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The 2025 Florida Statutes
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F.S. 316.613316.613 Child restraint requirements.—(1)(a) Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined in this section, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device.1. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat. 2. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used. However, the requirement to use a child restraint device under this subparagraph does not apply when a safety belt is used as required in s. 316.614(4)(a) and the child:a. Is being transported gratuitously by an operator who is not a member of the child’s immediate family; b. Is being transported in a medical emergency situation involving the child; or c. Has a medical condition that necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate documentation from a health care professional. (b) The department shall provide notice of the requirement for child restraint devices, which notice shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle license tag. (2) As used in this section, the term “motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not include:(a) A school bus as defined in s. 316.003. (b) A bus used for the transportation of persons for compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or in conjunction with school activities. (c) A farm tractor or implement of husbandry. (d) A truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds. (e) A motorcycle, a moped, a bicycle, or an electric bicycle. (3) The failure to provide and use a child passenger restraint shall not be considered comparative negligence, nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in the trial of any civil action with regard to negligence. (4) It is the legislative intent that all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, and safety councils, in recognition of the problems with child death and injury from unrestrained occupancy in motor vehicles, conduct a continuing safety and public awareness campaign as to the magnitude of the problem. (5) Any person who violates this section commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318 and shall have 3 points assessed against his or her driver license as set forth in s. 322.27. In lieu of the penalty specified in s. 318.18 and the assessment of points, a person who violates this section may elect, with the court’s approval, to participate in a child restraint safety program approved by the chief judge of the circuit in which the violation occurs, and, upon completing such program, the penalty specified in chapter 318 and associated costs may be waived at the court’s discretion and the assessment of points shall be waived. The child restraint safety program must use a course approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the fee for the course must bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of providing the course. (6) The child restraint requirements imposed by this section do not apply to a chauffeur-driven taxi, limousine, sedan, van, bus, motor coach, or other passenger vehicle if the operator and the motor vehicle are hired and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. It is the obligation and responsibility of the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare as defined in s. 39.01 to comply with the requirements of this section. History.—s. 1, ch. 82-58; s. 1, ch. 86-49; s. 2, ch. 87-200; s. 2, ch. 91-136; s. 28, ch. 94-306; s. 903, ch. 95-148; s. 35, ch. 96-350; s. 56, ch. 99-8; s. 240, ch. 99-248; s. 1, ch. 99-316; s. 18, ch. 2000-313; s. 40, ch. 2005-164; s. 9, ch. 2008-176; s. 14, ch. 2011-66; s. 13, ch. 2012-181; s. 53, ch. 2014-224; s. 1, ch. 2014-226; s. 68, ch. 2016-239; s. 13, ch. 2017-3; s. 13, ch. 2017-150; s. 9, ch. 2020-69.
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Annotations, Discussions, Cases:
Civil Citations / Citable Offenses under S316.613
R or S next to points is Mandatory Revocation or Suspension
S316.613 CHILD RESTRAINT - Infant thru 3 years MUST be in SEPARATE carrier, 4-5 years in carrier/seat belt. Applies to ANY location in vehicle (Driver to be cited) - Points on Drivers License: 3
S316.613 (1)(a) Child Restraint required - Points on Drivers License: 3
Cases Citing Statute 316.613
Total Results: 13
451 So. 2d 447, 1984 Fla. LEXIS 2836
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Apr 12, 1984 | Docket: 1855744
Cited 54 times | Published
requires the use of child restraint devices. § 316.613(1) and (3), Fla. Stat. (1983). Under this section
693 So. 2d 934, 1996 WL 295106
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 27, 1997 | Docket: 1524476
Cited 17 times | Published
82-58, § 1, Laws of Fla. (1982) (codified at § 316.613(1)-(4), Fla.Stat. (1985)), and an administrative
35 So. 3d 666, 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 149, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 302
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 4, 2010 | Docket: 1646266
Cited 14 times | Published
violation is not evidence of negligence, e.g., F.S. 316.613 (1997) (failure to provide and use a child passenger
480 So. 2d 1366, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 81, 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 6033
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 30, 1985 | Docket: 1667306
Cited 10 times | Published
restraining devices be used for infants only. § 316.613, Fla. Stat. (1983). Significantly, in my view
977 So. 2d 648, 2008 WL 397349
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 15, 2008 | Docket: 1529949
Cited 7 times | Published
are called upon to interpret the meaning of section 316.613(3), Florida Statutes (1999), which states that
778 So. 2d 264, 25 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 518, 2000 Fla. LEXIS 1371, 2000 WL 889771
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 6, 2000 | Docket: 1290340
Cited 7 times | Published
violation is not evidence of negligence. E.g., § 316.613, Fla. Stat. (19871997) (failure to provide and
364 F.3d 1276, 63 Fed. R. Serv. 1314, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 5916, 2004 WL 628167
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Filed: Mar 31, 2004 | Docket: 76253
Cited 5 times | Published
court erred when it found that Florida Statute § 316.613(3), which provides that the failure to use a child
529 So. 2d 1145, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 976
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 20, 1988 | Docket: 432431
Cited 4 times | Published
child passenger restraint, as required by Section 316.613(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1985), was negligence
927 So. 2d 1089, 2006 WL 1329522
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 17, 2006 | Docket: 1765353
Cited 1 times | Published
The trial court cited section 316.613 in its written order. Section 316.613 refers to the use of child
540 So. 2d 825, 1989 WL 24051
Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 9, 1989 | Docket: 1294577
Cited 1 times | Published
violation is not evidence of negligence. E.g., § 316.613, Fla. Stat. (1987) (failure to provide and use
201 So. 3d 779, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 14507
District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 28, 2016 | Docket: 60257072
Published
sanitation hazards), § 316.610 (safety of vehicle), § 316.613 (child restraint requirements), and § 316.614
Florida Attorney General Reports | Filed: Nov 23, 2004 | Docket: 3256515
Published
subject to the child restraint requirements in section 316.613, Florida Statutes, and the safety belt requirements
Florida Attorney General Reports | Filed: Aug 1, 2000 | Docket: 3255546
Published
pursuant to s. 316.613, if applicable[.]"
Section 316.613, Florida Statutes, requires specific child
