Car Seat Installation Inspections

How safe is your child when he or she is in your car? Is your child safety seat installed properly? Get it inspected, for free! You can also order a free video entitled Every child deserves a safe seat from the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau.
Find an inspection station near you:

Child Passenger Safety Tips

The Governor's Highway Safety Bureau has good information in English, Spanish, and Portuguese,

• Infants should remain rear-facing until they are 20 pounds and 1 year.
• To ensure the proper installation of your child safety seat, start by carefully reviewing the manufacturer's instructions for the seat as well as the owner's manual for you vehicle.
• Don't skip a step! Children who outgrow a forward-facing child safety seat (after they are over 40 pounds) need to use a booster seat before they can safely wear an adult safety belt.
• Air bags save lives. However, children 12 and under should ride in the back seat, properly secured in a child safety seat, booster seat, or safety belt, away from air bags. Never place a rear-facing child safety seat in a front passenger seat with an air bag!
• Research shows that when adults buckle up, their young passengers are 50% more likely to be properly restrained.

Summary of Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law

• Children must ride properly secured in child safety seats until they are both 5 years old and weigh over 40 pounds. Children who weigh over 40 pounds, but are under 5 must ride in booster seats.
• Children older than 5 and over 40 pounds must wear a properly secured safety belt. Children under 12 and older must wear a safety belt as required by the Massachusetts Safety Belt Law. This law applies to all adults as well.
• Drivers will be fines $25 for each unrestrained child. A police officer may stop your motor vehicle if a child 12 and under is riding unrestrained.
• This law applies to children in all types of privately-owned vehicles and vehicles for hire, including taxi cabs.