Maryland Car Seat Laws (2026): Ages, Fines & Taxi Rule

Maryland requires a rear-facing seat until age 2, then a child safety seat until a child turns 8 or reaches 4 feet 9 inches, then a seat belt or child safety seat until age 16, under Transportation §22-412.2. A standard violation carries a $50 fine. This reflects the statute's text as of September 2026.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers Maryland state law only, specifically Transportation §22-412.2 and Family Law §5-801. It does not cover local ordinances.

Maryland's rear-facing requirement

Maryland's statute requires that "a person transporting a child under the age of 2 years in a motor vehicle shall secure the child in a rear-facing child safety seat that complies with applicable federal regulations until the child reaches the weight or height limit specified by the manufacturer of the child safety seat." As in several other states, the rear-facing duty can end before age 2 if the seat's own manufacturer limit is reached first.

Maryland's single child safety seat duty (no separate booster stage in the statute)

Maryland's law does not write a separate forward-facing stage and a separate booster stage. Subject to the rear-facing rule above, "a person transporting a child under the age of 8 years in a motor vehicle shall secure the child in a child safety seat in accordance with the child safety seat and vehicle manufacturers' instructions unless the child is 4 feet, 9 inches tall or taller." That single "child safety seat" duty runs from the end of the rear-facing stage until the child turns 8 or reaches 4'9", whichever happens first, with the specific seat type (forward-facing harness or booster) left to the seat and vehicle manufacturers' own instructions rather than a separate statutory age or weight line.

Seat belts for children up to 16

Once the child safety seat duty ends, Transportation §22-412.2(e) still requires that "a person may not transport a child under the age of 16 years unless the child is secured in: (1) A child safety seat in accordance with the child safety seat and vehicle manufacturers' instructions; or (2) A seat belt." A parent or driver can satisfy this stage with either a child safety seat or a properly worn seat belt for any child under 16.

Exemption

Maryland's statute provides one exemption: "if a physician, who is licensed to practice medicine in the state in which the vehicle transporting the child is registered, certifies in writing that use of a child safety seat by a particular child would be impractical due to the child's weight, height, physical unfitness, or other medical reason, there is not a violation of this section." Two further rules apply across the whole section: under subsection (g), a single child safety seat or seat belt "may not be used to restrain, seat, or position more than one individual at a time," and under subsection (h), a violation "is not contributory negligence and may not be admitted as evidence in the trial of any civil action."

Penalty for a Maryland car seat violation

Most violations of Maryland's child safety seat law carry a $50 fine under subsection (k)(1)(i). Subsection (k)(1)(ii) sets a narrower rule: a person who secures a child under 2 "in a child safety seat that is not rear-facing" gets a written warning rather than a fine for a first violation of that specific wrong-orientation scenario. It does not cover a driver who transported an under-2 child with no safety seat at all, which is a standard $50 first offense under (k)(1)(i). A second or later violation of the wrong-orientation rule carries the standard $50 fine.

The $50 fine is not always unavoidable, either. Under subsection (k)(2), a judge may waive it if the person charged did not have a child safety seat at the time of the violation, acquires one before the hearing date, and provides proof of that acquisition to the court.

Maryland's law also states that transporting multiple unrestrained children in the same vehicle at the same time counts as a single violation, not one per child (subsection (j)), and that a violation of this section is expressly not a moving violation and adds no points to a driver's license (subsection (i)).

Unattended children in vehicles

Maryland's unattended-child statute, Family Law §5-801, is not written specifically for vehicles, but it does reach them. It makes it unlawful for "a person charged with the care of a child under the age of 8 years" to allow the child "to be locked or confined in a dwelling, building, enclosure, or motor vehicle" while that person is "absent" and the location is "out of sight" of them, unless "a reliable person who is at least 13 years old remains with the child." A violation is a flat misdemeanor, with a fine not exceeding $500, imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, or both; the statute's own text does not distinguish a first offense from a repeat offense.

Taxi, rideshare, and air bag guidance (agency guidance, not confirmed statutory text)

Maryland's Department of Health publishes guidance through its Kids In Safety Seats (KISS) program addressing questions the statute itself does not answer directly, including that taxis are exempt from the law while rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft are not, and that placing a rear-facing seat in the front passenger seat next to an active air bag that cannot be deactivated is a violation of law. The statute's own text never uses the words "taxi," "rideshare," or "air bag." It does, however, contain a likely statutory root for the taxi position: subsection (c) limits the whole section to a child transported in a vehicle "registered, or of a type capable of being registered, in this State as a: (i) Class A (passenger) vehicle; (ii) Class E (truck) vehicle; or (iii) Class M (multipurpose) vehicle," or an equivalent out-of-state vehicle. If a taxi is registered under a different vehicle class, that registration-class scoping, rather than a taxi-specific exemption, may be why KISS treats taxis as exempt. Readers should still treat the taxi-versus-rideshare distinction and the rear-facing/air bag rule as agency guidance from KISS rather than as confirmed language of the child safety seat statute itself, and verify current KISS materials directly before relying on either claim for a specific situation.

Federal guidance vs. Maryland's legal minimum

Federal law under 49 CFR 571.213 (FMVSS 213) sets crash-test and manufacturing standards a car seat must meet before sale; it does not dictate how a Maryland parent must use the seat day to day. NHTSA's and the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that a child stay rear-facing "as long as possible," up to the seat's own manufacturer limit, is safety guidance layered on top of Maryland's age-2 statutory floor, not a separate legal requirement.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Maryland's car seat law as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer licensed in Maryland for advice about a specific situation.

Related reading: car seat laws by state, Maryland DUI laws, and Maryland window tint laws.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-09-16. Last updated: 2026-09-16.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Maryland require a separate booster seat stage?

Not in the statute's own text. Transportation 22-412.2(d)(1) sets one undifferentiated 'child safety seat' duty for children under 8 (ending early at 4 feet 9 inches), leaving whether that seat is forward-facing or a booster to the seat and vehicle manufacturers' own instructions rather than a separate statutory line.

What is the fine for a car seat violation in Maryland?

Most violations carry a $50 fine. A narrower written-warning rule applies only to a first violation where a child under 2 is secured in a child safety seat that is not rear-facing; a child transported with no seat at all is a standard $50 first offense. A judge may also waive the $50 fine if the driver did not have a child safety seat at the time of the violation, acquires one before the hearing date, and proves that to the court. None of it is a moving violation or adds license points.

Are taxis and rideshare vehicles exempt from Maryland's car seat law?

Maryland's Department of Health KISS program publishes guidance saying taxis are exempt but rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are not. The statute's own text never uses the words taxi, rideshare, or air bag, but subsection (c) limits the section to a child transported in a Class A (passenger), Class E (truck), or Class M (multipurpose) registered vehicle, which may be the statutory mechanism behind the KISS taxi position. Treat the taxi-versus-rideshare distinction as agency guidance rather than confirmed statutory text, and check current KISS materials directly.

Is it illegal to leave a child alone in a car in Maryland?

Yes, for a child under 8. Family Law 5-801 makes it unlawful to leave a child under 8 locked or confined and out of sight in a vehicle (or a dwelling, building, or enclosure) while the caregiver is absent, unless a reliable person at least 13 years old stays with the child. A violation carries up to a $500 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both.

Is a rear-facing seat violation treated differently from other car seat violations in Maryland?

Yes, but only for a specific scenario. A first violation draws a written warning instead of the $50 fine only when a child under 2 is secured in a child safety seat that is not rear-facing, meaning the wrong orientation was used. A driver who transported an under-2 child with no safety seat at all faces the standard $50 first-offense fine, not a warning. A second or later wrong-orientation violation, and any violation of the child safety seat or seat belt stages, carries the standard $50 fine, which a judge may still waive if the driver had no seat, acquires one before the hearing, and proves it to the court.