When it comes to booster seat safety, it can be difficult to know where to turn for help. Different states have different laws about child restraints. Different brands of car seats offer a variety of both necessary and unnecessary features, and you may not know which ones are the most important for your child’s particular size. Simply getting the car seat installed properly can be an issue, since cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans are all built with different specifications in mind.

Fortunately, there are places you can go for information and assistance on safely installing a car seat or booster seat.

Many fire stations and emergency squad personnel are trained as Certified Passenger Safety (CPS) Technicians. This designation means that they can install and/or inspect a car seat or booster seat to ensure that you are using it properly. In most cases, you can call ahead or even just stop by a fire station to speak with someone about your car seat usage.

City and county health departments are also either staffed with CPS Technicians or are able to offer assistance in car seat inspection. Most cities hold local “fairs” once or twice a year that offer free inspections, oftentimes in conjunction with other child safety information or kid-focused organizations. As is the case with fire stations, you may be able to call ahead any time of the year to get more personalized help.

Online support can be found at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which offers both information on choosing a car seat as well as a feature to help you find the child seat inspection station nearest you.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is another good resource for information on booster seat and car seat comparisons. It also includes a detailed United States chart for booster seat laws.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a first-time parent or you have a car full of kids and you simply want to do a routine check to ensure that older booster seats are still up-to-date and viable – these support organizations exist to keep your children safe on the road.

Just like you regularly check the batteries in your smoke alarm or get the oil changed in your car, it’s a good idea to schedule in an annual booster seat check up. Most services are free of charge and don’t take any longer than a few minutes.