Rule Hub · Car SeatsUS child car seat laws, state by state

Wyoming car seat laws

Wyo. Stat. § 31-5-1303 · 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 W.S. 31-5-1303; the section requires any child safety restraint system meeting 49 C.F.R. 571.213 for a child who has not reached his ninth birthday 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 W.S. 31-5-1303; the section requires any child safety restraint system meeting 49 C.F.R. 571.213 for a child who has not reached his ninth birthday and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

Rear-facing until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Rear-facing until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Rear-facing until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Leaving rear-facing
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

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 W.S. 31-5-1303; the section requires any child safety restraint system meeting 49 C.F.R. 571.213 for a child who has not reached his ninth birthday 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 W.S. 31-5-1303; the section requires any child safety restraint system meeting 49 C.F.R. 571.213 for a child who has not reached his ninth birthday and names no rear-facing or harness stage.

Harness until age
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Harness until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Harness until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Leaving the harness
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

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

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall operate a passenger vehicle in this state unless each child who is a passenger in that vehicle and who has not reached his ninth birthday is properly secured in a child safety restraint system in a seat of the vehicle other than the front seat, except if the vehicle is only equipped with one (1) row of seats, or if all safety belts in the rows of seats behind the front seat are in use by other child passengers in the vehicle, the child may be properly secured in a child safety restraint system in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, except that a rear-facing infant seat shall not be placed in front of an active airbag.

W.S. 31-5-1303(a). The statute does not name booster seats; it requires any child safety restraint system, and these booster fields record when that requirement ends.

What the law sets

Booster required by law
Yes

Any child safety restraint system meeting 49 C.F.R. 571.213 satisfies W.S. 31-5-1303(a); a booster is not specifically required.

Booster until age
9 years

The requirement runs until the child's ninth birthday.

Booster until weight
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Booster until height
Not addressed in statute

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303.

Leaving the booster
Meeting any one listed limit is enough

Age is the only limit, but under W.S. 31-5-1303(b)(vii) a child needs no restraint once the lap and shoulder belts fit properly across the collarbone, chest and hips and pose no danger to the neck, face or abdomen.

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

Each driver and passenger of a motor vehicle operated in this state shall wear, and each driver of a motor vehicle shall require that a passenger under twelve (12) years of age shall wear, a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt when the motor vehicle is in motion on public streets and highways.

W.S. 31-5-1402(a). A child who has reached nine, or for whom the belts already fit properly under W.S. 31-5-1303(b)(vii), uses the safety belt.

What the law sets

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

Not set in W.S. 31-5-1303; the alternative to age is the fit test in W.S. 31-5-1303(b)(vii), which uses no number.

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
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall operate a passenger vehicle in this state unless each child who is a passenger in that vehicle and who has not reached his ninth birthday is properly secured in a child safety restraint system in a seat of the vehicle other than the front seat, except if the vehicle is only equipped with one (1) row of seats, or if all safety belts in the rows of seats behind the front seat are in use by other child passengers in the vehicle, the child may be properly secured in a child safety restraint system in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, except that a rear-facing infant seat shall not be placed in front of an active airbag.

W.S. 31-5-1303(a).

Minimum age for the front seat
9 years

A child under nine rides in a seat other than the front seat, with the exceptions in the same subsection.

Conditions
A child under nine may ride in the front passenger seat only if the vehicle has one row of seats or all rear safety belts are in use by other child passengers, and a rear-facing infant seat may never be placed in front of an active airbag.

Penalties

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

First offense — fine
Up to $50

W.S. 31-5-1304(a): a citation and a fine of not more than $50 for the first offense.

Repeat offense — fine
Up to $100

W.S. 31-5-1304(a): for a second or subsequent violation, a fine of not more than $100.

License points
None

W.S. 31-5-1304 sets only a fine, and Title 31 contains no license point schedule.

Fine waiver
The court shall waive the first-offense fine on proof that the offender, after the offense, purchased, leased or otherwise acquired a conforming child safety restraint system (W.S. 31-5-1304(a)).

Exemptions

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

Taxis
Not addressed in statute

W.S. 31-5-1303 and the definitions in W.S. 31-5-1302 do not address taxis or vehicles for hire.

Rideshare (Uber, Lyft)
Not addressed in statute

W.S. 31-5-1303 does not address transportation network companies.

Buses
Exempt

W.S. 31-5-1302(a)(v) defines "passenger vehicle" to exclude school buses and buses or other vehicles designed and used for public transportation that were not equipped with safety belts at the time of manufacture; emergency and law enforcement vehicles are excluded too.

Medical exemption
Exempt

W.S. 31-5-1303(b)(i): no restraint is required when a licensed physician has determined that the child's weight or physical or medical condition requires it, and the driver carries the physician's signed statement.

Out-of-state vehicles
Not addressed in statute

W.S. 31-5-1303 does not address nonresident drivers or out-of-state vehicles.

How Wyoming compares

Wyoming is tied for 1st of 47 jurisdictions with a numeric booster age: 5 jurisdictions, including Wyoming, require a booster until age 9.

Compared with Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah, Wyoming differs on: rear-facing rules (from Colorado, Montana, and Nebraska), booster rules (from Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah), and front-seat rules (from Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah).

Law compared with the AAP recommendation

  • Wyoming 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.
  • Wyoming 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.
  • Wyoming law: a booster seat is required until the child reaches age 9. 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.
  • Wyoming law: a child may use the seat belt alone once reaching age 9. 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 Wyoming

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 Wyoming Department of Transportation, Highway Safety Program.

State law

Recommendations

Disclaimer

This page summarizes Wyoming 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 Wyoming Department of Transportation, Highway Safety Program before relying on anything here.