LATCH: Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children

updated 06-05-08

What is the LATCH system?
LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. The intent of LATCH is to simplify child restraint installation and thus help to protect children by keeping child restraints more secure in vehicles. Under the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 225, all current passenger motor vehicles must have at least some seating positions equipped with standard anchors and all child restraints must have attachments that will clip onto the vehicle fittings quickly and easily.

LATCH in the Vehicle
In the vehicle, the complete LATCH system consists of two lower anchors and one upper anchor. Each lower anchor is a rigid, round rod or bar located where the vehicle seat cushion meets the seat back. The upper tether anchor is a ring-like object, permanently attached to the vehicle at the top of the rear seat. At least two rear seating positions in each vehicle must be equipped with the complete LATCH system. In addition, a third rear seating position must have an upper tether anchor to hold the child seat tightly so the child's head won't move too far forward in the event of a crash.

LATCH on the Child Restraints
LATCH equipped child restraints (CRs) must have connectors that hook or snap onto the lower anchor bars in the vehicle. The CRs can use either a flexible or rigid lower attachment. The flexible attachment uses a hook attached to a length of belt webbing that is tightened like a seat belt after being hooked to the vehicle anchor. The rigid attachment is a metal bar or rod that clamps on to the vehicle anchor. On forward-facing restraints, a tether strap from the top of the CR is attached to the upper tether anchor with both (flexible or rigid) systems.

Flexible Lower Attachment with Top Anchors

Rigid Lower Attachment with Top Anchors

Graphics: National Highway Safety Administration

New Car, Older Seat?
Child restraint systems on the market for the past decade have all been very safe and provide very good protection to children when installed and used properly. Parents and other care givers can still use older child restraints since new LATCH equipped vehicles will still have seat belts that will be able to secure them.

New Child Restraint, Older Car?
In addition, new LATCH equipped child restraints can be used in older vehicles without LATCH anchors. Federal standards require that the child restraints meet the crash test performance standards using the "old" method if installation with the vehicle seat belts as well as the LATCH anchors. Most older vehicles can be fitted with top tether anchors to provide an extra margin of safety. Refer to the vehicle owners' manual for information on tether anchors for a specific vehicle.

To find out which vehicles are equipped with the LATCH systems, contact your local car dealer or the auto manufacturer Customer Service Contact.

LATCH Resources
The most comprehensive information available to help understand LATCH is the manual titled LATCH: Lower Anchors and Tethers for Child Restraints 2007 published by Safe Ride News.