# How dark can window tint be in car windows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 19, 2000, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121 "2000-02-19T22:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/1 "2000-02-19T22:09:00Z")
And still be legal? I don’t think there is a law stating how dark the tinting can be in my state. Although I think if you get them too dark your asking to get stopped by the highway patrol and then the stop may not be a pleasant one, until they see that you are just joe motorist. Is ANY degree of window tinting illegal in ANY states? * * * “I’m the best there is Fats. Even if you beat me, I’m still the best.” (Paul Newman in The Hustler) ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/2 "2000-02-19T22:15:00Z")
[Here](http://www.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/)’s a list of state and province laws concerning automotive window tinting. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2000, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/3 "2000-02-19T22:42:00Z")
That site says that DC has > [@](#): > > The most strict law in the country. If this is true, then they’re sure not enforcing it. I frequently see cars that look as though their windows were dipped in roofing tar. I can’t understand this, since all cars must pass inspection every year and those guys will look for just about any reason to reject you. * * * Fudge greenies & blue mashed potatoes go with everything! ---
**Author:** ![Arjuna34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Arjuna34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arjuna34)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/4 "2000-02-20T02:05:00Z")
Wow, Beatle, I think that’s a record for the quickest post that directly answers the opening post! I know that in Virginia the cops use a meter which directly measures the transmission of light through car windows (it has a light on one side of the window, and a sensor on the other). I seem to recall a a window tinting method that was designed to be transparent to the specific wavelength used in the meter, but still dark overall, but I don’t know if that’s a real product or not. Arjuna34 ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/5 "2000-02-20T16:25:00Z")
Which windows? Limos all have tinted windows anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Bluepony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/6 "2000-02-20T16:42:00Z")
I had a card-size pocket gauge I used on traffic stops if I thought the tint was exceeding FL standards. You just held it up to the window and eyeballed it. My 2-yr old took it from me when I laid it down on the coffee table to show a friend. It’s out there somewhere in my back yard with about 3 kazillion toys. This is why all my guns stay locked up. * * * _…send lawyers, guns, and money…_ ``` Warren Zevon ``` ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/7 "2000-02-20T17:23:00Z")
On the issue of limos, i believe they are generally exempt from the general tinting regulations. I know that a very dark tint job is often referred to as “limo tinting”, which is almost invariably illegal for private vehicles. My question would be why tinting is controlled in the first place. Is it so the police can see what you are doing if you are stopped? ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/8 "2000-02-20T17:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Is it so the police can see what you are doing if you are stopped? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/9 "2000-03-05T08:42:00Z")
While not familiar with the laws in different states I do know that what’s legal in Texas is not legal in either MN or ME. While stationed in ME I had a colleague who had to carry around some paperwork stating that his windows had been tinted in TX. Whatever the percentage was it was legal in TX but illegal in ME. On a related note, I remember hearing/seeing/reading a blurb about a guy who got a ticket in the DC area (think it was VA) because his license plate had one of those tinted covers over it. Turns out that the law states that license plates cannot be \ in any way. I seem to recollect that Pep Boys took that item off the market in , although I may be wrong about that. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/10 "2000-03-05T09:05:00Z")
About my last post… I was living in DC at the time (about 7 yrs ago) and the details are hazy. ---
**Author:** ![zuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9c0ed/32.png) [@zuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zuma)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/11 "2000-03-05T09:29:00Z")
In CA, as I understand it, any tinting except the rear is illegal. However, when I did get mine tinted, they tint place told me that as long as the side windows were lighter than the back, and the side windows were not so dark as to make the driver not visible from the outside, you’d have no problems. So, I tinted the back window dark, and the sides medium-dark, and have had no problems. Your milage may vary. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dark-can-window-tint-be-in-car-windows/8121/12 "2000-03-05T10:19:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I know that a very dark tint job is is almost invariably illegal for private vehicles. So it’s okay that you’re not seen by the cops as long as you’re rich enough to afford a limo? Gotta love this country. * * * I am the user formerly known as puffington.