Car seats — Utah Permit Test

Every child aged eight and under must be properly secured in an approved child safety seat unless they are 57 inches tall.

An adult belt across a small child lands on the neck and stomach. The seat lifts them until the belt fits.

All children aged eight and under must be properly secured in an approved child safety seat unless they are 57 inches tall.

A child must ride rear-facing in the back seat until at least two years of age and 30 pounds, or longer if the car seat allows.

A small child’s neck cannot hold their head in a crash. Facing backward spreads the force across the whole back.

Children must be rear-facing in the back seat until at least two years of age and 30 pounds or longer if the car seat allows.

A child must ride forward facing with a harness in the back seat until at least four years of age and 40 pounds, or longer if the car seat allows.

A harness spreads the load over the shoulders and hips. A belt alone has nothing to hold on such a small body.

Children must be forward facing with a harness in the back seat until at least four years of age and 40 pounds, or longer if the car seat allows.

A child of roughly four years and 40 pounds needs a booster seat until the safety belt fits correctly and they are 57 inches tall.

The booster does one job: it raises the child so the adult belt crosses bone instead of throat.

Children from approximately four years of age and 40 pounds need to be in a booster seat until the safety belt fits correctly and they are 57 inches tall.

A child between eight and 12 years old must be properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint device or by a safety belt.

Eight is where the seat stops being required, not where restraint stops. The belt takes over from there.

Children between eight and 12 years old must be properly restrained in an appropriate child restraint device or by a safety belt.

A Utah child 12 years of age and younger should continue to ride in the back seat.

The front seat has an air bag built for an adult. Behind it is the safest place in the car for a child.

Children 12 years of age and younger should continue to ride in the back seat.

A child car seat must be crash-tested and approved for use, and its label shows whether it meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

A seat that has never been crashed in a laboratory is a guess. The label is the only proof anybody has.

Child car seats must be crash-tested to be approved for use. Check the labels on your child’s car seat to be sure it meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

About 500 Utah children under the age of five are injured and as many as 10 are killed each year in motor vehicle crashes.

These are the numbers the car seat rules were written from, and they are all children who were being driven somewhere.

Approximately 500 Utah children under the age of five are injured, and as many as 10 are killed each year in motor vehicle crashes.

Below what height must a Utah child aged eight or under use a child safety seat?

57 inches. An adult belt across a small child lands on the neck and stomach. The seat lifts them until the belt fits. Utah Driver Handbook 2026-2027, p.28: “All children aged eight and under must be properly secured in an approved child safety seat unless they are 57 inches tall.”