Who must wear a seat belt, state by state?
Every state’s answer, and the District of Columbia’s, from its own manual or code: 51 have a rule on this, quoted below with where it is written.
Statutes fetched between 7 and 9 October 2026; manuals fetched between 6 September and 4 October 2026. How the answers are made
| State | The rule | Where it is written | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama's safety belt law requires every occupant, regardless of age, to be restrained, and the belt should be drawn snugly across the hip bones. | Alabama Driver Manual, p.30 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Alaska | In Alaska, passengers 18 and older will be issued their own citation for failing to wear a seat belt. | Alaska Driver Manual, p.26 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Arizona | Each front seat occupant of a motor vehicle made after 1972 must have the seat belt properly fastened and adjusted while it moves. | Arizona Driver License Manual and Customer Service Guide, p.21 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Arkansas | Arkansas law makes it illegal to drive, or to ride as a front-seat passenger, without wearing a safety belt. | Arkansas Driver License Study Guide, p.9 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| California | You and your passengers must wear seat belts, and you can get a ticket if you do not. | California Driver’s Handbook, p.65 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Colorado | Colorado law requires a fastened seat belt to be worn in all motor vehicles with a factory-equipped seat belt system while in operation on public roadways, by the driver, front seat passengers and children under 16. | Colorado Driver Handbook, p.3 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Connecticut | In Connecticut it is illegal to drive or to ride as a passenger without wearing a safety belt. | Connecticut Driver's Manual, p.12 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Delaware | (a) (1) The driver of a motor vehicle operated on a street or highway in this State shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt which meets the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. (2) The driver of a motor vehicle shall secure or cause to be secured in a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt system, as defined by the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, each occupant of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle who is 16 years of age or older. | Delaware law, 21 Del. C. § 4802(a) | 7 Oct 2026 |
| District of Columbia | District law requires the driver and all passengers to wear seat belts in passenger cars, trucks, tractors, multi-purpose vehicles or passenger buses. | DC Driver Manual, p.82 | 16 Sep 2026 |
| Florida | Florida law requires all drivers, all front seat passengers, and all passengers under the age of 18 to wear safety belts. | Official Florida Driver License Handbook, p.28 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Georgia | Georgia law requires every front seat occupant of a passenger vehicle to wear a lap and shoulder belt, and requires every occupant under 18 to wear one wherever they are sitting. | Georgia Driver's Manual, p.59 | 18 Sep 2026 |
| Hawaii | In Hawaii, safety belts must be worn at all times when driving or riding in a vehicle. | State of Hawaii Driver’s Manual, p.61 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Idaho | Idaho law requires all occupants to wear safety belts or shoulder straps when riding in a motor vehicle the factory fitted with them. | July 2026 Idaho Driver's Handbook, p.41 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Illinois | Illinois law requires all drivers and passengers aged 8 and older, in the front and back seats, to wear safety belts even in a vehicle with air bags. | Illinois Rules of the Road 2026, p.23 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Indiana | Indiana law requires every person in a moving vehicle that has seat belts to wear one. | Indiana Driver's Manual, p.55 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Iowa | Adults 18 and older must wear a seat belt while riding in the front seats of a vehicle. | Iowa Driver's License Manual, p.35 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Kansas | Kansas law requires that all occupants use safety restraints in passenger vehicles. | Kansas Driving Handbook, p.16 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Kentucky | Kentucky law says a person shall not operate a motor vehicle manufactured after 1981 unless the driver and all passengers are wearing a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt. | Kentucky Driver Manual, p.29 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Louisiana | Louisiana law requires every passenger in both the front and back seats of cars, vans and pickup trucks to be properly buckled. | Class D & E Driver's Guide, p.39 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Maine | In Maine, passengers 18 and older must be properly secured in a seat belt, and so must the operator. | Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.43 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Maryland | By law the driver and all passengers of a motor vehicle must wear a safety belt or be buckled into a child safety seat. | Maryland Driver's Manual, p.52 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Massachusetts | Massachusetts law requires every person in a passenger vehicle to wear a safety belt or sit in a child passenger restraint. | Massachusetts Driver's Manual, p.35 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Michigan | Michigan law requires the driver and all front seat passengers to be buckled up. | What Every Driver Must Know, p.25 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Minnesota | The driver and every passenger, including those in the back seat, must wear a properly adjusted seat belt. | Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.37 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Mississippi | In Mississippi the driver and all passengers must wear a properly fastened seat belt, in the front seat or the back. | Mississippi Driver's License Manual, p.64 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Missouri | Missouri law requires the operator and the front seat occupants of all passenger vehicles to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt. | Missouri Driver Guide, p.55 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Montana | No one may drive a motor vehicle in Montana unless each occupant is wearing a properly adjusted and fastened safety belt. | Montana Driver Manual, p.19 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Nebraska | Drivers and front seat passengers must ride buckled up in a seat belt or child safety seat, and this includes autocycles. | Nebraska Driver’s Manual, p.26 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Nevada | In Nevada the driver and any passengers age 6 and older must wear safety belts if the vehicle is equipped with them. | Nevada Driver Handbook, p.25 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Hampshire | New Hampshire law requires anyone less than 18 years of age to be properly restrained by a safety belt or secured in a child safety seat. | New Hampshire Driver's Manual, p.12 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Jersey | New Jersey law requires the driver and every passenger of a passenger vehicle to wear a seat belt. | New Jersey Driver Manual, p.40 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| New Mexico | In New Mexico it is illegal to drive without wearing a safety belt. | New Mexico Driver Manual, p.3 | 4 Oct 2026 |
| New York | The driver must be properly restrained by a seat belt and can face a fine of up to $50 if they fail to buckle up. | New York State Driver's Manual, p.48 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| North Carolina | The driver and all passengers in a vehicle made with seat belts must have a seat belt properly fastened at all times when the vehicle is in forward motion on a street or highway. | North Carolina Driver Handbook, p.43 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| North Dakota | North Dakota's seat belt law requires all occupants to wear seat belts in all seating positions. | North Dakota Noncommercial Driver License Manual, p.34 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Ohio | Ohio requires the driver and front-seat occupants of most passenger vehicles to wear safety belts whenever they drive or ride on the state's roads. | Digest of Ohio Motor Vehicle Laws, p.9 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Oklahoma | In Oklahoma, every driver and front-seat passenger must wear a properly adjusted and fastened safety seat belt. | Oklahoma Driver Manual, p.17 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Oregon | Safety belt use is mandatory in Oregon for all drivers and passengers in all available seating positions, and a properly worn belt reduces the chance of injury in a collision. | 2026-2027 Oregon Driver Manual, p.73 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | All drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts, and a passenger aged eight or older but under 18 must wear one wherever they are riding in the vehicle. | PA Driver's Manual, p.89 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Rhode Island | The driver must make sure every passenger 18 or older is wearing a safety belt, in any seat in the car. | Rhode Island Driver’s Manual, p.26 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| South Carolina | The driver and every occupant of a motor vehicle, when it is being operated on the public streets and highways of this State, must wear a fastened safety belt which complies with all provisions of federal law for its use. The driver is charged with the responsibility of requiring each occupant seventeen years of age or younger to wear a safety belt or be secured in a child restraint system as provided in Article 47 of this chapter. However, a driver is not responsible for an occupant seventeen years of age or younger who has a driver's license, special restricted license, or beginner's permit and who is not wearing a seat belt; such occupant is in violation of this article and must be fined in accordance with Section 56-5-6540. | South Carolina law, S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-6520 | 8 Oct 2026 |
| South Dakota | In South Dakota, it is illegal to drive or to be a front-seat passenger without wearing a seat belt. | South Dakota Driver License Manual, p.25 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Tennessee | Safety belts are required for all drivers and all front-seat passengers any time the vehicle is moving. | Tennessee Comprehensive Driver License Manual, p.31 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Texas | The driver and all passengers, whatever their age, must use safety belts if the seat they occupy has one. | Texas Driver Handbook, p.64 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Utah | Everyone in a vehicle in Utah must have a fastened safety belt or a child seat. | Utah Driver Handbook 2026-2027, p.27 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Vermont | The law requires all occupants of a motor vehicle to be restrained with a safety belt, or with a federally approved child passenger restraining system. | 2025 Vermont Driver's Manual, p.62 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Virginia | Under Virginia law the driver and all passengers, front and rear, must wear safety belts. | Virginia Driver's Manual, p.26 | 6 Sep 2026 |
| Washington | Every person in a moving vehicle must wear a seat belt or be securely fastened into an approved child restraint device. | Washington State Driver Guide, p.52 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| West Virginia | (a) A person may not operate a passenger vehicle on a public street or highway of this state unless the person, any passenger in the back seat under 18 years of age, and any passenger in the front seat of the passenger vehicle is restrained by a safety belt meeting applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards. For the purposes of this section, the term “passenger vehicle” means a motor vehicle which is designed for transporting 15 passengers or less, including the driver, except that the term does not include a motorcycle, a trailer, or any motor vehicle which is not required on the date of the enactment of this section under a federal motor vehicle safety standard to be equipped with a belt system. The provisions of this section apply to all passenger vehicles manufactured after January 1, 1967, and being 1968 models and newer. | West Virginia law, W. Va. Code § 17C-15-49(a) | 9 Oct 2026 |
| Wisconsin | Wisconsin law requires that a driver and their passengers wear seat belts at any age. | Wisconsin Motorists' Handbook, p.54 | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Wyoming | Under Wyoming law, a safety belt must be worn by all occupants of the vehicle, including the driver. | Wyoming Rules of the Road Driver License Manual, p.29 | 14 Sep 2026 |
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