The LATCH or UAS anchorage system makes car seat installation in a vehicle easier and does not use the vehicle seat belts. LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren, and is also referred to as lower Universal Anchorage System (UAS) in Canada.
All 2003 and newer model year vehicles are required to have built-in LATCH/UAS anchorage systems. Some manufacturers began including LATCH/UAS with their 2000 model year vehicles.
For infant car seat installations, the applicable parts of the vehicle LATCH/UAS system are the two lower anchorages (horizontal bars) located in the vehicle seat bight between the seat back and the seat cushion. These anchorages are normally indicated by a symbol or the word ‘ISOFIX.’
The infant car seat can be installed with the car seat base using the LATCH/UAS belt and connectors. LATCH/UAS belt and connectors are included with the car seat base and can be found in their storage location.
The car seat cannot be installed without the car seat base.