Child Passenger Safety

Contact the Community Services Bureau at 973-627-4900 ext. 2 and request a free child safety seat inspection. Inspections are currently conducted only by appointment.  Night and weekend appointments are available depending on the schedule of the certified officers. All inspections are conducted by members of our department who are certified child passenger safety technicians.

New Jersey's child restraint law is the toughest such law in the nation. Anyone found not to be in compliance with this law's requirements will be subject to a summons, with a fine anywhere between $10.00 and $25.00 for each child who is not properly restrained.

The law requires that all children under the age of eight and weighing less than 80 pounds be strapped in a child safety seat or a booster seat in the back seat of the car. If there is no back seat, or the back seats are already occupied by other children, the child must be retrained in a car seat or booster seat in the front seat of the vehicle. Children between the ages of eight and eighteen are required to wear a seat belt anywhere in the vehicle.

The Options

Infant Seat

  • Use until the child is one year old and at least twenty pounds.
  • Must be installed in a rear-facing position only.
  • Never place in the front seat of a car with a passenger side airbag.

Convertible Child Safety Seat

  • For toddlers age one to about age four and twenty to forty pounds.
  • This seat can be used in a reclining, rear-facing position for infants or in an upright, forward-facing position for toddlers.

Booster Seat

  • For children younger than eight years old, who weigh less than eighty pounds.
  • For example, a seven year old who weighs 82 pounds and an eight year old who weighs 78 pounds both only need to be secured by wearing seat belts. A child who is seven years old and weighs 78 pounds would still be required to be in a booster seat.
  • Child should be at least three or four years old and weigh more than 30 pounds before using a booster seat.

Seatbelts

  • Children who are at least eight years old or over eighty pounds.

Important Safety Tips

  • The safest location to place your child's safety seat is in the center position of the rear seat.
  • Your child's safety seat should not move more than an inch front-to-back or side-to-side at the belt path (position where the seatbelt or latch belt crosses through the seat)
  • Children twelve years old and younger should ride in the back seat whenever possible
  • Child seat harnesses need to be snug, with no more than one adult finger should fit under the harness when it is tightened.
  • Do not allow children to place the shoulder belt behind their backs or under their arms.
  • Your child should not wear any heavy clothing (winter coats, blankets, etc.) between their body and the harness.