How old before a child can ride in front seat

When Can a Child Sit in the Front Seat: By Height and Age

Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M.D. — By Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA on July 23, 2018

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Birth to age 2

Children should ride in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible, usually until they’re at least 2 or until they reach the upper weight limit, which is 40 pounds or more.

Shop for a rear-facing car seat here.

This type of car seat cushions a child’s delicate neck and spinal cord. If you start with an infant carrier, change to a convertible car seat when they outgrow it, but leave the car seat rear-facing.

Ages 2 to 8 (or older)

Children should ride in a forward-facing seat for as long as possible until they reach the upper height or weight limit of their seat. Buy one online.

This car seat protects against forward movement should a crash occur. The seat should have the weight and height limits listed. Usually, the maximum weight limit is between 40 and 65 pounds.

Ages 8 to 12

When a child has outgrown the weight and height limits for a forward-facing seat, they’ll need a belt-positioning booster seat. Shop for one now.

This helps a child sit at the safest angle and height to prevent injuries in a car accident.

Children will usually stay in this booster seat until they’re over 4 feet, 9 inches tall. This booster seat ensures the seat belt fits over the strongest parts of a child’s body so they’re less likely to be injured in a crash.

Children older than 13

While teenagers can ride in the front seat, they should always wear their seat belts.

At each stage, a car seat or booster is intended to position a child at the safest and most secure angle to protect them against impact and car accidents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the lives of 248 children under 5 years old were saved by car seats in 2015.

The bottom line

Even low-impact crashes when a young person is in the front seat can cause significant damage if a child isn’t big or old enough to sit in the front seat. As a result, it’s important for caregivers and parents to practice strict rules for car safety each and every time.

Many local fire departments, hospitals, and other community organizations offer car seat installation and inspection stations. Parents can find these by visiting or calling the following resources:

Call 1-866-SEATCHECK (866-732-8243)
Visit SeatCheck.org from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to register a child’s car seat and receive safety updates. They also offer a map of car seat inspection locations.

In addition, parents should model good driving behavior. Always buckle up so your children will when they start driving on their own.

Last medically reviewed on July 23, 2018

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How we reviewed this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

AAP updates recommendations on car seats for children. (2018).
aap. org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Updates-Recommendations-on-Car-Seats-for-Children.aspx
Air bags: Not for children. (n.d.).
stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=air-bags-and-kids-1-986
Car seats and booster seats. (n.d.).
nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats
Child passenger safety. (2018).
cdc.gov/features/passengersafety/index.html
Durbin DR, et al. (2018). Child passenger safety.
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/5/e20182460

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

Jul 23, 2018

Written By

Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA

Edited By

Nizam Khan (TechSpace)

Medically Reviewed By

Karen Richardson Gill, MD

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When Can Kids Sit in the Front Seat

Age 13. Bam. Done!

The child in the photo below is too young to sit in the front seat. He would be safer to be in a booster seat in the back seat of the car. It is safest — and best practice — for children to not sit in the front seat until they are 13 years old.

The Centers for Disease Control, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and, most likely, even your air bag and car manufacturer recommend keeping children under age 13 in the back seat.

I say “most likely” your car manufacturer because I haven’t personally checked the passenger visors in every car to see if they ALL have a warning label like those shown here.

Not everyone follows this recommendation

We notice a lot of children who are obviously not 13 sitting in the front seat. This is especially noticeable during our elementary school drop off and pick up.

When the child is so short you can just see the top of his head over the dash in the front seat, not only should he still be in the back seat but he should also in a seat belt positioner.

We get it. It’s hard. Even though we told our 11-year-old he’ll need to wait until 13, he still asks to sit up front. And I know some of his friend’s parents allow their children to sit in the front. Most of his friends are allowed to.

As a matter of fact, nine out of 10 parents allow their children to use the vehicle seat belt before they can properly pass the 5-step seat belt fit test. So it’s no surprise they also allow their child to sit in the front seat before the recommended age of 13.

And while some states do have laws which require children to sit in the back seat, most do not. Of those that do, many only go up to age 8.

Which states have laws about when can children sit in the front seat?

California, Georgia, Hawaii, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Tennessee laws require children to be in the rear seat properly restrained until age 8.

Delaware law doesn’t allow children to sit in the front seat until they are 12 years old or 65″ tall.

Maine law doesn’t allow children to sit in the front seat until the child is age 12 or 100 pounds.

Washington law doesn’t allow children to sit in the front seat of the car until age 13.

Puerto Rico law requires children to remain in the back seat of the car until age 12.

(We now have this bit of info included in our list of state car seat laws.)

Once again occupant restraint laws are commonly the minimum standard to follow as they are typically a compromise between “best practice” and what lawmakers think their constituents will tolerate.

Why is it important to follow the recommendation?

We often hear, “but I sat up front and I’m fine.” That’s true. Most of us adults did sit in the front seat when we were children. Some of us adults sat in all kinds of places that would be considered compromising to our safety these days. For instance, because of lack of seating, I often was squished into the hatchback of my mom’s Mazda RX-7 while my brother, only 2 years older, was in the front seat. And Greg often shared the cargo space of their station wagon with one of his 8 siblings.

A lot of things have changed since then such as the number of cars on the road, the speed at which they travel, an increase in miles driven per family and increase availability of passenger air bags. Most importantly what has changed is our knowledge of crash dynamics and occupant safety.

3 reasons to wait for a child to sit in the front seat

1. Location, location, location. The back seat is the safest place for your children — actually safer for everyone regardless of age, height or weight — because most crashes occur in the front of the car and the back seat is farthest from this impact. So in general there is a lower risk of injury for back seat passengers.

2. Air bags are designed for a 140-pound man wearing a seat belt. (I know fellow women under 140 pounds, we don’t fit the ideal range either, kind of like seat belts are not designed for women — much less pregnant women. But what are car manufacturers to do? They have to use some average.)

Airbags are not designed for children who are much lighter and smaller. As such airbags can cause serious injury to children below the height requirement by hitting them in the face, chest, neck or head at speeds of between 90 to 210 miles per hour.

Nationwide, more than 100 children have been killed by air bags in recent years. And many of these deaths were in slow-speed collisions that should have been minor.

Download our cheat sheet to learn the 4+ stages of car seats and which one your child is in.

Also older children are more likely to have the maturity to stay sitting properly and keep their body out of the deployment zone of the airbag. When properly seated and wearing their seat belts, teens are generally big enough for the air bag to be of some benefit.

3. Bone development. Kids may be as big as adults on the outside but their skeletal system is still developing. Bones develop strength with age, not size.

According to a study in Paediatr Child Health, children who are 12 years old or younger have iliac crests that are less developed than those of adults. (The iliac crest is the part of the hip bone which keeps the seat belt properly positioned on the hips.) This can allow the seat belt to ride up over the abdomen, causing seat belt syndrome.

Children do not have fully developed breast bones or sternum, yet. While this may not fully develop until a few years later, waiting until at least 13 gives it more time to get stronger. Without a mature skeletal system, a child in at increased risk of injury, especially if the child is also in the deployment zone of an airbag.

Are there any exceptions to the rule?

Generally speaking you can have a child sit in the front seat if all the rear seats are occupied by other children. For example — and much to my dismay — Grandma’s car only has two seat belts in the back seat so my 11-year-old gets to set up front when she drives all 3 of our children. He, of course, is super happy about this. Luckily he 5-stepped some time ago and is mere inches from my height.

Other exceptions may be if your car has no back seat or if your back seat has lap-only belts and no shoulder restraints and your child rides in a booster, he’s safer in the front seat properly secured in a booster than in the back not in a booster.

If you do end up with a child in the front seat, turn the airbag off or take it to the dealership to have them disable it. Some vehicles have “smart” airbags which can detect the weight in the front seat and automatically turn off if the weight is low enough to not trigger it. Also push the front seat back as far as possible, especially if you cannot turn off the airbag.

In the end, you are the parent. You can make the choice to tell your child safety trumps their being “cool”.

By Amie Durocher, Creative Director at Safe Ride 4 Kids and certified CPS Tech since 2004

Copyright 2021 Safe Ride 4 Kids. All rights reserved. You may not publish, broadcast, rewrite or redistribute this material without permission. You are welcome to link to Safe Ride 4 Kids or share on social media.

We originally published this post in August 2017. We updated the article for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

At what age can a child be transported in the front seat?

At what age can a child be transported in the front seat?

Many, even experienced drivers, cannot give an exact answer as to whether children are allowed to be transported in a vehicle in the front passenger seat. In this article, we will consider the rules for transporting children in the front seat in accordance with traffic rules. Is it even possible to transport a child in the front seat of a car?

Contrary to the opinion of most motorists who believe that children are only allowed to be transported in the back seat, the SDA states that children are allowed to be transported both in the back and in the front seat. Only the transportation rules themselves depend on the age of the child. The SDA does not provide for a minimum age from which it is allowed to carry children in the front seat, however, if the child is under 12 years old, then a special child car seat is required. Thus, in legal terms, children can be transported in the front seat from the moment they are born.

For better understanding, we will conditionally divide children into two groups - from birth to 3 years old, and children over 3 years old. What are the differences in their transportation? Let's figure it out.

See catalog of group 0+ seats

Children from birth are transported in group 0+ car seats. The installation of a seat of this group on the front seat is carried out only against the direction of travel, fastening is carried out with a regular car seat belt. When transporting newborns in an infant carrier in the front seat mandatory the passenger airbag must be deactivated. This is explained quite simply - in an emergency, when the airbag is triggered, the chair can be thrown towards the passenger compartment and damage the child who is in it.

The second variation of the infant car seat is Group 1, for children from 9 months to 4 years of age. In this case, there are two variations - movement against the course and along the course of the car. As long as the child moves against the direction of travel, the same rules apply as for group 0+, and when the child sits down already in the direction of travel, the airbag can no longer be turned off. One of the best group 1 seats to use in the front seat - Britax-Roemer King II .

Well, in conclusion, let's consider the possibility of installing a car seat for children over 3 years old on the front seat, this is group 2/3.

See the catalog of group 2/3 seats

In the older group 2/3, transporting children in the front seat of a car is quite simple. The child car seat is installed in the direction of travel, and together with the child, it is held by the standard car belt. There is no need to deactivate the passenger airbag during this transportation.

As a result, we can conclude that, if necessary, you can transport your child in the front seat of the car, right from his birth. But, for this, a number of conditions must be observed - your seat must be suitable for such transportation, and when installing the seat against the direction of the vehicle, the passenger airbag must be turned off.

Safe travels!

When children can ride in the front seat of a car: age limit

When can a child be placed in the front seat?

Although the Federal Highway Traffic Safety Act has long since been amended to regulate the rules for transporting children in automobiles, many still do not know when children can be put in the front passenger seat of a car. If you want a quick and easy answer, let's just say that you can transport a child in the front seat without restraints or in a child seat from the age of 12. Naturally, the child must be fastened with a seat belt.

This norm is regulated by the Rules of the Road (clause 22.9 of the SDA of the Russian Federation):

Clause 22.9. Transportation of children under 7 years of age in a passenger car and a truck cab designed with seat belts or seat belts and an ISOFIX child restraint system <*> must be carried using child restraint systems (devices) that comply with weight and height of the child.

Transportation of children aged from 7 to 11 years old (inclusive !!!) in a passenger car and the cab of a truck, the design of which provides for seat belts or seat belts and an ISOFIX child restraint system, must be carried out using child restraint systems ( devices) corresponding to the weight and height of the child, or using seat belts , and in the front seat of a car - only using child restraint systems (devices) appropriate for the weight and height of the child .

The installation of child restraint systems (devices) in a car and a truck cab and placement of children in them must be carried out in accordance with the instruction manual for these systems (devices).

Here is a simple chart to help you determine if you can transport a child without a front seat, and to help you understand when you are required to use a child seat or other child restraint in your car. devices, and in which cases this can be done at will, but not necessarily by law, regardless of which seat the child is sitting in (front or rear):

See also

7 Errors when transporting children in the car

The front seat (passenger car)

If a child is from 0 to 7 years old, in the front seat you can only transport the child in a child seat or other restraint.
If the child is between the ages of 7 and 11 (inclusive), the front seat can also only be carried in a child seat.
If your child is 12 years of age or older , starting on their 12th birthday, you may carry your child in the front passenger seat without using a child restraint.

Rear seat (passenger car)

If the child is between 0 and 7 years old, you can only transport the child in the rear seat in a child seat or other restraint.
If the child is between 7 and 11 (inclusive), it can be transported in the back seat of a car with or without a child restraint. When transporting children from 7 to 11 years of age without child seats, they must be fastened with seat belts.
Please note that if the design of the car or the features of the seat device do not provide for seat belts, , according to the current legislation, a child aged 7 to 11 years can be transported not only without a car seat, but also unfastened. But, as you understand, it is very DANGEROUS!

Height and age of the child: both factors affect its safety

But we would not advise you to rush to put your child in the front passenger seat. The reason it's so important to keep our kids in the back seat for as long as possible is because the impact of most car accidents is on the front of the car. Anyone, including adults, is safer in the back seat because they are farther away from impact. Yes, according to statistics, most accidents are associated with a blow to the front of the car.

In addition, the front airbags are designed to protect an adult over 150 cm tall and weighing at least 60-65 kg. If the child is too low, the airbag may hit him in the face or neck; and even if a child is properly buckled in a seatbelt (with an extra seat if necessary), they are more likely than an adult to be injured by an airbag, says car design engineer David Sadakyan. Here's what he told our publication:0007

The danger of transporting even a tall child in the front seat of a car is connected with this. The airbag in an accident deploys very quickly - within 1/20 of a second. At this high speed, the airbag can deploy at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour. This, of course, will lead to the fact that the child will be injured. Moreover, the smaller and lighter the child sitting in the front seat, the more difficult the consequences will be.

Children who sit in the front seat before they get bigger are at risk of head injury due to airbag impact when deployed during an accident. Also, the front passenger airbag in some cases can be dangerous even for those children who are in a child seat. This is why it is so important when transporting a child in a child seat in the front seat that the airbag is deactivated.

Children's skeletal systems are also still developing, which means that even if your 12-year-old is almost as tall as you, his body cannot withstand collisions as effectively as your body. In particular, the bones in a child's hips may not yet be fully developed, which can cause the lap belt to move up onto the abdomen instead of remaining low on the hips, resulting in serious injury in a car collision.