In an effort to improve child restraint use and decrease misuse of child restraints, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) created a standardized child passenger safety training in 1998 that resulted in the certification of thousands of individuals as child passenger safety technicians (CPSTs). These CPSTs are armed with the knowledge and skills to assist families to learn how to properly restrain their children.
Safe Kids Worldwide is the certifying body for the training (http://cert.safekids.org) and the National Child Passenger Safety Board (http://cpsboard.org) oversees training related policies, procedures, and curriculum updates.
The training lasts approximately 32 hours and combines lecture with hands-on exercises. It concludes with a community car seat clinic staffed by instructors and students. The Automotive Safety Program supports the certification training program in Indiana. Click here for a list of training dates and locations. You can also search for Indiana classes at http://cert.safekids.org. Click on “Find A Course” when you get on the website. Potential students should register at the Safe Kids certification website; the registration fee is $95.
The information on this page is only for Indiana Certified Child Passenger Safety Instructors. The Indiana-specific documents and recertification forms supplement the resources provided in the national certification training.
This course teaches the basics of child passenger safety, including:
- Basic injury prevention
- Crash dynamics
- Federal role and safety standards
- Proper use and installation of child safety seats
- Misuse and incompatibility issues
- Safety in vehicles other than passenger vehicles
- Setting up and running a child safety seat clinic
After successful completion of the course, a CPST will be able to provide caregivers with education and resources, conduct child safety seat inspections and participate in a number of community projects through their own organizations and the Automotive Safety Program.
Certification Scholarships
The Automotive Safety Program (ASP) at Indiana University School of Medicine is funded by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to direct child passenger safety education and training in the state of Indiana. The ASP is offering a limited number of certification scholarships to help with the $95 certification fee for new CPST technicians, $95 renewal certification fee for expired CPSTs looking to re-certify, and the $85 certification fee for CPST Instructor Candidates. The FY25 Certification Scholarship is available at this link.