Tools · Car Seat
Florida Car Seat & Booster Checker (2026)
Enter your child's age, height, and weight to see the minimum seat stage Florida law requires and the first-offense fine (No set statutory amount). This is the legal minimum, not best safety practice.
Florida car seat checker
4′9″ = 57 in. Enter only the boxes you have. Florida uses a restraint/booster is required only through age 5; a seat belt is allowed at age 6.
Florida does not legislate rear-facing vs forward-facing by age; it requires a restraint appropriate per the manufacturer's instructions. Best practice from AAP (the pediatricians' association) and NHTSA (the federal highway-safety agency), not Florida law: rear-facing to age 2+, then a harness, then a booster.
Heads up: A 2025–2026 bill (HB 233 / SB 1384) to extend booster use to ages 6–8 died in committee (March 2026). Florida’s age-5 cutoff still stands.
- Child
- Not entered
- Minimum legal stage
- Enter age / height / weight
- Booster-exit rule
- a restraint/booster is required only through age 5; a seat belt is allowed at age 6
- First-offense fine
- No set statutory amount
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.
This shows the minimum legal requirement in Florida, not best safety practice, which is usually stricter, and not legal or safety advice. Always follow your car seat's manufacturer instructions. For the full four-stage rules, front-seat rule, and citation, see the Florida car seat law reference, cited to Fla. Stat. §316.613 (+ §316.614) (last reviewed 2026-07-09).
How Florida car seat law works
Florida has the weakest booster rule of these 15 states, and the plain version is this: the restraint mandate ends at age 6. A child 4–5 may use a booster (or carrier/integrated seat), but at age 6 a plain seat belt is legal. There is no height or weight requirement in §316.613. Florida also does not legislate rear-facing by age, so "rear-facing until 2" is AAP/NHTSA best practice here, not law. Two things people get wrong: a 2025–2026 effort to raise the booster age to 6–8 died in committee, so the age-5 cutoff still applies; and the "fine" is not a fixed dollar figure. The statute makes it a 3-point moving violation (roughly $60 in practice, varying by county), not a set amount. Front-seat placement is a recommendation in Florida, not a law.
This checker shows the Florida minimum legal requirement (not best safety practice, which is usually stricter) and is not legal or safety advice. For the full four-stage rules, front-seat rule, and citation, see the Florida car seat law reference.
Car seat checkers for other states
Same tool, each with its own booster-exit rule.