Child Car Seat Laws for Taxis, by Country
Updated: Sep 3
You already know a car seat is safer. What you actually need to know, standing at an airport rank with a tired toddler, is whether that taxi is legally required to have one — and what you do if it doesn't.
The answer changes at every border. In some countries it changes again the moment you leave the city limits.
This page sets out the rule for every country we cover, with the official source behind it. It's here for planning, not legal advice — and where we couldn't confirm something from a primary source, we say so instead of guessing.
You can also try our car seat checker here for a quick answer.
How to read this page
Three things trip families up more than anything else. Worth two minutes before you scroll to your country.
An exemption is not a safety statement. Where a country exempts taxis, it removes the operator's obligation to provide a restraint. Nothing about the collision forces changes. Some countries make this explicit: Florida's statute transfers the duty to the parent or guardian rather than deleting it.
Urban and interurban are often different rules. Spain is the clearest case. The taxi exemption applies in urban traffic, so a trip across town is covered and a motorway run to the airport is not. If your journey leaves the city, check whether the exemption travels with you.
Approval standards are regional. Europe, the UK and much of Asia use ECE R44/04 or i-Size (R129) with ISOFIX anchor points. The United States uses FMVSS 213 with LATCH. Canada uses CMVSS with the UAS system. A seat bought in one region is not automatically approved in another.
Car seat rules for taxis, by country
Each entry covers three things: what the law says, where taxis stand specifically, and the source we checked. Country guides are linked where we have them.
Spain
The rule: Approved restraint for any child 135 cm or under, seated in the rear (Art. 117, Reglamento General de Circulacion).
Taxis: Yes, but urban only. Art. 119.2(a) exempts taxis in urban traffic. The exemption does not apply on interurban roads or motorways.
Source: DGT | Read our full Spain guide.
Italy
The rule: Approved restraint for children under 150 cm (Art. 172, Codice della Strada).
Taxis: Conditional. A child may travel without a seat only in a rear seat and only when accompanied by a passenger aged at least 16.
Source: Polizia di Stato | Read our full Italy guide.
Portugal
The rule: Approved restraint for children under 12 and under 135 cm (Art. 55, Codigo da Estrada).
Taxis: Yes, broad. Art. 55(5) exempts taxis and TVDE ride-hail vehicles entirely, provided the child does not travel in front.
Source: IMT | Read our full Portugal guide.
Greece
The rule: Approved restraint for children under 12 or shorter than 135 cm (KOK, Law 2696/1999).
Taxis: Widely described as exempt, with sources tying the exemption to rear-seat travel. A child under 3 may not travel unrestrained at all.
Croatia
The rule: Suitable seat or booster for children under 150 cm, secured by belt or ISOFIX (Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama).
Taxis: No exemption. The rule covers vehicles carrying up to eight passengers besides the driver, which includes ordinary taxis. Children 135 to 150 cm may use the adult belt in the rear.
Source: HZJZ | Read our full Croatia guide.
France
The rule: Approved restraint for children under 10 (Art. R412-2). Children under 10 may not travel in front (Art. R412-3).
Taxis: No broad carve-out written into the requirement.
Source: Legifrance | Read our full France guide.
Germany
The rule: Approved restraint for children under 12 or shorter than 150 cm.
Taxis: No broad carve-out. Responsibility sits with the accompanying parent or guardian.
Source: ADAC | Read our full Germany guide.
Netherlands
The rule: Approved restraint required; contract transport is treated separately (Art. 59, RVV).
Taxis: Partial. Taxis are excluded for children aged 3 and over, who may use the adult belt in the rear. Children under 3 are not covered by that exclusion.
Source: Rijksoverheid | Read our full Netherlands guide.
Sweden
The rule: Approved restraint for children shorter than 135 cm.
Taxis: Narrow. A child under 135 cm may use the belt alone in a taxi on occasional short journeys only, and never in the front seat.
Source: Transportstyrelsen | Read our full Sweden guide.
Norway
The rule: Approved restraint for children shorter than 135 cm.
Taxis: Fallback only. Where a suitable restraint is unavailable in a taxi, smaller children may travel belted in a rear seat; under 135 cm may not sit in front.
Source: Statens vegvesen | Read our full Norway guide.
Finland
The rule: Approved restraint for children shorter than 135 cm.
Taxis: Removed for the youngest. The 2020 Tieliikennelaki ended the taxi exception for under-3s, so a child under 3 may no longer travel in a taxi unrestrained. Ages 3 and over under 135 cm may use the belt, never in front.
Source: Liikenneturva | Read our full Finland guide.
Turkey
The rule: Approved restraint for children under 150 cm and under 36 kg. Children under 10, and under 135 cm or 36 kg, may not travel in front.
Taxis: Reversed. A 2022 amendment to Art. 150 of the Karayollari Trafik Yonetmeligi requires taxis to carry at least one child seat. In practice, finding a taxi that has one fitted is reported to be difficult.
United States
The rule: Set state by state. Common pattern: rear-facing to age 2, booster until roughly 4 ft 9 in, rear seat until 8 to 13 depending on the state.
Taxis: Usually exempt. Florida is notable: 316.613(6) exempts taxis but explicitly transfers the duty to the parent or guardian rather than removing it. Washington is among the strictest.
Source: NHTSA.
Canada
The rule: Set province by province. British Columbia requires a seat to age 9 or 145 cm; Alberta only to age 6 and 18 kg; Quebec to age 9 or 145 cm.
Taxis: Taxis are generally treated differently from private cars and will not carry a seat.
Source: CPSAC | Read our full Canada guide.
Other countries we cover
Shorter entries here — the full detail lives on each country's own page.
United Kingdom - Conditional exemption where a suitable seat is unavailable; children then travel in the rear. Full guide.
Austria - Restraint required for children under 14 and under 135 cm. Full guide.
Switzerland - Restraint required for children under 12 and under 150 cm. Full guide.
Belgium - Restraint required for children under 135 cm. Full guide.
Poland - Restraint required for children under 150 cm. Full guide.
Czech Republic - Restraint required for children under 150 cm and under 36 kg. Full guide.
Hungary - Restraint required for children under 135 cm. Full guide.
Denmark - Restraint required for children under 135 cm; the taxi position is conditional rather than a blanket exemption. Full guide.
Iceland - Follows the Nordic pattern; see our combined Nordic guide. Full guide.
Cyprus - Restraint required for children under 135 cm. Full guide.
Malta - Restraint required for children under 135 cm. Full guide.
Montenegro - We have not been able to confirm a specific taxi exemption from an official Montenegrin source. Full guide.
Japan - Restraint required for children under 6. Responsibility falls on the parent or guardian rather than the taxi operator. Full guide.
South Korea - Restraint required for children under 6. Responsibility falls on the parent or guardian. Full guide.
Singapore - Restraint required for children under 135 cm; taxis are exempt. Full guide.
Thailand - A child restraint law was introduced in recent years; enforcement is limited. Full guide.
Australia - Set state by state; broadly to age 7. Full guide.
Brazil - Contran Resolution 938: children under 10 and 145 cm must travel in the rear. Full guide.
Mexico - Rules vary by state; national guidance is limited. Full guide.
What this means when you actually land
Here's the part the law doesn't tell you. In every country on this page — including the ones where a seat is legally required — the taxi at the rank almost certainly won't have one. Neither will the app car. Knowing the rule and having a seat are two different problems, and only one of them is solved by reading a statute.
There's a second problem underneath it, and our own booking data keeps showing it up. Roughly four in ten families who book with us are travelling as a party of four or more; about one in five as five or more. Add two car seats, a stroller and a week's luggage to that, and a standard sedan simply runs out of room. Most people don't see this coming until they're watching a driver shake his head at the kerb.
If you would rather not solve this at the kerb: book a family transfer with fitted child seats - seats included as standard, fitted before you arrive, at a fixed price. You can also see our vehicle range if you are travelling as a larger group.
Rental cars: none of this applies
Every exemption on this page is written for a driver carrying passengers for reward. Hire a car and drive it yourself and none of them reach you — the general rule applies in full, and the responsibility is yours rather than an operator’s.
That distinction catches families out most often in the countries with the widest taxi exemptions. In Japan the Enforcement Order lifts the requirement for fare-paying passengers in taxis and licensed hire cars, so the ride from Narita needs no seat at all. Hire a car in Kyoto three days later and the full under-6 rule applies, with you as the responsible driver. Austria draws the same line in a single word: the exemption covers Mietwagen with a driver, and a self-drive Mietwagen is legally a private car.
Belgium states it plainly — a hire car counts as a private vehicle. Spain’s urban carve-out names licensed taxis, so it never reaches a rental. In the United Kingdom the taxi exception depends on the driver not having provided a seat; behind the wheel of a hire car you are the driver, so it cannot apply.
Two practical points. Hire companies rent approved seats, but stock is limited at smaller airports and in high season — reserve the seat with the car rather than asking at the desk. And check the approval label: a seat must carry a current European approval to be legal in Europe, and one bought outside the region usually does not.
The checker covers rental cars alongside taxis, ride-hailing and pre-booked transfers, so you can compare the same journey across all four.
How we researched this
Every rule above was checked against a primary source — a national traffic code, a transport ministry, or a government road safety authority. Not other travel sites. Where we couldn't confirm a country's position from an official source, we say so rather than filling the gap. Montenegro is one of those.
Rules do change, and plenty of pages online haven't caught up. Finland scrapped a taxi exception in 2020 that older guides still repeat. Turkey went the other way in 2022 and now requires taxis to carry a seat at all. Where we know something has changed recently, the entry says so. If you spot something out of date, please tell us — we'd rather fix it than leave it standing.
This page is a reference for planning, not legal advice. For an authoritative answer, follow the official source linked in each entry.
Last updated: 5 August 2026. Compiled and reviewed by Lija Scheiman, CEO, TaxiBambino Content Audit Team.
Frequently asked questions
Does a taxi exemption mean it is safe to travel without a car seat?
No. An exemption removes the driver's legal obligation to provide a restraint. It does not change the physics of a collision, and it does not remove a parent's responsibility. Florida's statute makes this explicit by transferring the duty to the accompanying adult rather than deleting it.
Which countries do not exempt taxis?
Croatia is the clearest example: its rule covers vehicles carrying up to eight passengers besides the driver, which includes ordinary taxis. France does have a carve-out: Article R412-2 III 3° exempts a child carried in a taxi from the restraint requirement, though the belt still applies and it does not extend to VTC. Germany caps rather than removes the duty — under § 21(1a) StVO a taxi must carry two restraints for children from 9 kg. Turkey goes further and requires taxis to carry at least one child seat.
Why does the rule change once I leave the city?
Several countries limit the taxi exemption to urban traffic. Spain is the clearest case: Art. 119.2(a) exempts taxis working in urban traffic, so a trip across town is covered but an airport run on an interurban road is not. The exemption ends where the motorway begins.
What is the difference between ISOFIX and LATCH?
They are regional names for rigid lower anchor points built into the vehicle. Europe, the UK and much of Asia use ISOFIX with seats approved to ECE R44/04 or i-Size (R129). The United States uses LATCH with seats approved to FMVSS 213. Canada uses the UAS system under CMVSS.
Will a taxi at the airport have a car seat?
Almost never, in any country on this page, including those where the law requires one. Rank and app-hailed vehicles do not carry seats as standard, which is the gap a pre-booked transfer with fitted seats is designed to close.
How current is this page?
Each entry links to the primary or official source we used, and the page carries a last-updated date. Where we could not verify a rule from an official source, we say so on the page rather than filling the gap with an assumption.