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For vehicles registered in Colorado, the law sets a 27% minimum light transmittance for every window except the windshield, including front side, rear side and rear windows. Windows behind the driver may go below 27% if the front side windows and windshield allow at least 70%. The windshield minimum is 70%, with a nontransparent top strip allowed if conditions are met. Factory-installed windows approved under federal rules, and law-enforcement vehicles, are treated separately.
Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-4-227, 42-4-226(2), 42-4-1701(3)-(5) (2024 ed.); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-227, 2024 edition (OLLS PDF pp. 398-399); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-226(2) (exterior mirrors, 2024 edition, PDF p. 397); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1701(3)(a)(I) (traffic infraction classes and general penalty table, 2024 edition, PDF p. 614); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1701(4)(a)(I) (schedule applies on admission, guilty finding or judgment, 2024 edition, PDF p. 615); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1701(4)(a)(I)(D) (penalty and surcharge schedule row for § 42-4-227, 2024 edition, PDF pp. 616-617); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-1701(5)(b)-(c) (cap after an unpaid notice; when the schedule does not apply, 2024 edition, PDF pp. 628-629); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-235(1)(a) (definition of commercial vehicle, 2024 edition, PDF p. 404); Cross-check only: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 42-4-227, 2026 edition printing (OLLS PDF pp. 667-668; reads the same as the 2024 edition); 8 CCR 1507-1, MCS 2, 3.12 and 6 (Colorado State Patrol commercial vehicle rules, effective April 1, 2026); 49 CFR 393.60(d) (coloring or tinting of windshields and windows, eCFR; text read as of October 1, 2025, the version the state rule adopts); 1 CCR 301-25, Rule 6.5 (school transportation vehicle windows, State Board of Education). Summary last checked against these sources on September 19, 2026.
| Window | Rule |
|---|---|
| Windshield | At least 70% light transmittance. Nontransparent material is allowed on the topmost portion if its bottom edge is no more than 4 inches below the top of the windshield, it is not red or amber, it does not affect perception of primary colors or otherwise distort vision, it has no lettering that distorts or obstructs vision, and it does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into the eyes of occupants of oncoming or preceding vehicles more than the windshield would without it. |
| Front side windows | At least 27% light transmittance for a vehicle registered in Colorado, apart from factory-installed windows approved under federal rules and law-enforcement vehicles (see the scope notes on this page). The statute states no tolerance. |
| Rear side windows | 27% is the general minimum for a vehicle registered in Colorado, subject to the carve-outs in the scope notes on this page. Windows to the rear of the driver may allow less than 27% if the front side windows and the windshield on the vehicle allow at least 70%. |
| Rear window | 27% is the general minimum for a vehicle registered in Colorado, subject to the carve-outs in the scope notes on this page. The rear window may allow less than 27% if the front side windows and the windshield allow at least 70%. Separately, section 42-4-226(2) calls for an exterior mirror on each side, giving a view of the highway for at least 200 feet to the rear, when the rear window and rear side windows are covered or treated with material that obstructs the driver's rear view or makes them nontransparent. |
| Reflectance or color | Subsection (1)(d) says no material shall be used on any window that presents a metallic or mirrored appearance, subject to the factory-window carve-out in subsection (1)(c). The section states no numeric reflectance limit. Within this section, red or amber is restricted only in the windshield-strip rule. |
| Required certificates | Subsection (1)(e) does not deny use of certificates or other papers that do not obstruct the driver's view and that the law requires to be displayed. |
VLT (visible light transmission) is the percentage of visible light that passes through a window or film; a higher number means lighter tint. Most state limits are measured on the finished window (glass and film together). Where a rule is stated for the film itself, the table says so. Some states also limit reflectance, the share of light bounced back off the surface (a mirror-like look).
The 27% rule is written for motor vehicles registered in Colorado. The section applies to all motor vehicles and sets no separate limits for SUVs, trucks, vans, buses, limousines or school buses, though other rules can add limits for commercial and school vehicles. Factory-installed windows approved under federal rules, and replacements meeting the same guidelines, are carved out. Vehicles owned or leased by a state or local law-enforcement agency may go below 27% (not on the windshield) only for valid law-enforcement service. Text is from the 2024 edition of the Colorado Revised Statutes; a 2026 printing reads the same, and later changes are not checked.
Colorado's window tint statute, C.R.S. 42-4-227, contains no medical exemption provision. This page did not search agency rules or forms for a separate medical process, so it cannot say whether one exists.
Operating a vehicle with a window that violates the section is a class B traffic infraction. Installing, covering or treating a windshield or window so it does not meet the requirements of subsection (1)(a), which include the 27% and 70% limits, is a class A traffic infraction. The general table in C.R.S. 42-4-1701(3)(a)(I) lists $15 to $100 for both classes, but it applies "except as provided in" subsections (4) and (5). Subsection (4)(a)(I)(D) lists section 42-4-227 at a $50 penalty plus a $16 surcharge for the section as a whole, with no separate amount for the installer offense, and those scheduled amounts apply when a person admits liability or has judgment entered. If a penalty assessment notice goes unpaid and the case is heard in court, the penalty imposed cannot exceed the scheduled penalty (subsection (5)(b)). Where subsection (5)(c) bars a penalty assessment notice, for example when the alleged violation contributed to a crash causing appreciable property damage or injury, the schedule does not apply and the $15 to $100 range governs.
For vehicles registered in Colorado, the law sets a 27% minimum light transmittance for every window except the windshield, including front side, rear side and rear windows. Windows behind the driver may go below 27% if the front side windows and windshield allow at least 70%. The windshield minimum is 70%. Factory-installed windows approved under federal rules, and law-enforcement vehicles, are treated separately.
Yes, on windows behind the driver, if the front side windows and the windshield each allow at least 70% light transmittance. That exception does not reach front side windows, and the metallic-or-mirrored ban in subsection (1)(d) still applies, subject to the factory-window carve-out in (1)(c). Separate carve-outs cover factory-installed windows approved under federal rules (or a replacement meeting the same guidelines) and law-enforcement vehicles. Darker rear glass can also bring in section 42-4-226(2), which calls for an exterior mirror on each side when the rear window and rear side windows obstruct the driver's rear view or are nontransparent.
Generally no. Subsection (1)(d) of the tint statute says no material shall be used on any window that presents a metallic or mirrored appearance. The carve-out for factory-installed windows approved under federal rules is written for subsection (1) as a whole.
Not in the tint statute. Section 42-4-227(4) says the section applies to all motor vehicles, and it sets one set of limits with no split by body style. The carve-outs that turn on the vehicle or how its glass was made are for factory-installed windows approved under federal rules (or a replacement meeting the same guidelines) and for law-enforcement vehicles, and the 27% rule itself is written for vehicles registered in Colorado. The section's other exceptions turn on the window, not the vehicle type: the darker-rear rule for windows behind the driver, the windshield top strip, and required certificates and papers. Commercial vehicles and school transportation vehicles can face separate rules, covered in the last question.
Yes, in classification. Operating a vehicle with a noncompliant window is a class B traffic infraction, while installing, covering or treating a windshield or window so it does not meet subsection (1)(a) is a class A traffic infraction under C.R.S. 42-4-227(3). The general table lists $15 to $100 for both classes but yields to the penalty schedule and notice provisions in subsections (4) and (5) of section 42-4-1701, which list the section at one amount, a $50 penalty plus a $16 surcharge.
The 27% operating rule in C.R.S. 42-4-227(1)(a)(I) is written for a motor vehicle registered in Colorado, and the section sets no separate limit for vehicles registered elsewhere. Other parts of the section, such as the metallic-or-mirrored rule in (1)(d), carry no registration wording, and the statute does not say how the installer offense in (3)(b) treats another state's vehicle. This is an unsettled point, and this page does not predict how an officer or court would treat such a vehicle.
They can. C.R.S. 42-4-227 itself has no separate limits for buses, limousines or school buses, but other rules can apply. The Colorado State Patrol's commercial vehicle rule (8 CCR 1507-1, MCS 6, effective April 1, 2026) requires commercial vehicles, as defined in C.R.S. 42-4-235(1)(a), and their drivers operating in Colorado to operate consistently with 49 CFR part 393. Section 393.60(d) of that part allows coloring or tinting of the windshield and the windows immediately right and left of the driver if the glazing keeps at least 70% parallel luminous transmittance in the portions marked as having it, and says that limit does not apply to other windows on the commercial motor vehicle. For school transportation vehicles owned or leased by a school district, charter school or service provider and used for student transportation, State Board of Education rule 1 CCR 301-25, Rule 6.5, bars obstructing the windows with advertising, decorations or vehicle wraps and excepts tint applied by the vehicle manufacturer to industry standards. The text of that school rule names no percentage. This page does not work out how these rules combine with the 27% statute for a particular vehicle.
Read the full Colorado breakdown
Running a tint shop in Colorado? See shop software for Colorado.
This page summarizes Colorado statute and regulation text for general information and is not legal advice. It covers passenger vehicles with aftermarket film (film added after the vehicle left the factory) and includes SUV, van and truck rules where the state sets different ones. Some vehicle types, such as limousines, buses, commercial and law-enforcement vehicles, and factory glass are treated differently in some states, and whether a vehicle registered in another state is covered depends on the state; see “Who this covers” above. Federal glazing rules (FMVSS 205, 49 CFR 571.205) apply separately from state law, and 49 U.S.C. 30122 bars manufacturers, distributors, dealers, rental companies and motor vehicle repair businesses from knowingly making required safety equipment inoperative, so installers should check both. Laws change and enforcement varies; confirm current requirements with the state before tinting. Before tinting, ask the installer to measure your glass and confirm the finished window will meet the limit; afterward, ask for a reading on a light-transmission meter and keep it.