Car seat stage finder

This tool reads your seat's limits, so it is only as good as the numbers entered. Your seat's manual and label always win, including its rules on head clearance and harness slot height, which this tool cannot see. A certified child passenger safety technician (CPST) can check your install for free.

The four car seat stages

1. Rear-facing

Every baby rides rear-facing from the first ride home. The AAP says to stay rear-facing until your child reaches the highest rear-facing weight or height your seat allows. There is no age at which to turn them: the old "age 2" rule was dropped in 2018. A rear-facing seat spreads crash forces across the whole back and holds the head and neck together.

Rear-facing limits are the number that separates convertible seats. In ourconvertible car seat guide, seven of the thirteen seats go to 50 lb rear-facing and the rest to 40 lb. That gap is about a year of growth for most children. Infant seats top out sooner, usually on height; our infant car seat guide lists each one's limits.

2. Forward-facing with a harness

Once rear-facing limits are outgrown, use a forward-facing seat with a five-point harness for as long as the seat allows. Every seat in our convertible guide harnesses to 65 lb. NHTSA recommends always using the top tether forward-facing, whether the seat is installed with lower anchors or the seat belt.

3. Booster seat

A belt-positioning booster raises a child so the adult belt crosses the strong bones of the hips and chest. Move to one only after the harness is outgrown. Boosters carry their own minimums, commonly 40 lb and at least 4 years old.

4. Seat belt alone

The AAP says the adult belt typically fits at about 4 ft 9 in tall, between 8 and 12 years old, and that most children are 10 to 12. Use the five-step test below in every car, because belt geometry differs between vehicles. Children under 13 ride in the back seat.

The LATCH weight limit

Lower anchors are rated for 65 lb of child and seat combined. The convertibles in our guide weigh 19.5 to 34 lb, so the limit arrives long before the harness limit does. Since February 27, 2014, federal standard FMVSS 213 has required seats to state the maximum child weight for lower-anchor use, and rear-facing label values can be stricter than 65 minus the seat's weight. Graco's Extend2Fit manual, for example, stops LATCH at 45 lb even though the seat rear-faces to 50 lb. Read the label, then switch to a seat belt install when your child passes it.

The five-step seat belt fit test

1. Your child sits all the way back against the vehicle seat.
2. Their knees bend over the edge of the seat without slouching.
3. The lap belt lies low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly.
4. The shoulder belt crosses the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck.
5. They can sit like that for the whole trip.

One "no" means back to the booster. Never tuck the shoulder belt under an arm or behind the back.

State law is a minimum

Every state has a child passenger law, and many lag behind AAP and NHTSA guidance. Following the stages above keeps you inside the law in every state. To check yours, see theIIHS state law table.

Car seat stage questions

Sources: AAP, Car Seats: Information for Families;AAP, Seat Belts for Older Children;NHTSA, Car Seats and Booster Seats;49 CFR 571.213 (FMVSS 213). Seat limits from manufacturer figures in our convertible guide. Checked October 4, 2026. Also see our car seat expiration lookup.