What if my child restraint doesn't come with LATCH?

It is no longer possible to add a tether strap or a lower anchor strap to a child safety seat, if that seat did not come with the strap originally.

There are several reasons why your child safety seat may not have a lower anchor strap or tether strap.

• The seat is not required to have ANY lower anchor straps or tether straps. These types of seats, listeed below, are not required to have ANY LATCH straps, but may come with the straps if the manufacturer decides to include them.
  • Car beds for infants
  • Vests and Harnesses
  • Belt Positioning Booster Seats (where the child uses the vehicle lap-and-shoulder belt across him)
  • Infant carriers sold WITH a base (do not have to have lower anchor straps on the CARRIER, since the base already has a lower anchor strap. Infant seats do not have a tether strap.)

• The seat is not required to have a tether strap.
  • The seat may be old. Forward-facing child safety seats made before September 1, 1999 will NOT come with tether straps (or lower anchor straps).*
  • Child safety seats that pass the 28 inch head excursion test without the tether are not required to come with a tether.
  • All infant carriers and infant carriers with bases will have only a lower anchor strap.
  • Belt-positioning booster seats made by Clek will have rigid lower anchor connectors and no tether strap.

• You can't locate the top tether strap
  • Unless the seat is an infant carrier or infant carrier base or a Clek booster, it probably has a tether strap that is hidden. Look carefully in the child safety seat's instruction manual to see where to find the tether strap.
    • The tether strap may be in a plastic or fabric bag near the top of the child safety seat.
    • The tether strap may be hooked onto a metal or plastic bar on the back or side of the child safety seat.

• The child safety seat has a tether strap but no lower anchor strap

  • Child safety seats made before September 1, 2002 will not have lower anchor straps. These seats will have a tether if they were produced after Sept. 1, 1999.*

  • Vests and harnesses may have only the tether strap. For example, the RideSafer Travel Vest or the an EZ-On Y-Harness (used with the Ride Ryte Booster).

• You can't locate the lower anchor strap.

  • Unless the seat is a vest or harness or made between Sept. 1, 1999 and Sept. 1, 2002, your seat probably has a lower anchor strap which is hidden. Look carefully in the instruction manual for help finding it.

    • Sometimes the lower anchor strap is stored underneath the fabric cushion (for Britax seats, lift up the fabric seat cover pad and look under where the child’s bottom goes).

    • Sometimes the hooks on the ends of the lower anchor strap are hiding in fabric pockets on the side of the child safety seat.

    • Sometimes the hooks on the ends of the lower anchor straps are clipped to plastic bars on the side of the child safety seat (like on the Graco Snug Ride and Graco infant Safe Seat) or in nooks created for them in the child safety seat (like on the Chicco Key Fit or Peg Perego).

*Please note that most child safety seat manufacturers specify a 6 year lifespan for each child safety seat. Some may allow up to 7 years or 10 years. Check your seat for its expiration date, and do not use a seat after it has expired, no matter what sort of straps it has.