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 Wyoming, seat belt use is mandated by state law under Wyoming Statutes Title 31, Chapter 5, Article 12, which requires all front-seat occupants of motor vehicles to wear seat belts. Wyoming's seat belt law is a secondary enforcement law for adults, meaning that law enforcement officers can issue a citation for a seat belt violation only if the driver has been pulled over for another traffic violation. However, for child passengers, Wyoming has a primary enforcement law. This means that an officer can stop a vehicle and issue a citation if they observe a violation of the child restraint law, without needing any other reason for the traffic stop. The law requires that all children younger than nine years old be properly restrained in a child safety seat or booster seat, unless they are 4'9" or taller. It's important to note that while the law covers all front-seat occupants, it does not require adult passengers in the back seat to wear seat belts.