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Best & Right

Can This Car Seat Fly? FAA Car Seat Checker

Pick the seat you want to fly with and say what its label says. You get what the FAA’s rule allows — on board for take-off and landing, only in the cruise, or not at all — where it has to go, your rights if it does not fit, and whether it fits the airline’s narrowest seat. Every sentence is quoted from the regulation, 14 CFR 121.311, or the FAA’s own guidance.

What would your child sit in?
What does the seat’s label say?

The sticker is on the side, back or base of the seat, often next to the date it was made.

How old is your child?
Does your child have a seat of their own?
in in

Every US airline must publish its narrowest and widest seat in each class, measured between the armrests — search “<airline> seat width”.

Convertible or all-in-one seat, with its harness

Check the sticker firstlook for the red lettering on the side, back or base

Check with your airline before you fly: the FAA lets each airline decide which seats a car seat may use, and some ask you to call ahead. This tool quotes the federal rule for US airlines; a foreign airline flies under its own country’s rules.

Rules checked 2026-09-25.

Quick answer: a car seat can be used on a US flight if it carries the label “This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft” in red lettering (or a foreign-government or UN approval mark). Booster seats, travel vests, baby carriers and lap belts are not allowed for taxi, take-off or landing; the CARES harness is the one FAA-certified harness, for children 22–44 lb and up to 40 inches. The seat goes by a window, never in an exit row. And if your child has a ticket, no airline may refuse an approved seat — one that does not fit must be moved to another seat in the same class.

How to use it

Pick what your child would sit in, then what the label says — the sticker is on the side, back or base, usually beside the date it was made. Say whether the child is under 2 and whether they have a ticketed seat. If you know your car seat’s width and the airline’s narrowest economy seat, type both. The answer quotes the rule it rests on, word for word, and links to it. The link keeps your answers, so Copy link sends it to whoever booked the flight.

The label that decides everything

For a seat made in the US since 26 February 1985, 14 CFR 121.311 asks for two labels: “This child restraint system conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards”, and “THIS RESTRAINT IS CERTIFIED FOR USE IN MOTOR VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT” in red lettering. A seat from abroad needs a marking showing a foreign government approved it, or that it was made to United Nations standards. No label, and it is not an approved seat for the plane — however good it is in the car.

Why boosters stay off for take-off

The regulation says booster-type seats, vest- and harness-type restraints and lap-held “belly belts” “are not approved for use in aircraft”. The FAA’s advisory circular explains the booster: a child big enough for one “can also be properly restrained in the normal passenger seat lap belts”, and its concern with a backless booster is “the combined effect of seat back breakover and impact of an adult seated behind the child”. Some seats sold as “boosters” have their own harness and a solid back — if they carry the aircraft label, they are approved “for all phases of flight”. And the FAA notes that in the cruise no regulation bans any restraint: that part is up to the airline.

Where it goes, and your rights

The FAA: “Car seats generally must be installed in a window seat, cannot be placed in an exit row, and must not block an escape path in an emergency.” Aisle seats are out because they slow an evacuation. With a ticket for your child, the FAA’s advisory circular is plain: “No aircraft operator may prohibit a child from using an approved CRS when the parent/guardian purchases a seat for the child.” If it does not fit one seat — a base too wide for fixed armrests, a rear-facing seat without the legroom — the airline must find another in the same class. Without a ticket, it can let you use an empty seat, but it does not have to.

Will it fit?

Since 2012, every US airline must publish the width of its narrowest and widest seat in each class, measured between the armrests (14 CFR 121.311(k)). So the numbers to compare are yours: your car seat’s width from its manual, and the airline’s narrowest economy seat from its website. Wider than the narrowest seat is not the end: ask for a seat whose armrests lift, which the FAA gives as the fix.

What this tool is not

It is not the airport. What you can carry through security — the car seat, the stroller, formula — is TSA’s question, and Travel Magma’s Can I Bring It on a Plane? answers it from TSA’s list. And it is not the car: which seat your child should be in on the road is the car seat requirements checker.

Flying with a baby, on Best & Right

The rules in plain words: can you take a car seat on a plane? The gear that matters: flying with a baby. What happens to the stroller: gate-checking a stroller. And seats that travel well: car seats for air travel.

FAQ

How do I know if my car seat is FAA approved?
Look for the label “This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft”, in red lettering, on the side, back or base of the seat. A seat made abroad needs a marking showing a foreign government approved it or that it meets United Nations standards.
Can you use a booster seat on a plane?
Not for taxi, take-off or landing: 14 CFR 121.311 says booster-type seats are not approved for use in aircraft. The FAA: a child big enough for a booster can use the plane’s own lap belt. Seats sold as boosters that have their own harness and the aircraft label are a different thing, and are approved.
Do car seats have to go in the window seat?
The FAA: “Car seats generally must be installed in a window seat, cannot be placed in an exit row, and must not block an escape path in an emergency.” Its advisory circular adds that car seats should not go in aisle seats.
Can an airline refuse my car seat?
Not an approved one, if your child has a ticket: “No aircraft operator may prohibit a child from using an approved CRS when the parent/guardian purchases a seat for the child.” If it does not fit a seat, the airline must accommodate it in another seat in the same class. Without a ticket, the airline may offer an empty seat but does not have to.
Is the CARES harness FAA approved?
Yes — the FAA says AmSafe’s CARES device is FAA-certified for children up to 40 inches tall who weigh between 22 and 44 pounds. It is the one harness-type device approved for take-off and landing.
Can a baby fly on my lap?
Under 2, yes: the FAA says a child under two may be held in an adult’s lap for take-off and landing. But the FAA also says the safest place for a child under 2 is in an approved car seat or device, and suggests buying a ticket so you can use one. From the second birthday, a child needs a seat of their own.
How wide can a car seat be for a plane?
As wide as the airline’s seat between the armrests — and every US airline must publish its narrowest and widest seat in each class. If yours is wider than the seat you are given, ask for one with armrests that lift in the same class.