Author: Shelby Benavidez 

Contributing Attorney: Darla Canon, Attorney Team Lead 

The Basics 

When Can a Child Legally Sit in the Front Seat? 

We have all heard this question hundreds of times before, but the answer isn’t necessarily black and white. Laws vary by state, but most states follow federal recommendations issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), advising that children under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat. However, not all state laws mirror this advice. 

In many jurisdictions, whether or not your child can ride in the front seat isn’t specifically addressed. Instead, the law addresses the proper use of child restraint systems. For instance, infants and toddlers under two years old must typically be secured in rear-facing car seats. Children between the ages of two and four are usually required to use forward-facing car seats, while children aged four to eight, or until they reach certain physical benchmarks, should be placed in booster seats. After reaching about 4 feet 9 inches in height, many states allow children to use an adult seat belt without a booster seat. Whether the child sits in the front or back, they must be properly restrained according to their size and age. 

Legally, then, a child might be permitted to ride in the front seat if the restraint requirements are met, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s advisable. Law enforcement may still issue citations if children are improperly restrained or if sitting in the front seat violates specific vehicle safety provisions, such as airbag regulations. 

What Do I Do If There Is No Backseat for My Child? 

Some vehicles, such as single-cab pickup trucks or two-seater sports cars, have no backseat. In these cases, the front seat may be the only option for transporting a child. In cases like these, children may be permitted to ride in the front seat, but they still need to be restrained in an age- and size-appropriate car seat or booster. 

“If you absolutely cannot put your child in the back seat, move the seat back to the furthest position and make sure that your child is in the appropriate safety seat,” Darla Canon, Daniel Stark attorney, says. “This may mean that your pre-teen needs a booster seat, even if they think they’re too old for it. If you’re not sure, manufacturers usually provide specific guidance in the owner’s manual for these scenarios.” 

While the law may allow children to ride in the front seat under these circumstances, drivers are still responsible for ensuring all safety measures are followed. Any deviation from established safety practices can result in legal penalties or increased liability in the event of a crash. 

Research consistently shows that the backseat provides better protection in the event of a crash, especially from head-on car crashes. In the front seat, children are closer to the dashboard and windshield, increasing the likelihood of impact-related injuries during a crash. Even in relatively low-speed crashes, the risk to a child in the front seat is significantly greater than if they were secured in the backseat. From head and neck trauma to internal injuries, the consequences can be severe. 

“Statistically, the back seat is safer for all ages, but this is especially true for kids,” Canon explains. “The American Acadamy of Pediatrics did a big study where they compared injuries sustained by kids who were in a crash while sitting in the front seat, to kids of similar ages and sizes seated in the back seat. They found that the kids in the front seats had far more traumatic injuries and more fatalities than the group of kids who were in the back seat. Ask any trauma surgeon where their kids sit; they’ll almost certainly say the back seat.” 

Studies by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also show that children are up to 50% less likely to be injured when riding in the backseat compared to the front. The backseat offers more space between the child and any impact zone, and modern vehicles are increasingly designed with advanced rear-seat safety features. 

“The back seat provides an additional buffer zone for additional protection, and back seat passengers are further away from the windshield and the hard dashboard,” Canon adds. 

While many parents may assume that the risk is minimal for short drives or familiar routes, a large portion of car accidents happen close to home during everyday travel. Therefore, it’s critical that safety practices are followed at all times, not just on long trips or highways. 

Safety Risks and Practical Questions 

What Are the Risks of Children Sitting in the Front Seat? 

Having a child sit in the front seat exposes them to multiple safety hazards that are far more serious than those faced by children buckled up in the backseat. One of the biggest concerns is the deployment of the front passenger airbag, which is designed to protect fully grown adults roughly five feet tall and 150 pounds during a crash. Airbags deploy with an immense force of up to 200 miles per hour. For children, especially those under 13, this force can cause serious or fatal injuries.  

A rear-facing car seat in the front is particularly dangerous. In a crash, an airbag striking the back of the car seat can create life-threatening injuries. Even forward-facing children are at risk because their bodies are smaller and more vulnerable to the intense force and trajectory of a deploying airbag. 

“Those front airbags are designed for adults, so when they deploy on children, they can cause very serious injuries,” Canon said. “This is especially true for kids in rear facing car seats, which is why those car seats are strictly prohibited in the front seat when airbags are in play.” 

Another key hazard is improper seatbelt fit. Standard seatbelts are engineered for adults and don’t always align correctly with a child’s small frame. A lap belt may ride up onto a child’s stomach, increasing the risk of internal injuries, while a shoulder belt may cross the neck or face, potentially causing neck or spinal damage. If you were to slam on your brakes or get into a car crash, this misalignment can lead to what’s known as “seat belt syndrome,” which includes injuries to the spine, stomach, and internal organs. 

Can My Child Go in the Front Seat If They Meet One Requirement, but Not the Other? 

So, what happens if your child meets one requirement, but not the other? For example, a child may be five feet tall but weigh significantly less than 150 pounds or weigh 150 pounds but still be under five feet tall. While this can have parents questioning if one is as important as the other, both requirements should be considered together when deciding if a child is ready to ride in the front seat, meaning your child should be roughly five feet tall and weigh around 150 pounds. 

Height and weight are both critical indicators of how well a child will be protected by standard vehicle safety systems. Seat belts, airbags, and seating positions are all engineered around these adult body dimensions. A child who has reached the recommended height of around five feet but is still well under 150 pounds may lack the body mass needed to absorb the force of a crash safely. 

On the flip side, a child who weighs 150 pounds but is still under five feet tall may not have the torso length for the airbag to hit the intended target area of their body. Airbags are designed to deploy in a controlled arc that strikes the chest of an average-sized adult. But if a child’s torso is too short, the airbag may hit their face or neck instead of their chest. A child struck in the face by a deploying airbag may suffer traumatic injuries to the eyes, nose, jaw, or cervical spine. In some cases, the impact can be fatal. 

Safety authorities like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration emphasize the importance of waiting until both height and weight guidelines are met before allowing your child to ride in the front seat. Until then, the backseat remains the safest place, even if your child exceeds one of the milestones. 

If Your Child Meets the Requirements to Ride in the Front Seat 

If your child is reaching these milestones and you’re wondering if they’re ready to graduate to the front seat, have them sit in the parked vehicle and evaluate how the seatbelt fits. The lap belt should lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach, and the shoulder belt should rest comfortably across the chest and shoulder, not the neck or face. If either of these conditions isn’t met, your child is not yet ready for the front seat, regardless of their weight or height. 

Should I Turn the Airbag Off? 

Some parents may consider disabling the front passenger airbag to reduce the risk of their child riding in the front seat. Afterall, most modern vehicles have sensor-based systems that automatically deactivate the airbag if a lightweight passenger is detected. While disabling the airbag could potentially reduce the severity of certain injuries, it doesn’t eliminate the underlying risks of placing a child in the front seat and may introduce further risk. Airbags are designed to cushion the impact of the body against the seat of the car and prevent the passenger from hitting their face against the dashboard or being ejected from the vehicle. Without it, your child’s safety is reliant on their seatbelt alone, which wasn’t designed to fit their body in the front seat. 

“Turning your airbag off is not a great idea,” Canon said. “Generally, airbag injuries are less severe than injuries sustained in the front seats of vehicles with no airbags. They make such a difference in reducing injuries and fatalities that federal law requires manufacturers to install them on all passenger cars.” 

With that being said, if circumstances absolutely require a child to ride in the front, disabling the airbag may be permitted by the vehicle manufacturer. This should only be done after consulting with safety professionals and only when no safer alternative exists. 

What is the Law in Texas? 

Texas Laws on Children in the Front Seat 

“There is no specific Texas law that prohibits kids from riding in the front seat,” Canon said. “But there’s a catch – Texas law does require that all children are secured by the appropriate child safety seat.” 

In Texas, child passenger laws are outlined in Section 545.412 of the Texas Transportation Code. This section highlights that children under eight years of age must be secured in a child safety seat system unless they are taller than 4 feet 9 inches. Once a child exceeds that height or turns eight, they may legally use the vehicle’s seat belt system. 

“You cannot have a rear facing car seat in the front seat if the vehicle has airbags, and doing so could expose you to fines and your child to potentially severe or even injuries in the event of a crash,” Canon said. The only way for a rear-facing car seat to be legally installed in the front seat is if it is a single-cab vehicle with the front passenger airbag disabled. Aside from this, Texas law does not explicitly prohibit any other child from riding in the front seat, but it does require all child passengers to be properly restrained. Some safety seat manufacturers prohibit their seats from being installed in certain areas of the vehicle, and drivers are legally required to follow the manufacturers’ guidelines in Texas. 

“For additional guidance, you can talk to your local police department or reach out to Texas A&M AgriLife,” Canon said. 

Beyond the obvious safety risks, there are hidden legal repercussions of allowing your child to ride in the front seat before they reach the recommended height and weight. Because the law doesn’t necessarily prohibit your child from riding in the front seat, it doesn’t have explicit consequences for doing so. However, parents who fail to properly restrain their child can face fines of up to $250 plus court costs. In the event of a car crash, insurance companies may also reduce or deny coverage if improper restraint results in injuries to your child, even if the crash wasn’t your fault.  

More importantly, failing to follow these safety procedures could cause your child serious injury or even death. In these cases, parents could face civil and criminal charges, including felony child endangerment charges. 

“The weight of knowing that you could have potentially prevented an injury to your child just by having them sit in the back seat is far worse than any fine,” Canon adds.  

Ultimately, the consequences extend far beyond traffic tickets. Failing to follow child safety protocols can open parents up to significant legal and financial liabilities, even if their state laws are less restrictive.  

When In Doubt, Go the Safer Route  

Laws set the minimum standard of acceptable behavior, but responsible parenting often calls for going further. Allowing a child to ride in the front seat for the sake of convenience, entertainment, or habit may not seem like a major decision, but in the event of an accident, it can have life-altering consequences.  

The cultural shift toward safety awareness in parenting means that legal compliance is no longer enough. When deciding where your child should sit, ask not just “Is this legal?” but “Is this the safest choice I can make?” In most cases, that answer points to the back seat.