Traveling Through DCA With an Infant or Car Seat: What to Know

Car seat laws apply to any vehicle transporting a child on public roads, including a chauffeured car service, which means a car-seat question is a legitimate thing to ask before you book rather than something to figure out at the curb with a cranky infant and a flight's worth of luggage. Here is how it actually works.

Do you need to bring your own car seat?

Yes — we ask every family traveling with an infant or young child to bring their own car seat or booster, installed and used according to the seat's own instructions and Virginia, Maryland or DC law, whichever applies to your pickup or drop-off location. We do not supply car seats, both because fit varies by child and seat model and because a seat you already know is correctly adjusted for your child is simply safer than one supplied by a third party.

Tell us ahead of time, not at the curb

Mention a car seat when you book, not when the chauffeur arrives. This lets us confirm the right vehicle — a sedan has limited rear-seat width for multiple seats, while an SUV or Sprinter van gives more room to install a seat correctly and still fit additional passengers and luggage. If you are traveling with more than one child requiring seats, or a seat plus a stroller and a full load of luggage, an SUV or Sprinter van is almost always the better choice, and telling dispatch in advance means the right vehicle is already assigned before you land.

Installing the seat and your chauffeur's role

Our chauffeurs will help load the car seat into the vehicle, but installing and securing it correctly is the parent's or guardian's responsibility, since you know your specific seat's installation and your child's fit. We build a few extra minutes into pickups where a car seat installation was mentioned in advance, so nobody feels rushed getting the seat properly secured curbside or in a pickup area.

Flying with an infant: a few practical notes

Beyond the car seat itself, an infant changes airport logistics in small ways worth planning for — stroller gate-checking, extra time through security with a diaper bag and bottles, and simply more time needed to get everyone and everything from the gate to baggage claim. We track your flight and build in realistic wait time on arrival, so a slower walk off the plane with a baby does not turn into a missed pickup window.

Multiple children and more than one car seat

A standard sedan can usually fit two car seats across the back row, but three or more — common for families with multiple young children — genuinely needs the wider bench of an SUV or the full row flexibility of a Sprinter van. Booster seats for older children take up less width than a full infant or convertible seat, so tell dispatch the specific mix of ages and seat types in your group rather than just a headcount, so we can confirm the actual fit before you arrive rather than discovering a tight squeeze at the curb.

Booking your trip with a car seat

Tell dispatch about your car seat, child's age, and how many seats you need when you book, and we will confirm the right vehicle in advance. Reserve on the booking page, review the fleet for SUV and Sprinter van options, or call (877) 609-1919 with any question before your trip.