Car seat safety
2025 Colorado Child Passenger Safety Law Update
In June 2024, Gov. Jared Polis signed HB24-1055, a new bill that updates Colorado’s child passenger safety law that went into effect on January 1, 2025. The updates reflect the latest research-based recommendations on car seats, booster seats, and seat belt use for children.
- Colorado's Child Passenger Safety Law Fact Sheet. (Colorado Department of Transportation website PDF)
Rear-facing car seat
- Required if the child is under 2 years old and under 40 pounds.
- Must go in the back seat if available.
- Can stay rear-facing longer if the car seat allows.
- Forward-facing car seat
Required if the child is:
- Under 2 years old but over 40 pounds, or
- 2-4 years old and over 20 pounds.
- Must go in the back seat if available.
- Can continue past age 4 if the car seat allows.
Forward-facing car seat
Required if child is:
- Under 2 years old but over 40 lbs, or
- 2–4 years old and over 20 pounds.
- Must go in the back seat if available.
- Can continue past age 4 if the car seat allows.
Booster seat
Required for kids 4–9 years old and at least 40 pounds.
- Must go in the back seat if available.
- Can continue past age 9 if needed.
Seat belt
- For kids 9–18 years old.
- Must fit properly in the seat belt.
Learn more
Please visit the Colorado Department of Transportation website to learn more about the Colorado child passenger safety law. Multilingual resources are available.
Three out of four parents mistakenly think their child's in the right car seat. CarSeatsColorado.com provides information about:
- Free car seat checks
- Inspection stations
- Safety recommendations
- Colorado's child passenger safety law
- Car seat fit recommendations (available in English and Spanish)
- Colorado Department of Transportation’s Office of Transportation Safety (CDOT website) provides funding opportunities (CDOT website) each year for local communities to address motor vehicle safety issues.
- Car Seats Colorado website.
- The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Driver Education website includes the Driver Handbook Practice Quiz, a list and map of Colorado driving schools and downloadable copies of the Driver Handbook in English and Spanish, the Commercial Driver License Manual, the Motorcycle Operator's Handbook, and the Parent's Supervised Driving Guide.
- Audiobook versions of the Colorado Driver Manuals are also available:
- CDOT Motor Vehicle Problem Identification Reports. (CDOT website)
- Motor vehicle fatality data (2012 data) by race and ethnicity. (CDOT website)
- Injury in Colorado, 2012-2014. (PDF)
- Colorado Child Fatality Prevention System. (Networking and Information for the Colorado Child Fatality Prevention System's Local and State Teams website)
- NHTSA Car Seats and Booster Seats Information. (NHTSA website)
- The Center for Motor Vehicle Safety. (CMVS) (CDC website).
- National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s Countermeasures That Work. (NHTSA website 2020 PDF).