Question Australian Car Seats Use in the USA

Unregistered · Jul 27, 2011

I have just moved back to the US with my 3 month old and 2 year old and wanted to know if I can use my Australian car seats here? They are both made by Britax and have top tether straps. Is there a way to get them certified for use here in the US? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

snowbird25ca · Jul 27, 2011

Hi and welcome to the forums.

I'm sorry to tell you that you'll have to replace your seats with US carseats. There is no way to certify seats from other countries - certification only happens at the factory during the production process, once it's off the assembly line, that's it - whatever country it's certified for is the country it stays certified for.

There are actually some significant differences between US and Australian seats, the biggest of which would be that there are seats that rf as high as 45lbs. My understanding is that in Australia most seats only rear-face to 20lbs and it's typical to ff a child at 9months. So you'll have a whole new world of options available to you here.

Feel free to start a new thread if you'd like some advice on what seats to pick. Just be sure to post the kind of vehicle you drive and your kiddo's weights - that will help with making more specific suggestions. Since you'll be buying US seats, feel free to start your new thread in the main carseat forum. :thumbsup:

Jessica61624 · Jul 27, 2011

As pp stated you'll need new seats. Here in the us its recommended to rear face until the limits of the seat. Most of us rear facing until 3 or 4. If you post your vehicle(s), children's weight and height and budget in a new thread we can help with some choices! Welcome back to the us!