U.S. – CPSC Proposes 16 CFR 1237 Safety Standard for Booster Seats

Vol. 970 | 24 May 2017

As part of the rulemaking process required by the Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is proposing a new federal regulation 16 CFR 1237 Safety Standard for Booster Seats. The rule proposes to adopt the existing ASTM standard, F2640–17ε1 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Booster Seats, without any changes.

As described in the ASTM F2640-17ε1 standard, a “Booster Seat” is defined as “a juvenile chair, which is placed on an adult chair to elevate a child to standard dining table height. The booster seat is made for the purpose of containing a child, up to 5 years of age, and normally for the purposes of feeding or eating.” Booster seats may be attached to adult chairs by different means ranging from suction cups, straps or grip feet. There is ongoing debate on whether ‘grip feet’ are in fact ‘attachment means’ required to comply with the attachment test in the standard and the CPSC is collecting comments in this regard.

The ASTM F2640-17ε1 standard addresses general requirements such as sharp points, sharp edges, locking and latching mechanisms, scissoring, shearing and pinching, marking and labeling, instructional literature, in addition to specific performance related requirements for the booster seats including:

• Tray drop test
• Requirements for chair restraint system
• Booster seat attachment means test
• Structural integrity tests
• Measurement for maximum booster seat dimensions

The CPSC has proposed that the rule become effective 12 months after the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted until August 2, 2017.

The Proposed Rule can be viewed at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-05-19/pdf/2017-10044.pdf

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, 630-209-9265).