Which child restraints have LATCH?

Most child safety seats that have harness straps to secure the child will have lower anchor straps. Examples include rear-facing infant seats, convertible, combination, and forward-facing only seats. Most forward-facing child safety seats will have both lower anchor straps and tether straps.

Child safety seats where the child is held in with the vehicle’s safety belt – like belt positioning boosters – usually do not use lower anchor straps or tether straps. Car beds (for infants) do not usually have lower anchor straps or tether straps. Some vests and harnesses use a tether strap, and a few use lower anchor straps and tether straps.

Rear-facing Only seats:

• Infant Carrier Bases. These bases are designed for convenience. The base stays installed in the vehicle while you snap the carrier in and out. The lower anchor strap is permanently attached to the base and is either a flexible strap with a hook on either end or a pair of rigid metal hooks. Bases usually do not have tether straps (The Combi Tyro II, which is no longer made, was the only base to have a tether strap).

• Infant Carrier, without base:

• On carriers sold without a base, the LATCH system is a flexible strap permanently attached to the carrier.

• Carriers sold with a detachable base are not required to feature LATCH. Instead, the LATCH system is permanently attached to the base (see above). When installing the carrier without the base, you must use the vehicle safety belt to secure it to the vehicle.

Convertible Seats (these can be used both rear-facing and forward-facing):

• Rear-facing: Typically ONLY the lower anchor belt is used when attaching a convertible seat in the rear-facing position using LATCH. In other words, most rear-facing convertible seats DO NOT use a tether strap. Exceptions include all of Britax's convertible seats and the Sunshine Kids Radian seats--these seats use both the lower anchors and the tether for rear-facing installation.

• Forward-facing: Both the lower anchor strap and the tether strap are used when securing a forward-facing convertible child safety seat. If the vehicle has no lower anchors in the position where you are securing the child safety seat (or your child is too heavy to use the lower anchors), use the vehicle’s safety belt instead of the lower anchor strap – but remember to always use the tether strap.

Forward-Facing Only Seats:

• Both the lower anchor belt and the top tether are used to install forward-facing only seats.

• If the vehicle has no lower anchors in the position where you are securing the child safety seat OR if your child is too heavy to use the lower anchors, use the vehicle's safety belt instead of the lower anchor strap--but remember to always use the tether strap.

Combination Seats (these seats can be used as forward-facing 5-point harness seats or as booster seats.):

• 5-point harness mode: Both the lower anchor strap and the tether strap are used when securing a combination child safety seat. If the vehicle has no lower anchors in the position where you are securing the child safety seat, OR if your child is too heavy for the lower anchors, use the vehicle safety belt to install the child safety seat. But remember, always use the tether strap.

• Booster Mode: Most manufacturers do not allow you to use the lower latch anchors or the tether strap when the child safety seat is used as a booster seat. Please read the instructions to your child safety seat to see if it is allowed or recommended. A few seats that do allow using LATCH while in booster mode are the Safeguard Go (allows lower anchors only) and the Britax Frontier.

Vests/Harnesses

• Some vests and harnesses require you to use the tether. With these vests and harnesses the tether is the only thing holding the child’s upper body back - without the tether strap the child can lean forward and touch their chest to their thighs, which is not safe. Examples include the Safeguard Go, Ride Safer Travel Vest (when used with a lap belt), and the EZ-On Y harness with RideRyte booster. In situations like these where the tether is the only thing holding the child’s upper body back it is important to make sure that you do not exceed the weight limit of the tether anchor. Check you vehicle's owners manual for tether anchor weight limits.
  
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