State Booster Seat Laws

State Booster Seat Use Requirements
As of May 1, 2009, 44 States and the District of Columbia had enacted provisions in their
child restraint laws requiring the use of a booster seat or other appropriate restraint device
by children who have outgrown their forward-facing child safety seats, but who are still
too small to use an adult seat belt system safely. Specific provisions vary widely from
State to State, including the upper age limit, and height and/or weight requirements.

State Booster Seat Use Requirements
As of May 1, 2009

DC

AK
HI

Requirement
Requirement Enacted
Enacted

No
No Requirement
Requirement

The following jurisdictions have enacted these lifesaving provisions:
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Delaware
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Iowa
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Massachusetts

Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island

South Carolina
Tennessee
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Only Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, South Dakota and Texas have yet to enact
booster seat use requirements.

State Booster Seat Use Requirements
By Upper
Upper Age Limit, as
as of May
May 1, 2009
2009

DC

AK

HI

Up
Up to
to Age
Age 66

Up
Up to
to Age
Age 77

Up
Up to
to Age
Age 88

Up
Up to
to Age
Age 99
No
No Requirement
Requirement

In addition to passing booster seat use requirements, States have strengthened their child
restraint laws to protect older child passengers in a variety of other ways, including
raising the age requirements, requiring child passengers to ride in the back seat, and
eliminating gaps and exemptions that expose child passengers to needless risk.
Ohio enacted its requirement -- which requires booster seat by children ages 4 through 7
years who weigh 40 pounds or more and who are shorter than 57 inches tall -- in January
2009; the new provision will take effect in October 2009. In 2008, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan and Utah strengthened their laws to require restraint use by
child passengers up to age 8, unless they are 4’9” tall. In addition, Kentucky and
Mississippi upgraded their laws in 2008 to mandate booster seat use by children up to age
7, unless they are 50” tall or 56” tall, respectively.
Eighteen States and Washington, D.C. qualified for special Federal funding in 2008
under the Section 2011 incentive grant program. Those jurisdictions are: Delaware, the
District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia,
Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
According to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, booster seats lower the risk of injury to
children in crashes by 59% compared to the use of vehicle seat belts alone. For details,
go to http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/files/PCPS_Reports/pcps_cpsreprt_04.pdf.
For additional details on the provisions of State child restraint laws,. visit www.nhtsa.gov
or http://www.iihs.org/laws/ChildRestraint.aspx.
Source: NHTSA Occupant Protection Division, May 1, 2009

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