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 Ohio, the state's seat belt laws require that all front-seat occupants of a motor vehicle must wear seat belts. This is a primary law, which means that law enforcement officers have the authority to stop a vehicle and issue a citation to the driver or front-seat passengers solely for not wearing a seat belt. For adult rear-seat passengers, Ohio does not currently require the use of seat belts, and therefore, officers cannot stop a vehicle or issue a citation for adult rear-seat passengers not wearing a seat belt. However, Ohio has separate child restraint laws that require children to be properly restrained in a car seat or booster seat appropriate for their age, weight, and height. These child restraint laws are also primary, allowing officers to stop a vehicle and issue a citation if they observe a violation of these requirements.