We all love to adventure and explore. For those lucky enough to be able to journey abroad with their kids, travel can provide exciting experiences and create cherished memories which last a lifetime.
But, as with any holiday, safety should always be a consideration. If you’re hiring a rental car, or taking your own overseas, brushing up on the local car seat rules is a must. That’s especially true in India, where rules regarding car seats are new.
Parents and legal guardians travelling abroad may want to learn more about the laws of the country they’re holidaying in. Thinking about taking a trip with the little ones in the near future? Our comprehensive global map will let you know the child car seat dos and don’ts for everywhere and anywhere you might travel.
Quick Pullouts:
Car seat ages
*Disclaimer*: While the law is different in every country, we encourage all parents and legal guardians to take the necessary steps to keep their children safe when driving. As a rough guideline, that means using the following types of seat:
Babies (0-2) – Rear-facing
Toddlers (3-4) – Forward-facing
Infants (5-8) – Booster seats
Older children (9-12) – Backless booster seats
Understanding different child car seats and their safe usage in India
Now that you know what rules to follow for your destination, it’s time to brush up on which seats are best for your kids. Remember – even in countries where no official laws exist, it’s always smart (and safer) for young kids to be buckled into a child seat during journeys. In this section we’ll look at the different types of seat available, as well as help you brush up on some general safety tips.
As every parent knows, little ones sprout up quickly. And as wonderful as it is to see them grow, that does also mean having to regularly change their car seat. There are four main seat options that parents should know about, depending on your child’s age and size:
Rear-facing car seats
Best for infants during the first few years of their lives, these seats offer protection for a child’s head, back, and spine. It can be attached in either the front passenger seat or rear of your vehicle, and usually work for kids as old as four.
Forward-facing car seats
As they continue to grow, a child can be placed in a forward-facing seat. For this to work, they need to be able to sit tall and straight, without moving. That’s why they’re generally only for toddlers and up. Kids who fit into this range tend to be anywhere from three to six years of age, but the exact specifications will depend on their weight and height.
Booster seats
Next comes the booster seat. These allow for a child to sit in the back of a vehicle, with the booster making it easier for them to be safely attached via the car's actual seat belts. Big kids can sometimes put up a fight when asked to sit in a booster, so try to make it feel like a fun or special chair for them, rather than a chore.
Seat belts
Eventually your child will grow big enough to use a regular seat belt. If you are unsure whether the seat belt fits properly, carry out the full seat belt test to check. The seat belt test, usually called the 5-step test, is a simple way to check whether a child is big enough to ride safely with just the adult seat belt or whether they still need a booster seat. It helps you as a parent or caregiver determine when you can switch your child from a booster seat to a seat belt. If the answer to any of these questions is no, the child still needs a booster seat to position both belts correctly. One useful thing to note is that fit can vary from car to car. A child may pass the test in one car and not in another, or even in one seating position but not another, so it is worth checking each vehicle and seat your child regularly travels in.
Seat belt fit test
Car seat rules in India
India has had national rules aimed at keeping children safer in vehicles for a few years now, covering both cars and two-wheelers, the latter being an especially common sight on Indian roads. The framework comes from Rule 138 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, amended in 2022, along with Section 194B of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, which sets a penalty of ₹1,000 for failing to properly restrain a child.
Rules for regular vehicles
The rules state that all children below a height of 135cm (4ft 5in) must travel in some kind of child restraint, and are not allowed to sit in the front seat of a vehicle.
Children younger than four must travel in either a rear or forward-facing seat. This is determined by the height and weight of the child, so check the specifications on any seat to see if the little one in question is the right size. As a rule of thumb, they shouldn't be able to move around or wiggle out of the seat.
Older children who have outgrown a forward-facing seat but are still under 135cm should travel in a booster seat, placed in the rear of the vehicle. Age is only a loose guide here, as what matters is whether the seat belt sits correctly on the child's body given their height.
Rules for two-wheelers
When riding pillion on a bike, children between roughly nine months and four years old must wear a crash helmet and be secured with a safety harness that keeps them attached to the rider. The rules also cap the speed of a two-wheeler carrying a young child at 40 kmph.
It's worth knowing that these rules are not enforced uniformly across every Indian state. In practice, it's often left to individual state authorities to decide how strictly to penalise drivers who don't comply, and awareness among both parents and officials remains patchy.
Kerala offered a clear example of this. Back in 2024, the state's then transport minister K B Ganesh Kumar publicly stated that the seat rules would not be enforced, pointing to a lack of availability of child seats in the state. While the messaging from official bodies can be confusing, the best advice for parents is simple: always strap your child in properly when travelling.
Type labelling for universal use
Not all seats fit safely into every car or van. Knowing whether or not one will work for yours depends on its label. Here are what the three different types of label mean:
Universal approval | Semi-universal approval | Vehicle-specific approval |
|---|---|---|
Labels that are universal can be used in any car. | If a model is semi-universal, you’ll need to check your car’s manual to see if the seat will fit. | These seats can only be used in certain vehicles. |
These ratings will be easy to spot on the orange label that’s included on any seats. Fingers crossed your seat is universally approved. If it isn’t, you may need to do a little bit of research to see if it’s safe for your car.
India road safety and car seat statistics
The need for laws enforcing the use of child car seats in India has not gone unnoticed by the government. Awareness remains a real barrier, with surveys having found that a majority of Indian parents were unaware that child restraint systems were even an option.
The scale of the problem is stark. India loses nearly 45 children under 18 every single day on its roads, according to a joint roadmap by UNICEF and the NIMHANS WHO Collaborating Centre for Injury Prevention and Safety. Road traffic injuries are in fact the leading cause of death among children and adolescents aged between five and 19 in the country. To put that into context, in Germany just 53 children under 15 died on the roads across the whole of 2024.
Some of the wider figures around child safety in cars make for sobering reading:
Children and adolescents account for around 10 percent of all road crash fatalities in India
More than half of children are not properly restrained by a seatbelt when travelling in a car
The overwhelming majority of parents do not own child helmets for use on a two-wheeler
Despite this, there's real hesitancy around adopting car seats. Cost is a common sticking point, with many parents reluctant to pay for a seat, while a general lack of awareness around correct usage has added to the resistance.
One widely cited estimate suggests that a significant share of child road deaths in India could be prevented through the correct use of child car seats, which would translate to thousands of young lives saved each year. Whichever way the numbers are cut, they underline how much correct child seat usage matters. With laws slowly being enforced and awareness gradually building, these figures could improve in the years ahead.
Child seat safety tips
A child car seat won’t do much good if a little one isn’t properly strapped in. To make sure a seat is protecting a child as it should, keep these handy tips in mind:
Choosing the best seat type
With so many options to choose between, it might be tricky to work out what’s best for your child. Make sure to know their weight and height when looking for one – as well as brushing up the rules of any foreign country you’re visiting.
Watch your child’s positioning
If a child can wiggle around, or doesn’t seem supported in their seat, it could be that they’re too small for it. Also watch for where the seat belt rests on older children. It needs to be across the chest and on the bony part of their shoulders, rather than behind their back or under their arm.
Check expiration dates
Strange as it sounds, child car seats can expire. You can find this date on the orange label that comes with the seat, or in the instruction manual that was in the box with it.
Check online tutorials to be sure
Watching online tutorials explaining how to safely install the seat that you’re using can be a gamechanger. These step-by-step guides can sometimes be easier to understand than a text-heavy manual, as you’ll be able to watch them over and see exactly what the driver in the video is doing. Look for tutorials provided by the manufacturer or reputable sources.
When using the carrier outside the vehicle
Sometimes it’s easier to keep a child in their seat when moving them outside of a vehicle. This is perfectly safe, so long as you keep them securely buckled, never place them on a raised surface (where they could fall), and immediately take your little one out of the seat once it’s safe to do so at your end destination.
Don’t use non-approved accessories
You may find some brands include accessories to make a journey more comfortable for a child. Make sure you’re only attaching any that are officially licensed to be included on your seat. Unlicensed products could malfunction.
If you're planning to get behind the wheel abroad, it's worth doing a little homework first: our guide to driving in Europewalks you through the rules, paperwork and country-specific quirks you'll need to know, while our complete guide to car hire excess insurance helps you make sense of the small print before you pick up the keys. And for keeping restless little ones happy on longer journeys, these road trip games should buy you some peace before the inevitable 'are we there yet?'.
FAQs about car seat rules in India and beyond
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