Seat Protectors at a Glance

Caregivers often ask if it’s safe to use a seat protector between the vehicle seat and the car seat.

Our stance on this issue? Avoid using a seat protector if at all possible.  Why?

Our article on Seat Protectors takes an in-depth look at the issues and offers some information on keeping your vehicle seats neat and tidy.

If you absolutely must use a seat protector, we’ve created this quick reference guide so you can quickly determine whether your car seat permits the use of a protector (and if so, which one), or thin towel, or nothing at all between the vehicle seat and the car seat.

Key Points

  • Don’t add anything to make it “feel” like the car seat is installed properly if you’re having trouble getting a tight installation at the belt path.
  • Avoid mats or protectors with deceptive grippy material on the bottom.

Seat Protectors

Manufacturer NameSeat Mats or Towel/BlanketSpecial Notes
Baby TrendAllowed only with the PROtect models and Secure models.All other models do not allow anything to be placed under the car seat or booster.
BritaxOnly the Britax Vehicle Seat Protector is allowed
BubbleBumYes (either is allowed)
ChiccoNoIMPORTANT: Chicco-branded seat protectors are not approved for use by Chicco.
ClekOnly the Clek Mat-thingy is allowed
CoscoSingle layered towel
CybexNo
DionoOnly Diono brand mats are allowed
EvenfloThe Evenflo Undermat Seat Protector or a towel is allowed.
GBNo
GracoYes (either is allowed)
HarmonyNo
KIDSEmbraceYes (either is allowed)
Maxi-CosiSingle layered towel
NunaNot recommended, but not prohibited"The RAVA was designed with a smooth seat back and seat bottom, so using a vehicle seat protector is not necessary..." Read more on Nuna's site.
Orbit BabyNo
Peg-PéregoNo
Safety 1stSingle layered towel
UPPAbabyNo (updated 2024, when all mats were disallowed)