What to Know about Minnesota’s New Child Safety Seat Law

As we get ready to turn the page to another new month on the calendar, things are about to change for Minnesota parents transporting their young children.

August 1, the state's new Child Passenger Safety Law goes into effect, with a few changes to the existing statutes.

The new changes include an additional year of booster seat use, up from age eight to age nine.

The new law also specifies ages for rear and forward-facing car seats, rather than the child's weight.

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The new guidelines include:

Birth to at least two years old:

• Rear-facing in an infant or convertible child safety seat
• At least 2 years old AND has outgrown the rear-facing seat with internal harness by height or weight
• Forward-facing with an internal harness

Four years old AND has outgrown the forward-facing seat with an internal harness by height and weight:

• Ride restrained in a belt-positioning booster seat using the lap belt and shoulder belt

Nine years old or has outgrown the booster seat AND the child can pass the five-step test that demonstrates how the seat belt fits correctly:

• Ride restrained with a lap belt and shoulder belt secured correctly on the vehicle seat.

Children 13 and under:

• Must sit in the back seat if available and properly maintained

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety crashes are a leading cause of injury and death among children. Proper car seat use reduces injuries to our youngest passengers.

In Minnesota crashes from 2019 to 2023, preliminary figures show:

• Of the 12,827 children ages 0-7 properly restrained, 89 percent were not injured. Another 10 percent sustained only minor injuries
• 20 children ages 0-7 were killed in motor vehicles. Of those, only 10 were known to be properly secured
• Of the 81 children (ages 0-7) seriously injured in motor vehicles, only 44 percent were known to be properly secured