Should I replace a child car seat after a parking bump in the UK?

What are RoSPA's three conditions, in full?

The UK source is RoSPA's letter for insurers and the same text on Replacing a child seat after a crash. The default line comes first: a child car seat that was in a car involved in an accident should be replaced, even if there is no visible damage, because it may have been weakened.

The letter then says it is very difficult to judge how severe an impact needs to be to damage a child seat. It may not be necessary to replace the child seat if all of the following are true:

After those three lines the letter adds: the only reliable way to test whether the seat still provides the protection it was designed for would be laboratory tests, which would themselves destroy the seat. Some manufacturers give their own replacement advice. If in any doubt, it is better to be safe than sorry — replace the child seat.

Does RoSPA give a miles-per-hour cut-off for a parking bump?

No. The letter says "very low speed" and stops there. Forum posts and some overseas maker pages publish their own speed figures. Those are not RoSPA's UK letter. MayTally will not invent a cut-off that the PDF does not contain.

If you do not have a reliable speed — dash-cam, the other driver's admission, or a repairer's note — you cannot honestly tick condition 1. An "I think it was only 5 mph" guess is the doubt the letter tells you not to sit with.

How should I record the bump before I decide?

1. 1
   Write the three RoSPA facts, not a story Speed if you actually know it (or write "unknown"). External damage to the car: none / very little / more, with photos. Whether a child was in that seat: yes or no.
2. 2
   Photograph the car, not just the seat RoSPA's second condition is about damage to the car. A clean child seat does not answer it. Take the bumper, the panel that was touched, and a wider shot.
3. 3
   Read the manufacturer's instructions for that model The letter says some makers give their own circumstances for replacement. If the PDF says replace after any collision, that is stricter than RoSPA's three-part window.
4. 4
   Email the brand with those facts and the model label Ask them to apply their rule to this event. Do not only ask "was it minor?" — that imports a word they may not use.
5. 5
   If any box is unknown or the answers disagree The letter's closing instruction is the one to follow: if in any doubt, replace the child seat.

The child was in the seat but everyone is fine. Does that change it?

Condition 3 is then not met. RoSPA's "may not be necessary" window requires no child in the seat. A child who appears unhurt does not reopen that window. You are back on the default: replace a seat that was in a car involved in an accident, even if the seat looks unmarked, unless the manufacturer gives you a different written rule for that model and you choose to follow it.

This page does not clear a seat after a bump. Official records give conditions and a doubt rule. They do not issue an all-clear.

Should I mention a parking bump to the insurer?

If you are claiming for the car, RoSPA says include the child seat and check the seat belts that were in use. If you are not claiming, you can still send the letter later. Either way, the replacement decision in the letter is about the seat's condition, not about whether a claim is open. An insurer's yes or no on money does not rewrite the three conditions.

In shortKeep the seat only if you can honestly tick all three RoSPA lines: very low speed, no or very little car damage, and no child in the seat — and the maker does not tell you otherwise. There is no mph figure in the letter. If you are in doubt, RoSPA says replace.

If I replace it, can I pass the old seat on?

RoSPA's second-hand page is do not buy a used seat online, and only consider a family seat with a known history. A parking-bump history is exactly the history the next parent cannot see. Do not list it on Marketplace as "only a bump". Destroy or recycle it so it cannot be reused as an unknown spare.