WHAT IS LATCH?
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards have defined a new system for
installing child restraints in vehicles. The
system is called LATCH.
Lower Anchorage and Tether for CHildren.
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 child restraint
anchorage system. This child restraint with
LATCH
can also be used in vehicle seating
positions equipped with ISOFIX.
Newer vehicles may have one or more seating
positions equipped with
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 child restraint.
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).
8
LATCH
stands for:
LATCH
anchor points.
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)