How Long Are Car Seats Good For?

All car seats, ranging from infant to toddler booster seats, come with an expiration date. But where can you find this information, and what should you do once the car seat does expire? Our expert team has tested car seats, done the research, and provided all the need-to-know facts in this comprehensive guide.

Safety should always be your primary concern when looking at new or used car seats. Buying second-hand can save a lot of money, but you need to know when the car seat was manufactured and if its expiration date is approaching, as well as whether the seat has been in any accidents.

When you’re considering any car seat, safety should be the top priority. Experts and researchers in the automotive industry are responsible for putting car seats through rigorous testing and multiple stages of approval before these products are released on the market for the public.

Beyond manufacturing and testing, a 2020 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that 46 percent of car seats weren’t installed correctly in vehicles. This puts young children at risk for serious injury during auto accidents. Safe Kids Worldwide, a nonprofit that aims to prevent injuries in children, reported in 2017 that one child under the age of 13 is involved in a car accident every 33 seconds. That’s equivalent to more than 2,600 children being involved in a car crash each day.

Understanding how to purchase and properly install any type of child car seat could prevent unnecessary endangerment. It should be noted that every new car seat comes with an instruction manual that covers how to install it, but these guides aren’t always as clear as possible. Both the NHTSA and Safe Kids have their own car seat installation guides with common mistakes and issues to look out for.

To know if your seat is expired or not, you need to check the car seat’s expiration date, which usually shows the month and year of expiration. Regardless of the type of car seat, both the date of manufacture and expiration date are generally found on the bottom of the seat, either on a sticker or engraved in the plastic frame of the car seat.

If you happened to purchase separate pieces, like a different base for easier installation into your vehicle, the expiration dates might differ even if you bought them around the same time. If you do have different pieces or bought replacement parts, be sure to check those expiration dates.

As a general rule of thumb, car seats have a lifespan of about six to ten years before expiring, depending on the car seat material. Plastic car seats expire a lot faster than ones made of metal. This is especially useful to know if you are expecting another child and plan to hold onto your previously used car seats or are buying a second-hand car seat from an online seller.

An expired seat is likely not going to be in good condition and will show wear and tear that may cause safety concerns or hazards for your child. Expired seats are also behind on frequent changes from top car seat companies including Britax, Graco, Chicco, and other retailers in the industry. Car seat manufacturers are always evolving to fit new vehicle designs, regulations, safety technology, and other aspects that come with producing newer and safer baby gear. For these reasons, you should never use an expired car seat.

Another key piece of information to understand is that car seats expire the moment they are involved in any moderate to severe accidents. If you have any questions about whether your seat is still usable or not, be sure to call the manufacturer and they can confirm whether it needs to be replaced.

If your child’s car seat hasn’t expired but the child has outgrown it and you have no future use for it, what are your options? There are trade-in, donation, and car seat recycling programs available for others to reuse the car seat you currently own. From infant car seats to toddler car seats and even strollers, trade-in programs are available nationwide and can help families who can’t afford to pay for brand-new car seats.

Target Trade-In

One of the most convenient options for trading in your car seat is likely through the Target trade-in program. Target works to collect used car seats to be recycled and reused. Keep an eye out for the two-week Target trade-in window because it only comes twice a year.

Smaller Target locations may not host this trade-in program, so call to find out if your nearest Target is hosting the event. In past trade-in events, Target has offered 20 percent off on new car seats, strollers, or baby gear purchased from Target.

At the Target trade-in, you can donate:

• Infant car seats
• Convertible all-in-one car seats
• Car seat bases
• Car seat parts
• Harness or booster car seats
• Expired or damaged seats

National Child Passenger Safety Certification

You can also donate your old car seats to the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Program so future Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) can teach new parents how to safely use car seats. This prevents sending your car seat to a landfill or recycling center, and your car seat to be used as a learning opportunity for parents, future parents, and CPSTs.

Nonprofits, Charities, and Women’s Organizations

There are many local shelters, nonprofit organizations, and charities that accept used car seats to provide safe seats to local families. Check out your local women’s shelters and child care centers to see where you can donate your old, unexpired seat.

If your car seat is expired and donating it isn’t an option, there are eco-friendly solutions for disposing of your car seat. Your nearest recycling center can help you correctly dispose of your used car seat in an eco-friendly manner.

First, make sure your nearby recycling center takes used and expired car seats. They may either take the seat as is or they may need the seat stripped down. If necessary, get rid of everything that’s not plastic. This includes straps, fabric, padding, harnesses, and buckles. These items are not recyclable, so they will need to be tossed. Lastly, remove any metal parts of the car seat. You should only bring the plastic seat frame and parts to your recycling center.

For any reason, if your used car seat doesn’t qualify for being recycled, it’s still important to dispose of it the right way. If the seat has to go to a landfill, make sure you render it unusable so it’s not mistaken for a working car seat, especially if the car seat is expired. Similar to recycling a car seat, remove all straps, padding, and attachments from the car seat before tossing it.

There are numerous verified resources that discuss car seat safety, the importance of having a correctly fitted car seat for your little one, and the testing that goes into ensuring different car seats are safe to be sold on the market. Below are a few resources that offer information on crash testing, air travel, and injury prevention in relation to recalls and general car seat safety.

NHTSA graphic

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The NHTSA is a United States government agency dedicated to making the roads safer for drivers, workers, pedestrians, and children. They offer various resources to inform parents about car seat safety including an easy way to check for potential car seat safety issues and recalls.

The NHTSA also has various test dummies, ranging from an adult male to a newborn infant. Through the use of crash and car seat testing, they are able to better evaluate how safe car seats and vehicles are. This allows the NHTSA to provide reliable and honest information and recommendations for the best car seats that will fit your child and vehicle, and most importantly, keep your toddler safe.

One of the NHTSA’s most useful resources for parents in the market for car seats is its guide to car and booster seats. This informational page covers the different types of seats for children, as well as how to select a car seat and install it. The guide also helps you find local sites where certified technicians can inspect your car seat to see if it meets safety standards and is installed correctly.

Federal Aviation Administration

The FAA covers all information or concerns regarding air travel. They have information on flying with children. This covers the age requirements around children flying with a car seat, as well as guidance on installing a child restraint system (CRS) if your child is under two years of age.

The FAA recommends especially young children sit in both a booster seat and a car seat as an added safety precaution in case of turbulence or unexpected runway incidents that are rare but can occur.

National Child Passenger Safety Certification

The National Child Passenger Safety Certification Training Program (CPS certification program) is a program of Safe Kids Worldwide made up of technicians who certify individuals to become child passenger safety technicians and instructors. Certified child passenger safety technicians can educate, support, and guide parents and others interested in participating in the program on car seat inspections and safety.

Their website also offers an abundance of information regarding car seat safety and how to choose the right car seat for your child, ranging from forward-facing or rear-facing car seats to high-back booster seats. From giving information on buying, installing, finding the right fit, and even knowing when it is time to change to a larger seat, this company works to make car seat safety easier and more understandable for all parents.

In 2022, our reviews team launched a study to gauge what shoppers valued most while searching for car seats. This is what consumers told us they look for before purchasing any size or style of car seats:

• Approximately 89 percent of respondents stated safety as their top priority.
• Over 46 percent of respondents said the car seat needed to be the appropriate size for their child.
• 42 percent of those surveyed mentioned functionality as a priority.
• Over 38 percent of respondents listed easy installation.

Our team also found that 73 percent of respondents rarely uninstall their car seat once it is in place. Roughly a quarter of those surveyed said the most they removed the car seat was a handful of times each month.

The NHTSA has an online function to identify the ease of use ratings for nearly every type of car seat available on the market. As we’ve established, safety and ease of use are closely related and are two of the highest priorities of people buying car seats.

There are many ways to handle an expired car seat. First and foremost, you want to be sure that you are not using or holding onto an expired car seat. Safety should always be the top priority, and expired car seats can threaten the safety and security of your child.

If your car seat serves no purpose but it is not yet expired, consider donating to a local nonprofit or women’s shelter. You can also send your car seat to the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Program to train new technicians on how to properly use and install a car seat, so they can teach expecting parents. 

Your car seat doesn’t have to go to waste or build up cobwebs in the attic, especially if it’s not expired. If your car seat has reached its expiration date, consider an eco-friendly way to dispose of it through a trade-in or recycling program.

Here are a few frequently asked questions about car seat expiration dates.

*Data accurate at time of publication.