Vehicle Code section 27318
(a)
A passenger who is 16 years of age or older in a bus shall be properly restrained by a safety belt.(b)
Except as provided in subdivision (c), a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party shall not transport on a bus, or permit to be transported on a bus, a child, ward, or passenger who is under 16 years of age unless they are properly restrained by a safety belt.(c)
If it is not possible to ensure a child, ward, or passenger who is under eight years of age and under four feet nine inches in height is properly restrained by a safety belt because of their size, a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party shall either secure them in an appropriate child passenger restraint system that meets applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, or if the child, ward, or passenger is under two years of age, may authorize a parent, legal guardian, or chartering party to hold them.(d)
(1)For purposes of this section, the following terms and phrases have the following meanings:(2)
“Bus” means a bus that is equipped with safety belts, including a bus that is required to be equipped with a seatbelt assembly pursuant to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 (49 C.F.R. 571.208).(3)
“Properly restrained by a safety belt” means the child, ward, or passenger meets all of the following requirements of the 5-Step test:(A)
The child, ward, or passenger is sitting all the way back against the auto seat.(B)
The knees of the child, ward, or passenger bend over the edge of the auto seat.(C)
The shoulder belt snugly crosses the center of the child, ward, or passenger’s chest and shoulder, not the child, ward, or passenger’s neck.(D)
The lap belt is as low as possible and is touching the child, ward, or passenger’s thighs.(E)
The child, ward, or passenger can stay seated like this for the whole trip.(e)
Subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) do not apply to a passenger that is leaving, has left, or is returning from their seat to use an onboard bathroom.(f)
If the bus is equipped with safety belts, the motor carrier shall maintain safety belts in good working order for the use of passengers of the vehicle.(g)
A motor carrier operating a bus equipped with safety belts shall do one of the following:(1)
Require the bus driver, before departure of a bus carrying passengers, to inform passengers of the requirement to wear the seatbelt under California law and inform passengers that not wearing a seatbelt is punishable by a fine.(2)
Post, or allow to be posted, signs or placards that inform passengers of the requirement to wear a seatbelt under California law and that not wearing a seatbelt is punishable by a fine. The signs or placards shall be in a font type and font size that is reasonably easy to read and shall be affixed to a bus in multiple, conspicuous locations.(h)
Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 42001, a violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense, and a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50) for each subsequent offense.(i)
This section does not apply to a schoolbus described in Section 27316 or a school pupil activity bus described in Section 27316.5.(j)
This section shall become operative on January 1, 2027.
Source:
Section 27318, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=27318. (updated Jan. 1, 2026; accessed Dec. 29, 2025).
