Tools · Car Seat
Tennessee Car Seat & Booster Checker (2026)
Enter your child's age, height, and weight to see the minimum seat stage Tennessee law requires and the first-offense fine ($50). This is the legal minimum — not best safety practice.
Tennessee car seat checker
4′9″ = 57 in. Enter only the boxes you have. Tennessee uses booster required ages 4–8 while under 4′9″; a child exits at age 9 or once 4′9″ (57″) or taller.
- Child
- Not entered
- Minimum legal stage
- Enter age / height / weight
- Booster-exit rule
- booster required ages 4–8 while under 4′9″; a child exits at age 9 or once 4′9″ (57″) or taller
- First-offense fine
- $50
Plain-language summary, not legal advice.
This shows the minimum legal requirement in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee car seat law reference, cited to Tenn. Code §55-9-602 (last reviewed 2026-07-11).
How Tennessee car seat law works
Tennessee passed the first child-restraint law in the country in 1978, and its current statute (§55-9-602) is unusually specific about each stage. Rear-facing is real law here, not just best practice: a child under 1, or any child 20 lb or less, must ride rear-facing. Ages 1 through 3 (over 20 lb) ride forward-facing, and ages 4 through 8 who are shorter than 4′9″ must use a booster. The booster exit is age or height: a child leaves it at age 9, or earlier if they reach 4′9″. One detail people miss is the rear-seat language: every stage says “in the rear seat if available,” a codified placement preference rather than a hard age cutoff. The driver is on the hook for any child under 16, and a violation carries a $50 fine.
This checker shows the Tennessee 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 Tennessee car seat law reference.
Car seat checkers for other states
Same tool, each with its own booster-exit rule.