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

Vol. 1034 | 16 Jul 2018

As part of the rulemaking process required by the Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), on July 2, 2018, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved a new federal rule – 16 CFR 1237 Safety Standard for Booster Seats. The rule adopts the current ASTM standard, F2640 – 18 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Booster Seats, without any changes.

As described in the ASTM F2640-18 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.”

The original CPSC notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) for booster seats recommended adopting the ASTM F2640-17ε1 version of the standard. Since the NPR was proposed in 2017, the standard has been revised to address:

• Performance and testing requirements for booster seats designed to hang from the back of an adult chair
• Consistent measurement of the maximum adult chair dimensions for different designs of booster seats
• A new warning statement for booster seats that do not have a recline position

In issuing the final rule, the CPSC has confirmed that the new F2640-18 standard addresses all the hazards and injury patterns identified by the CPSC in the NPR. Further, the final rule clarifies that food-service booster seats will also be within the scope of the standard.  

The ASTM F2640-18 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

This rule is effective January 2, 2020. Booster seats manufactured on and after this date shall meet requirements of this rule. In addition, the booster seats manufactured on and after this date will also require certification per 16 CFR 1110 based on testing at a CPSC-approved third-party accreditation body (third-party lab) for 16 CFR 1237.

The approved rule can be viewed at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-07-02/pdf/2018-14133.pdf

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