Booster seat requirements in Delaware
Delaware sets no age for leaving a booster.
Nothing in the statute sets an age, a height or a weight that ends the booster stage.
What ends it instead A child stays in a belt-positioning booster until they reach the upper height or weight limit of that booster, as set by its manufacturer, and moves to a seat belt only once past it. The number is printed on the seat, not in the statute, and a driver is responsible for every passenger under 16.
- Rear facing until
- 24 months
- Back seat until
- age 12
Every figure on this page was read at 21 Del. C. § 4803 on 4 October 2026. Read the statute
What the Delaware booster seat law says
The stages below are separate rules in the statute, not one rule in steps. The back seat requirement and the restraint requirement are different obligations, and a child can be caught by both at once.
| Rule | Figure | What Delaware requires |
|---|---|---|
| Rear facing | under 24 months | Until 24 months (2 years), unless the child weighs at least 30 lb. |
| Car seat or booster | no figure | No age, height or weight is set. Condition A child stays in a belt-positioning booster until they reach the upper height or weight limit of that booster, as set by its manufacturer, and moves to a seat belt only once past it. The number is printed on the seat, not in the statute, and a driver is responsible for every passenger under 16. |
| Back seat | under 12 years | Required for a child under age 12. |
| Penalty | no figure | No amount recorded. Condition Subsection (c) sets a fine of twenty five dollars for a second or subsequent violation and names no fine for a first, where the statute directs law enforcement to refer the driver to a car seat fitting station sanctioned by the Office of Highway Safety instead. Failing to restrain more than one child in the same vehicle at the same time is a single offense. |
Where this and size guidance disagree, follow the stricter one. A belt that crosses the neck rather than the middle of the chest is worse protection than a booster even where the statute allows it.
The statute
Delaware sets this in 21 Del. C. § 4803. Read it at the source.
This is information, not legal advice. A city or county in Delaware can set a stricter rule than the state one, and an officer enforces the text of the statute rather than a summary of it. Where this page and the statute differ, the statute is right and this page is a bug.
Where this comes from
- Statute
- 21 Del. C. § 4803
- Source
- delcode.delaware.gov
- Jurisdiction
- Delaware (DE), state law only
- Last reviewed
- 4 October 2026 0 days ago
- Read at the statute
- 4 October 2026
- Signed off by a person
- Not yet
- Amendment history
- 84 Del. Laws, c. 73, § 1; 84 Del. Laws, c. 514, § 43