Oregon Seatbelt & Child Seat Laws

Oregon is a primary-enforcement seatbelt state; an officer may stop and cite a driver for a seatbelt violation alone, without any other infraction. The driver is responsible for ensuring all passengers under 16 are properly restrained.

Source: ORS 811.210 (failure to use safety belts, class D traffic violation, primary offense). Handbook p.73 establishes the universal-belt rule but does not name "primary enforcement." · Verified Apr 2026

Safety belt use is mandatory for all drivers and passengers in all available seating positions, front and rear. Slack must not be left in the lap or shoulder portion; the shoulder strap may not be worn under the arm or behind the back.

Source: OR Driver Manual 2026-2027, "Safety Belts," p.73: "Safety belt use is mandatory in Oregon for all drivers and passengers in all available seating positions." ORS 811.210. · Verified Apr 2026

Child passengers must be restrained in an approved child safety seat or booster until they are **8 years of age** or at least **4 feet 9 inches** in height, and the adult lap and shoulder belt fits them correctly. Infants must ride rear-facing until they reach **2 years of age**. Note on the height line: the statute (ORS 811.210) keeps a child who is exactly 4'9" and under 8 in a booster; only a child **taller than** 4 feet 9 inches may move to the adult belt on height alone.

Source: OR Driver Manual 2026-2027, "Safety Belts," p.74: "Child passengers must be restrained in approved child safety seats until they are 8 years of age or at least 4 feet 9 inches in height, and the adult lap and shoulder belt fits them correctly. Infants must ride rear-facing until they reach two years of age." ORS 811.210(2)(a)-(e), https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors811.html · Verified Jul 2026

Oregon's booster-cutoff rule is age + height (**8 years** or **4'9"**), **not weight**. There is no statutory weight at which booster use ends. Weight enters the rule only for the **transition from a full child safety seat to a booster**: a child weighing **40 lbs or less** must ride in a child safety seat; only a child weighing **more than 40 lbs** (and still 4'9" or shorter, under age 8) moves to a booster. A child weighing exactly 40 lbs stays in the child safety seat. The driver manual states only the age/height rule; the 40-lb boundary comes from the statute.

Source: OR Driver Manual 2026-2027, "Safety Belts," p.74 (age/height rule only, no weight cutoff: "Child passengers must be restrained in approved child safety seats until they are 8 years of age or at least 4 feet 9 inches in height"). ORS 811.210(2)(b)-(e): (b) 40 lbs or less = child safety system; (c) more than 40 lbs and 4'9" or shorter = elevating (booster) system, except as provided in subsection (3); (d)-(e) booster use ends by height (taller than 4'9") or age (8+), never by weight. https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors811.html · Verified Jul 2026