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Window tint laws by state: legal VLT limits (2026)

Updated August 20267 min readAll 51 jurisdictions

Compiled and maintained by the TintScout editorial team.

Every US state writes its own window tint law, and the differences are bigger than most drivers expect. The table below shows the legal limit for each window in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., using the same data we show on our state pages. Find your state, note the front-side number, and you know how dark you can legally go.

At a glance

Tint is measured as VLT, the percent of light the film lets through, so a lower number is darker. The most common front-side limit is35% VLT (17 states use it), 21 jurisdictions apply one number to every window, and 17 of 51 set no limit at all on rear-window darkness. The strictest,Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, cap every window at 70%.

What does VLT mean?

VLT stands for visible light transmission: the percent of visible light that passes through the glass and film together. A 70% VLT window is nearly clear. A 5% window is the "limo tint" you cannot see into. Tint laws set a minimum VLT per window, so a 35% limit means your film and glass must let at least 35% of light through. Lower number on the box, darker film, closer to (or past) the legal line.

Legal tint limits in every state

Limits are for passenger cars; many states apply looser rear rules to SUVs, vans, and trucks. "Any" means the state sets no VLT limit for that window. Click a state for its local shops and law card.

Legal window tint limits by state, 2026. Minimum VLT per window; higher is lighter.
StateWindshieldFront sidesBack sidesRear
AlabamaTop 6 inches32%32%32%
AlaskaTop 5 inches70%40%40%
ArizonaTop of AS-1 line33%AnyAny
ArkansasTop 5 inches25%25%10%
CaliforniaTop 4 inches70%AnyAny
ColoradoTop 4 inches27%AnyAny
ConnecticutTop 6 inches (AS-1)35%35%Any
DelawareTop of AS-1 line70%AnyAny
FloridaTop of AS-1 line28%15%15%
GeorgiaTop 6 inches32%32%32%
HawaiiTop of AS-1 line35%35%35%
IdahoTop of AS-1 line35%20%35%
IllinoisTop 6 inches35%35%35%
IndianaTop 5 inches30%30%30%
IowaTop of AS-1 line70%AnyAny
KansasTop 5 inches35%35%35%
KentuckyTop of AS-1 line35%18%18%
LouisianaTop 5 inches40%25%12%
MaineTop 5 inches35%AnyAny
MarylandTop 5 inches35%35%35%
MassachusettsTop 6 inches35%35%35%
MichiganTop 4 inchesAny (top 4 in.)AnyAny
MinnesotaTop of AS-1 line50%50%50%
MississippiTop of AS-1 line28%28%28%
MissouriTop of AS-1 line35%AnyAny
MontanaTop of AS-1 line24%14%14%
NebraskaTop 5 inches35%20%20%
NevadaTop of AS-1 line35%AnyAny
New HampshireTop 6 inches70%35%35%
New JerseyNo tint allowed70%AnyAny
New MexicoTop of AS-1 line20%20%20%
New YorkTop 6 inches70%70%Any
North CarolinaTop of AS-1 line35%35%35%
North DakotaTop of AS-1 line50%AnyAny
OhioTop of AS-1 line50%AnyAny
OklahomaTop 5 inches25%25%25%
OregonTop 6 inches35%35%35%
PennsylvaniaTop 3 inches70%70%70%
Rhode IslandTop of AS-1 line70%70%70%
South CarolinaTop of AS-1 line27%27%27%
South DakotaTop of AS-1 line35%20%20%
TennesseeTop of AS-1 line35%35%35%
TexasTop 5 inches25%AnyAny
UtahTop of AS-1 line43%AnyAny
VermontTop of AS-1 lineNo tint allowedAnyAny
VirginiaTop of AS-1 line50%35%35%
WashingtonTop 6 inches24%24%24%
Washington, D.C.Top 5 inches70%50%50%
West VirginiaTop 5 inches35%35%35%
WisconsinTop of AS-1 line50%35%35%
WyomingTop 5 inches28%28%28%

Why are front windows stricter?

Almost every state draws the same line: light film beside the driver, darker film allowed behind. The front side windows are the ones police officers approach at a stop and the ones you look through when you check a mirror or a blind spot at night, so states keep them lighter. That is why17 jurisdictions do not regulate rear-window darkness at all while every one of them regulates the front sides in some form.

What about the windshield?

No state allows film across the full windshield of a passenger car. The standard allowance is a non-reflective strip along the top, defined either as a measurement (top 4, 5, or 6 inches) or as everything above the AS-1 line, a small mark printed near the top edge of most windshields. New Jersey is the outlier: no windshield tint at all.

How is tint checked and enforced?

Officers use a handheld VLT meter that clips over the glass and reads the light transmission in seconds. What happens next varies by state and by officer: a warning, a fix-it ticket that requires removing the film, or a fine. In states with annual vehicle inspections, illegal tint can also mean a failed inspection. The meter reads glass and film together, so factory-tinted glass plus dark film can fail even when the film alone would pass.

Medical exemptions exist in most states

Drivers with light-sensitive conditions such as lupus or albinism can apply for a medical exemption that permits darker film than the standard limit. The paperwork, the qualifying conditions, and how dark you may go all differ by state, and some states require you to carry the exemption certificate in the car. If this applies to you, ask your state DMV for its exemption process before booking an install.

A note on accuracy

This table is compiled from state vehicle codes and published state-law summaries, and it is the same data our state pages show. Legislatures amend tint laws, and enforcement practice shifts, so treat this as a starting point: confirm the current limit with your state DMV or a local shop before you install. A good installer knows the local rule and will steer you to a legal VLT in the film you want.

Find a shop that knows your state's rules

TintScout lists 20,348 window tinting shops across 49 states, each state page with its law card next to the local shops:

Houston, TXMiami, FLLos Angeles, CAOrlando, FLLas Vegas, NVSan Antonio, TXPhoenix, AZDallas, TXBrowse all states →

Sources

  1. State vehicle codes and published state tint-law summaries, compiled 2026. Cross-referenced against the AAA Digest of Motor Laws, drivinglaws.aaa.com.
  2. Federal glazing standard FMVSS No. 205 (49 CFR 571.205), which sets the roughly 70% light-transmission requirement for manufacturer-installed glass, ecfr.gov.
  3. International Window Film Association, state law reference materials, iwfa.com.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Limits shown are for passenger vehicles and can change; confirm with your state DMV.

Tint law FAQ

Tint law questions

It depends on the window and the state. Behind the front doors, 17 of the 51 US jurisdictions in our table set no limit at all on rear-window darkness. Beside the driver the rules are tighter: New Mexico allows the darkest front-side film at 20% VLT, and Michigan has no darkness limit but only lets front-side film cover the top 4 inches. Check your state's row in the table above.

Pennsylvania and Rhode Island cap every window, including the rear, at 70% VLT, which rules out anything beyond nearly clear film. Another 8 jurisdictions require 70% on the front side windows but allow darker film behind the driver. New Jersey and Vermont go further on specific windows: New Jersey allows no windshield tint at all, and Vermont allows none on the front side windows.

On the front side windows, 35% film is legal in 33 of the 51 jurisdictions in our table, and 35% is the single most common front-side limit (17 states use it). In the ten strictest jurisdictions, which require 50% to 70% up front, 35% film would put you over the line. Behind the front doors, 35% is legal almost everywhere.

The dark rear glass on many SUVs, vans, and trucks is tinted in the glass itself at the factory, and it is sold that way legally because most states regulate rear windows loosely or not at all. Front side windows are different: federal rules require glass installed by the manufacturer to let through about 70% of light, which is why no vehicle ships with dark front windows. Any film you add stacks on top of what the glass already blocks.

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