WHAT IS LATCH?
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards have defined a new system for installing car seats in vehicles. The system is called LATCH. LATCH stands for:
Lower Anchorage and Tether for CH ildren.
LATCH
System
for
Vehicles:
LATCH in the vehicle consists of a top tether anchor point and two lower anchor points.
Some vehicle owner manuals use the term ISOFIX to identify the new car seat anchorage system. LATCH can also be used in vehicle seating positions equipped with ISOFIX.
Newer vehicles may have one or more seating positions equipped with LATCH anchor points.
If vehicle is equipped with LATCH, the vehicle lower anchor points may be visible at the vehicle seat crease. If not visible, they may be marked with a symbol (Fig. a) or a colored dot. See your vehicle owner’s manual for exact locations, anchor identification, and requirements for use with a car seat.
Check vehicle owner’s manual for vehicle top tether anchor locations. They may be identified using one of the anchor symbols (Fig. b or Fig. c).
Vehicle
Top Tether Anchor
Points
Vehicle
Lower Anchor
Points
(Fig. a) | (Fig. b) |
Typical seat in a passenger vehicle. Other vehicle types may have different LATCH locations.
Vehicle
Seat Crease
(Fig. c)
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