When can an infant car seat face forward

Keep your child rear-facing until the seat's rear-facing height or weight limit says stop, not until a birthday.

Interior of a car featuring a child safety seat and illuminated dashboard, captured at night. — Photo: Lee Salem / Pexels

Area: SafetyFrom age 18Time to learn: 30 minutes to install; about 20 minutes for a technician checkPractise in a class

An infant-only car seat never faces forward. A child rides rear-facing, first in an infant seat and then in a convertible seat, until they pass that seat's rear-facing height or weight limit. For most children that happens somewhere between ages 2 and 4.

SafetyYour car seat manual and your vehicle manual take priority over any general advice. Certified child passenger safety technicians (CPSTs in the US, CPSAC-certified technicians in Canada) give hands-on help, often at no cost. If you can, have one check your installation before the baby's first ride.

Why it matters

Rear-facing is the safest position for a young child. Transport Canada and the American Academy of Pediatrics both advise keeping children rear-facing for as long as the seat allows. Car seat use reduces the risk of injury in a crash by 71–82% compared with a seat belt alone, but only if the seat is installed and adjusted correctly. The labels on the seat give its limits and tell you how long it is good for. Most seats expire 6 to 10 years after the date of manufacture.

How to do it

Read the labels on the seat and the manual. Write down the rear-facing height and weight limits, the date of manufacture and the expiry date. In Canada, check that the seat has the National Safety Mark label. It is illegal to use a seat in Canada without one, which rules out seats bought in the US.
Install the seat in the back seat. Never put a rear-facing seat in front of an active front airbag.
With the car on level ground, set the recline to the angle the seat's indicator shows for your child's weight, so your child's head does not fall forward.
Install the seat with either the lower anchors (LATCH in the US, UAS in Canada) or the vehicle seat belt, whichever the manual directs. Then grab the seat at the belt path and push it side to side and front to back. It must not move more than 1 inch (2.5 cm).
Thread the harness through the slots that are at or just below your child's shoulders.
Buckle the harness and tighten it until you cannot pinch any slack in the strap at the collarbone.
Slide the chest clip up to armpit level.
When your child outgrows the rear-facing-only infant seat, move to a convertible seat and keep it rear-facing. Many infant seats fit children up to 22 to 35 lb (10 to 16 kg) and 26 to 35 inches (66 to 89 cm). Many convertible seats allow rear-facing up to 40 to 50 lb (18 to 23 kg).
Turn the seat to face forward only once your child is past the seat's rear-facing height or weight limit. Then use the forward-facing harness and the top tether. Check your state or provincial law as well, but do not turn the seat early just because the law allows it.
Book a check with a certified child passenger safety technician; these checks are often free. In the US, use the 'Find a Tech' search of the National Child Passenger Safety Certification program. In Canada, use the 'Find a Tech' search of the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada (CPSAC).

Common mistakes

Turning the seat to face forward at a birthday or other milestone instead of when the child reaches the seat's rear-facing limit.
Leaving the harness loose or the chest clip down on the belly. You should not be able to pinch any slack, and the clip belongs at armpit level.
Using a seat past its expiry date, a used seat whose history you do not know, or a seat that has been in a crash. Seats usually expire 6 to 10 years after manufacture. If you cannot find an expiry date, check the manual or contact the manufacturer.
Putting a rear-facing seat in the front seat.

You can do this when …the installed seat moves less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) at the belt path, you cannot pinch any slack in the harness, the chest clip sits at armpit level, and you can point to the rear-facing limits and expiry date on the seat's label.

Reading is not training. Practise on a manikin or in a supervised class with the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association, or in Canada with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, St John Ambulance or the Canadian Red Cross.