Car Seat Laws in Oregon: Ages, Fines, and Exemptions

Oregon car seat laws step children through four stages based on age, weight, and height: rear-facing until age two, forward-facing with a harness until at least 40 pounds, a booster seat until the child is either eight years old or four feet nine inches tall, and finally an adult seat belt once it fits properly. The rules live in ORS 811.210 through 811.225, and the driver, not the parent riding along, is the one held responsible for every passenger under 16.¹

Rear-Facing Seats Until Age Two

Children in Oregon must ride in a rear-facing car seat until they turn two. A rear-facing seat may never be placed in front of an active airbag.²

Age two is the legal minimum, not the recommended graduation point. The American Academy of Pediatrics and NHTSA advise keeping a child rear-facing until they outgrow the seat manufacturer’s height and weight limits, which for many convertible seats extends well past a child’s second birthday.³

Forward-Facing Harness Seats

After a child outgrows the rear-facing seat, Oregon requires a forward-facing car seat with a harness until the child weighs at least 40 pounds or reaches the upper weight limit of the specific seat.² OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital notes that children under 40 pounds must ride in a seat with a five-point harness, and the shoulder straps should sit at or above the child’s shoulders when the seat is forward-facing.⁴

Again, the 40-pound mark is the floor. NHTSA recommends keeping children in a harnessed seat as long as possible, up to the manufacturer’s maximum height or weight rating, before moving to a booster.⁵

Booster Seats

Children who weigh more than 40 pounds but stand shorter than four feet nine inches must use a booster seat, or a harnessed car seat rated for their weight, until the vehicle’s adult seat belt fits them properly. The statute also sets an age threshold: children eight or older are not required to use a child safety system, though they still must wear a seat belt.¹

So both age and height matter. A child who turns eight but is still under four feet nine inches is no longer legally required to sit in a booster, but ODOT and safety organizations strongly recommend staying in one until the adult belt fits correctly.⁶ Because kids grow at different rates, many still need a booster somewhere between ages eight and twelve.

When an Adult Seat Belt Fits

A child can move out of a booster once the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly on its own. Oregon and NHTSA describe proper fit the same way:²

The lap belt lies low across the upper thighs, not the stomach.
The shoulder belt lies flat across the collarbone and chest, not across the neck or face.
The child can sit all the way back against the vehicle seat with knees bent comfortably over the edge and feet flat on the floor.
The child can stay in that position for the entire ride.

If any of those conditions fail, the child belongs in a booster regardless of age.

Front Seat and Airbag Rule

Oregon has no law prohibiting children from riding in the front seat.² The one hard rule: a rear-facing car seat may never be installed in a front seating position with an active airbag.⁷ Beyond that, ODOT, NHTSA, and the AAP all recommend keeping children in the back seat through age 12 or 13, because front passenger airbags can cause serious injuries to smaller occupants.⁶

Fines and Who Gets Ticketed

Failing to properly restrain a child passenger is a Class D traffic violation under ORS 811.210.¹ The base fine is $110.⁸ When the state extended the rear-facing requirement to age two in 2017, the maximum fine for noncompliance was set at $250.⁹

The driver receives the ticket. Even if a parent is riding as a passenger, the person behind the wheel is the one legally responsible for making sure any passenger under 16 is properly restrained.¹

Exemptions

Oregon recognizes a narrow set of exceptions to the child restraint rules.

Medical exemptions. Under ORS 811.220, the Department of Transportation can issue a certificate of exemption when a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant provides a signed statement explaining why a restraint would be impractical or harmful due to a medical condition, physical problem, or body size.²
Vehicles without rear shoulder belts. If the rear seating positions have only lap belts, a child over 40 pounds may be secured with a lap belt alone.¹
Taxi drivers. Passengers in taxis, shuttles, limousines, and similar commercial vehicles carrying 15 or fewer people generally must be restrained, but taxi cab drivers themselves are excepted.²

Free Inspections and Low-Cost Seats

A large share of car seats are installed or used incorrectly. One Grants Pass–area program documented a 57% misuse rate among the families it assisted in 2025.¹⁰ Several Oregon programs offer free inspections by certified technicians and reduced-cost seats for families who qualify:

OHSU Doernbecher Tom Sargent Safety Resource Center in Portland offers free inspections and installations on weekdays by appointment, plus monthly Saturday clinics. Call 503-494-3735 or email safety@ohsu.edu.⁴
Randall Children’s Hospital Child Injury Prevention Program in Portland takes appointments on Wednesdays and offers low-cost seats to families receiving SNAP, WIC, TANF, or OHP benefits. Call 503-413-4005.²
Grants Pass Fire Rescue in Josephine County runs an ODOT-funded program offering convertible and combination seats for $30 and booster seats for $10 to families on OHP or WIC, with appointments every other month.¹⁰
Parenting Hub in the Mid-Willamette Valley provides car seats at scheduled clinics for families receiving WIC, SNAP, or TANF, with a $30 co-pay for standard seats and $10 for backless boosters. Call 503-485-3219, ext. 2.¹¹
Umatilla-Morrow Community Head Start serves low-income families in Morrow, Umatilla, and Wallowa counties. Proof of OHP, Oregon Trail Card, WIC, or SSI is required. Call 541-564-6878.¹²

For other locations or scheduling help, the ODOT Transportation Safety Office can be reached at 503-986-4199.²

1
Oregon Public Law. ORS 811.210 — Failure to Properly Use Safety Belts
2
Oregon Department of Transportation. Belts and Seats
3
HealthyChildren.org (AAP). Car Safety Seats — Information for Families
4
OHSU Doernbecher. Car and Street Safety
5
NHTSA. Car Seats and Booster Seats
6
Oregon Department of Transportation. ODOT Car Seat Flyer
7
City of Hermiston Police Department. Police FAQs
8
Oregon Impact. Booster Seats
9
KGW. New Oregon Law Changes Car Seat Requirement for Kids
10
City of Grants Pass. Child Safety Seat Program
11
Parenting Hub. Car Seat Clinics
12
211info. Umatilla-Morrow Community Head Start Car Seat Program