat rules (from Louisiana and New Mexico).

Law compared with the AAP recommendation

  • Texas 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.
  • Texas 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.
  • Texas law: a booster seat is required until the child reaches age 8 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.
  • Texas law: a child may use the seat belt alone once reaching age 8 or 57 in, whichever comes first. 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 Texas

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 Texas Department of Transportation.

State law

Recommendations

Disclaimer

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