Final rule · 2026-18380

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213a; Child Restraint Systems-Side Impact Protection; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213; Child Restraint Systems, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213b; Child Restraint Systems; Incorporation by Reference

This final rule amends the safety standards for child restraint systems (CRSs). NHTSA is amending Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) No. 213a, "Child restraint systems--side impact protection," to exempt school bus CRSs from the standard's requirements as long as they meet specified labeling requirements; to delay the compliance date from June 30, 2025 to December 5, 2026; to amend the dummy selection requirements so that the Child Restraint Air Bag Interaction twelve-month-old test dummy (CRABI-12MO) will not be used to test forward-facing CRSs; and to amend positioning procedures for that dummy. The first two of these amendments are in response to petitions from CRS manufacturers. NHTSA is also amending FMVSS No. 213, "Child restraint systems" and FMVSS No. 213b, "Child restraint systems; Mandatory applicability beginning December 5, 2026," to exclude school bus CRSs from the requirements to provide attachments for connection to the vehicle's child restraint anchorage system and to change certain labeling requirements to reflect how school bus child restraints are used.