You’re pulling the infant seat out of the basement for baby number two, or eyeing the convertible your oldest rode in for years, and you start doing the math. Is this thing even still good? Car seats do expire, and a seat can look perfectly fine on the outside and still be past its date.
Finding the expiration date isn’t always easy, either. Some seats print an actual date, while others give you a date of manufacture that you’ll use to figure out when the seat expires. If you’ve never gone looking for this date before, you’re in good company. Here’s how to figure out whether your car seat is expired and what to do next:
How to Tell if a Car Seat Is Expired
If you’re trying to figure out a car seat’s expiration date, look at the seat's own labels for either a printed expiration date or a date of manufacture. Compare that against what the manufacturer says the lifespan is for your specific model.
Don't assume every car seat follows the same expiration timeline. For example, you may have heard that car seats last about six years, but that isn’t always the case. The actual lifespan varies by manufacturer and model. Most fall somewhere between six and ten years from the date of manufacture.
Here's what to check:
- Printed expiration date, if your seat has one.
- Date of manufacture (DOM), which you can use to figure out the expiration date if one isn’t printed.
- Manufacturer's stated lifespan for your exact model, which you can find in your manual or on the manufacturer’s website.
If you’re still not sure, check the manual or contact the manufacturer directly. They can confirm the lifespan of your infant car seat, convertible car seat, or booster seat and you won’t have to wonder if you’re looking at the right thing.
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Why Does a Car Seat Expire?
You’ve wiped the crumbs out of it a hundred times and it still looks great, so an expiration date can feel random. There are real safety reasons car seats aren’t meant to be used indefinitely.
Materials Wear Down Over Time
Think about where your car seat spends most of its time. It sits in a hot car during summer, deals with freezing temperatures in the winter, gets exposed to sunlight, and goes through years of buckling, unbuckling, cleaning, and everyday use.
Car seats are made from several materials, including plastic, fabric, webbing, and padding. Over time, those materials can wear down, especially with repeated use and exposure to extreme temperatures.
And you can’t always see that wear. A seat may look perfectly fine on the outside even when some of its components aren’t in the same condition they were when the seat was new.
Safety Standards Keep Improving
Child passenger safety and testing continue to change as we learn more about protecting children in crashes. Car seat technology changes with them.
Federal laws can change too. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) updates its guidance as new research and technology become available. This is another reason to go by the expiration information for your specific seat, even when an older seat looks good.
Manufacturers Can Only Guarantee Performance For So Long
Manufacturers only test their car seats for a specific period of time. Once a car seat reaches the end of that lifespan, the manufacturer can’t guarantee that it performs the same way. If you want to go further into the reasons behind those dates, we break it down in our full guide, “Why Do Car Seats Expire?”
Where Is the Expiration Date on a Car Seat?
You can usually find expiration information on a label attached to the car seat or stamped directly into the plastic shell. Every car seat does have a date of manufacture (DOM). You’ll usually find the model name or number and serial number nearby, so once you find that label, you’re probably in the right place.
Remember: the manufacturing date is not the date you bought the seat. A car seat may have been manufactured months before it made its way home with you.
Car Seat Expiration Date
Some manufacturers print the expiration date directly on the seat. If yours does, this part is easy! Check the date against today’s date. Other seats tell you how many years the seat can be used from the date of manufacture. For example, the label or manual may say not to use the seat more than seven years after the manufacture date. In that case, you’ll need the DOM to figure out when it expires.
If you can’t find either, check the manual or contact the manufacturer’s customer service team with your seat’s model information.
Car Seat Date of Manufacture
If your seat doesn’t list a specific expiration date, find the DOM and check how long the manufacturer says that particular model can be used. Many infant, convertible, and booster seats have a lifespan somewhere between six and ten years, but don’t use that range to determine whether your specific seat has expired. Your manufacturer’s instructions are what matter.
This is even more important with a secondhand seat. Before using one, find out its age and history. If you don’t know whether the seat has been in a crash, how it was stored, whether all the original parts are present, or whether it’s been recalled, an expiration date alone can’t tell you that it’s safe to use.
What to Do With Expired Car Seats
Once you’ve confirmed you’re dealing with an expired seat, it’s time to stop using it and make a plan for replacing it. Here's how to handle it, step by step.
Stop Using the Expired Seat
If you just found out your seat is past its date, take a breath. You did the best you could with the information you had. Now that you know, stop using it for your child, and skip keeping it around as a backup. Get rid of it completely so there’s no chance it accidentally gets used later.
Replace It With a Seat for Your Child's Current Stage
Your next seat should fit your child's current height, weight, developmental needs, and riding stage. Depending on your child, that might be an infant car seat, convertible car seat, or one of the many booster seats out there.
For help picking the next seat, start with our free Car Seat Finder Quiz. It asks about your child and your car, then gives you a list of seats that fit. If you're shopping for a convertible seat, our Convertible Buying Kit was designed to walk you through your options based on your family's real needs. And remember that a seat at any price can keep your child safe when it fits your child and your car and you use it right every time.
Dispose of the Old Seat Responsibly
Before putting an expired seat out with the trash, check whether recycling or a trade-in program is available in your area. Our guide to car seat recycling covers options like retailer trade-in events and specialty recycling programs, along with what you’ll need to do before bringing the seat in.
If recycling isn’t available and the seat needs to go in the trash, follow the manufacturer’s disposal instructions. You may be directed to remove the padding, cut the harness straps, or otherwise make the seat unusable so someone else doesn’t pick it up and use it.
For more on your options, see our full guide on what to do with expired car seats.
Find Out Your Car Seat Expiration Date With Confidence
Checking a car seat expiration date comes down to three things: find the label, read the expiration date or calculate from the date of manufacture, and confirm your specific model's lifespan with the manual. Do that, and you'll know exactly where your seat stands before the next ride.
Founded by Michelle Pratt, a Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) and mom of two, Safe in the Seat translates the technical stuff into clear, doable steps. Our car seat guidance reaches millions of parents through Instagram, our free Car Seat Finder Quiz, and our email listand featured on outlets like Good Morning America, Forbes, and NBC News.
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