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 Kentucky, the state law requires all vehicle drivers and passengers to wear seat belts. This is a primary enforcement law, which means that law enforcement officers can stop a vehicle and issue a citation to the driver if they observe a seat belt violation, without needing to have another reason for the traffic stop. The law applies to all front-seat occupants, and Kentucky also requires that all passengers under the age of 16 wear seat belts or be in a child restraint device, regardless of their seating position in the vehicle. For adult rear-seat passengers, Kentucky's seat belt law is secondary, meaning that officers can only issue a citation for not wearing a seat belt if there is another traffic violation. Additionally, Kentucky has specific child restraint laws that mandate appropriate safety seats for children based on their age, height, and weight.