Except for New Hampshire, all states and the District of Columbia require adult front-seat occupants of motor vehicles to use seat belts. Adult rear-seat passengers are also covered by the laws in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Children are covered by separate laws.

State seat belt laws are divided into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary seat belt laws allow law enforcement officers to stop a motor vehicle and to issue a ticket or citation to a driver or passenger for not wearing a seat belt without any other traffic offense having occurred. Secondary seat belt laws only allow law enforcement officers to issue a ticket or citation for not wearing a seat belt when there has been another traffic offense by an occupant of the vehicle for which the occupant may be issued a ticket or citation.

In Florida, seat belt use is mandated by law under Florida Statute 316.614, known as the Florida Safety Belt Law. This statute requires all front-seat occupants of a motor vehicle to use seat belts, and it is a primary enforcement law, meaning that law enforcement officers can stop a vehicle and issue a citation solely for a seat belt violation without any other traffic offense occurring. Additionally, all passengers under the age of 18 are required to be restrained by a seat belt or child restraint device, regardless of their seating position in the vehicle. For adult rear-seat passengers, Florida law does not mandate the use of seat belts, making it one of the states that does not extend the seat belt requirement to all seating positions. However, it is always recommended for safety reasons that all passengers wear seat belts.