Quick answer
California requires children under two to ride rear-facing unless they weigh 40 pounds or more or are 40 inches or taller (Vehicle Code 27360). Children under eight must ride in a car seat or booster in the back seat until they reach 4 feet 9 inches, at which point a seat belt is allowed (Vehicle Code 27363). A first violation carries a $100 fine and later ones $250, before court fees.
California’s car seat law requires every child under eight to ride in the back seat in a child passenger restraint system meeting federal safety standards, and every child under two to ride rear-facing unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. Children eight through fifteen need a restraint system or a safety belt. Those rules come from Vehicle Code sections 27360, 27360.5 and 27363, and after a crash an insurer will use them to argue about what your child’s injuries are worth.
At B&D Injury Law Group we represent families in California and in Las Vegas, Nevada after serious collisions, including crashes that injure children. Parents usually call asking two things at once: did I do something wrong, and does it hurt my child’s case? Those are separate questions, and we answer both below.
What the California Car Seat Law Requires Right Now
The core requirement is Vehicle Code section 27360. Subdivision (a) says a parent, legal guardian, or driver transporting a child under eight on a highway must properly secure that child in a rear seat in an appropriate child passenger restraint system meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards. Subdivision (b) adds the rear-facing rule for children under two, with the 40-pound and 40-inch exception, and requires the child be secured within the seat manufacturer’s height and weight limits.
Section 27360.5 covers a child eight or older but under sixteen, requiring a restraint system or a safety belt meeting federal standards; at sixteen a passenger moves under the general seat belt statute, section 27315. The California Highway Patrol puts it this way on its child safety seat page: children who are eight or who have reached four feet nine inches may use a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.
Section 27363 holds the exceptions. Subdivision (d) lets a child under eight who is four feet nine inches or taller use a safety belt instead, the source of the familiar 4’9” figure. Subdivision (e) lists the only situations in which a child under eight may ride up front: no rear seat, side-facing or rear-facing rear seats, a restraint that cannot be installed properly in back, rear seats already filled by children seven or under, or medical necessity. Subdivision (f) is absolute: never a rear-facing restraint in front of an active frontal passenger airbag.
| Child | What California law requires | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 years old | Rear-facing restraint, unless the child weighs 40+ pounds or is 40+ inches tall | CVC § 27360(b) |
| Under 8 years old | Rear seat, in a child passenger restraint system meeting federal safety standards | CVC § 27360(a) |
| Under 8 but 4’9” or taller | May use a safety belt instead of a restraint system | CVC § 27363(d) |
| 8 through 15 years old | Restraint system or safety belt meeting federal safety standards | CVC § 27360.5(a) |
| 16 and older | California’s general seat belt law | CVC § 27315 |
Sections 27360.5 and 27363 each carry their own repeal date and remain in effect only until January 1, 2027, when amended versions replace them. Section 27360 has no such date.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that car seats, when installed correctly, can reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that booster seats cut the risk of serious injury by 45 percent for children ages four through eight, compared with seat belts alone.
Who the Statute Holds Responsible: the Driver, the Parent, or Both
Both statutes name the same three people (a parent, legal guardian, or driver), which is why a grandparent, a nanny, or a rideshare driver can be cited for a child who is not properly secured. But there is a carve-out. Section 27360(c) provides that the section does not apply to a driver if the child’s parent or legal guardian is a passenger in the vehicle, and 27360.5(b) says the same for ages eight through fifteen. Ride along with your own child in someone else’s car and the responsibility for restraining that child sits with you. Enforcement is direct: section 27361 lets an officer who suspects a violation stop the vehicle, and section 27360.6 sets the fine at $100 for a first conviction, $250 for a later one.
How a Restraint Violation Affects a California Injury Claim
Here is the part most parents are relieved to hear: California is a pure comparative fault state under Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. Fault is apportioned by percentage and reduces recovery proportionally; it does not extinguish a claim. The fight is over the size of the recovery.
A restraint argument also has to be proved. California’s pattern instruction on the seat belt defense, CACI No. 712, puts the burden on the defendant to show four things: a working seat belt was available, a reasonably careful person would have used it, the plaintiff did not, and the injuries would have been less severe if they had. Housley v. Godinez (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 737 approved a seat belt instruction under which the jury determines, with expert testimony, what injuries would have resulted had the belt been used. That last element is where these defenses often fail.
The statutory picture is uneven. For occupants sixteen and older, Vehicle Code section 27315(i) provides that a violation does not establish negligence as a matter of law or negligence per se for comparative fault purposes, though negligence may be proven as a fact. Sections 27360 and 27360.5 contain no equivalent sentence. That silence leaves room to argue negligence per se under Evidence Code section 669, which presumes a failure to use due care where a statutory violation proximately caused an injury of the kind the statute was meant to prevent, to a person in the class it protects. The commentary to CACI No. 712 notes that no case law has been found on whether a person under sixteen can be comparatively negligent for seat belt nonuse. This is genuinely unsettled ground, and how it plays out turns on the child’s age, who was driving, which restraint was used, and what the medical and engineering evidence shows. No blog post can responsibly hand you a clean answer here.
When the Car Seat Itself Is the Defect
Sometimes the restraint was used correctly and the seat still failed: a harness that released, a shell that fractured, a base that separated from its anchors. That is a product liability case, on a different theory. Under Greenman v. Yuba Power Products, Inc. (1963) 59 Cal.2d 57, a manufacturer is strictly liable in tort when an article it places on the market, knowing it will be used without inspection for defects, proves to have a defect that causes injury to a human being. You prove defect and causation, not fault.
California polices the supply side too. Vehicle Code section 27362 makes it a misdemeanor to sell or install a child restraint that did not conform to all applicable federal safety standards on its date of manufacture, punishable on a first conviction by up to $400 or 90 days in county jail.
If you suspect the seat, keep it. Do not return it to the manufacturer, hand it to the insurer, or throw it out with the wreckage. Photograph it in place, record the model and date of manufacture from the label, and check that model against NHTSA’s recall listings. Without the seat, the claim is usually untestable.
The Rules That Make a Child’s Claim Different
Two procedural rules apply to every injured child in California. The first is the deadline. Code of Civil Procedure section 352(a) provides that if the person entitled to bring an action was under the age of majority when the cause of action accrued, the time of that disability is not part of the time limited for commencing the action. With the two-year period in section 335.1, the clock on your child’s own claim generally starts at the eighteenth birthday. That is no reason to wait, and it does not cover everything: a claim against a public entity runs on the separate six-month deadline in Government Code section 911.2.
The second is that a child cannot simply settle. With a lawsuit pending, Code of Civil Procedure section 372(a)(3) lets a guardian ad litem compromise the claim only with the court’s approval. Without a lawsuit, Probate Code section 3500 requires the same superior court approval by petition, filed on Judicial Council form MC-350 (or MC-350EX for expedited requests). Money is then handled under Probate Code section 3600 and following, which is how funds reach a blocked account or a structured settlement.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age can my child stop using a booster seat in California?
California ties the transition to age and height, not to one birthday. Section 27360 requires a restraint system in the rear seat until age eight, and section 27363(d) lets a child under eight who is four feet nine inches or taller use a safety belt instead. From eight through fifteen, section 27360.5 allows either.
My child was hurt in someone else’s car. Who was responsible for the car seat?
Section 27360 places the duty on a parent, legal guardian, or driver, so the driver is ordinarily responsible for a child under eight in their vehicle. But subdivision (c) removes that duty if the child’s parent or legal guardian is a passenger in the same car, and section 27360.5(b) does the same for ages eight through fifteen. Who was riding along changes the answer.
Can an insurer deny my child’s claim because the car seat was installed wrong?
It can raise the issue, but under California’s pure comparative fault rule a restraint argument reduces damages rather than barring the claim. CACI No. 712 requires the defense to prove a restraint was available, that a reasonably careful person would have used it, that it was not used, and that the injuries would have been less severe. That last point takes expert testimony.
How long does my child have to bring a car accident claim in California?
Code of Civil Procedure section 352(a) does not count the period of minority against the limitations period, so a child’s two-year period under section 335.1 generally begins at the eighteenth birthday. One caution: claims against public entities run on the six-month deadline in Government Code section 911.2.
Do we need a judge to approve our child’s settlement?
Yes. With a lawsuit on file, Code of Civil Procedure section 372(a)(3) requires court approval of any compromise of a minor’s claim. With no suit filed, Probate Code section 3500 requires approval by petition, and funds are disbursed under Probate Code section 3600 and following.
If your child was hurt in a crash, the restraint question is one piece of a larger case, not the piece that decides whether you have a claim. We handle California car accident claims, product liability claims, and catastrophic injury cases involving children. To have someone review the report, the seat and the records before you speak to an adjuster, contact us or call (888) 977-2238.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. If you have been injured, speak with a licensed attorney about your specific situation.