New HampshireDepartment of JusticeOffice of the Attorney General

Consumer Protection & Antitrust BureauConsumer Sourcebook – Extra Note: Child Restraint Law

It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that all child-passengers are properly restrained.

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New Hampshire law requires that any child under the age of eighteen riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle be secured by either a seat belt or a child safety seat and that any child under the age of seven be secured by an approved child restraint (RSA 265:107-a). It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that all child-passengers are properly restrained. There are only four exceptions to this requirement. Children do not have to be restrained: (1) in taxis and buses, (2) in vehicles manufactured prior to 1968, (3) when they have physical conditions that prevent the use of seat belts or child safety seats, and (4) under certain special-education conditions.

If you fail to have a child passenger "buckle up," you face a first offense fine of $50, and a second offense fine of $100.

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New Hampshire Department of Justice
1 Granite Place South | Concord, NH | 03301
Telephone: 603-271-3658