New safety standards coming to child car seats

New car seat regulations parents should know about

Parents need to know about new child car seat regulations coming soon.

HOUSTON - Parents need to know about new child car seat regulations coming soon.  New seats will have to meet new federal safety standards to help keep kids safer in crashes.

Nicole Peake, Health Education Specialist with Texas Children's Hospital, showed us what to look for when choosing a child safety seat.

New car seat safety standards

Big picture view:

The new standard, called Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213a, states that all harnessed car seats that carry children under 40 pounds must also hold up in a 30-mile-per-hour side collision test.

Timeline:

This side collision testing is the manufacturer’s responsibility. The deadline for manufacturers to make seats meet these standards was June 30, 2025, but has now been extended to December 5, 2026.  However, Peake says many seats already meet these standards and are being tested for side impact crashes.

What parents should know

What you can do:

Peake says that if parents already own a car seat, there's no need to replace it, as long as it hasn't expired, is correctly installed, and has not been recalled.

Additionally, these new guidelines change the weight guidance for various seats: 

• Infant car seats must now have a maximum weight limit of 30 pounds. 
• Forward-facing car seats must have a minimum weight limit of 26.5 pounds. 
• Booster seats now have a minimum weight limit of 40 pounds.

Texas Children’s Hospital has a dedicated, bilingual phone number parents can call to ensure their child's seat meets standards and is installed properly. Families can call and leave a message to chat with a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician with any questions: (832) 822-2277.  Or parents can make an appointment through this link.