Automobile booster seats can significantly reduce the risk of injury and death for children up to age eight, according to Parents for Child Passenger Safety. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have booster seat laws; however, the laws vary from state to state. States' legal requirements governing the use of booster seats are based on the child's age, weight or height, or a combination of age and weight. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a nonprofit organization, provides a chart of all state booster seat laws on its website.
Age Requirements
The required age for children to switch from car seats to booster seats ranges from four to eight years old. The age at which children may stop using booster seats ranges from six to nine years old. Tennessee and Wyoming require the use of booster seats up to the age of nine. Some states require children of a certain weight to use booster seats, even if they are younger than four years of age.
Weight Requirements
Weight requirements range from 40 to 80 pounds. Children up to this weight must use booster seats in states with the weight requirement.
Some state laws require both the age and weight listed, while other state laws require the age or weight, but not both. Some states do not have a weight requirement for the use of child booster seats.
Height Requirements
Only 13 state booster seat laws have requirements that children must reach a specific height before discontinuing use of booster seats. The requirement for a child's standing height range from 40 inches to 60 inches tall. In Washington and West Virginia, a child may stop using the booster seat once she reached 4 feet 9 inches tall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that children use booster seats until adult seat belts fit properly across the child's upper thighs and chest.
