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 Rhode Island, seat belt use is mandated by law for all front-seat occupants of motor vehicles, and this is enforced through a primary seat belt law. This means that law enforcement officers in Rhode Island have the authority to stop a vehicle and issue a citation to the driver or passengers solely for not wearing a seat belt, without the need for any other traffic violation to have occurred. Additionally, Rhode Island law requires all passengers under the age of 18 to wear seat belts, regardless of whether they are seated in the front or back of the vehicle. For children, Rhode Island has specific child restraint laws that require appropriate child safety seats based on the child's age, weight, and height. Violation of these seat belt and child restraint laws can result in fines and, for child restraint violations, points added to the driver's license.