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Connecticut allows film on front side, rear side and rear windows that is not mirror-like, meets reflectance limits and, with the glazing, has total light transmission of not less than 35%, plus or minus 3%. The rear window is exempt with outside mirrors on both sides showing at least 200 feet behind. Windshield material may cover only the top, its bottom edge at least 29 inches above the driver's seat, not red or amber.
Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-99g; Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-2 (allowable light transmittance); Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-3 (allowable luminous reflectance); Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-4 (approval of sunscreening material); Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-5 (compliance sticker requirements); Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-6 (inspection of vehicles with aftermarket sunscreening material); Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-7 (medical exemptions); Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 14-99g-8 (livery exemption); 49 CFR 571.3 (multipurpose passenger vehicle and truck definitions); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-164m (infraction fine schedule limits); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 13b-101 (motor vehicle in livery service). Summary last checked against these sources on September 28, 2026.
| Window | Rule |
|---|---|
| Windshield | Transparent material may be applied only to the topmost portion of the windshield, with its bottom edge at least 29 inches above the undepressed driver's seat, measured from a point 5 inches in front of the bottom of the backrest with the seat in its rearmost and lowermost position and the vehicle on a level surface; the material may not be red or amber (14-99g(c)(11)). The statute states no strip depth in inches and no light-transmission figure for that material. The DMV regulation bars sunscreening material on the windshield except as provided in 14-99g(b) and (c)(11) (Regs. Conn. State Agencies 14-99g-2(a)). Signs, stickers or other materials are allowed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner farthest from the driver or a 5-inch square in the lower corner nearest the driver (14-99g(c)(4)). |
| Front side windows | Front side wing vents and windows are exempt from the tint ban when they are not mirror-like in appearance and the material used with the glazing has total light transmission of not less than 35% plus or minus 3% and luminous reflectance of 27% plus or minus 3% (14-99g(c)(1)). The DMV regulation states the measured figure as not less than 32%, measured with a light transmittance meter accurate to plus or minus 3% or better, when sunscreening material has been applied (14-99g-2(b)), and caps luminous reflectance at not more than 30% (14-99g-3(a)). |
| Rear side windows | The right and left side windows behind the driver must not be mirror-like and need total light transmission of not less than 35% plus or minus 3%, with luminous reflectance the statute states as 21% plus or minus 3% (14-99g(c)(5)). The regulation states not less than 32% measured light transmittance (14-99g-2(c)) and not more than 24% luminous reflectance (14-99g-3(b)). Windows behind the driver on a truck, motor bus, trailer, mobile manufactured home or multipurpose passenger vehicle (as defined in 49 CFR 571.3) are exempt if the vehicle has outside mirrors on the left and right sides showing the driver the highway for at least 200 feet to the rear (14-99g(c)(6)). |
| Rear window | The rearmost window has the same limits as the rear side windows: not mirror-like, not less than 35% plus or minus 3% total light transmission and luminous reflectance of 21% plus or minus 3% (14-99g(c)(5)), or under the regulation not less than 32% measured light transmittance and not more than 24% luminous reflectance (14-99g-2(c); 14-99g-3(b)). The rearmost window or windows are exempt on any motor vehicle equipped with outside mirrors on the left and right sides that show the driver the highway for at least 200 feet to the rear (14-99g(c)(10)). |
| Reflectance and color | Transparent material that alters a window's color or reduces its light transmittance is barred unless a 14-99g(c) exception, the medical exemption in 14-99g(b) or the livery exemption in 14-99g(h) applies. The front side and rear window exceptions in (c)(1) and (c)(5) require material that is not mirror-like in appearance; the mirror-based exceptions in (c)(6) and (c)(10) state no appearance or reflectance condition. Reflectance is capped rather than banned: the regulation sets luminous reflectance at not more than 30% on the front side windows and wing vents and not more than 24% on the windows behind the driver and the rearmost window, and names no exception to those caps (14-99g-3). Windshield material may not be red or amber (14-99g(c)(11)). |
| Compliance sticker | A vehicle manufactured and sold on and after January 1, 1994 with a window tinted after factory delivery must have a sticker on the lower left corner of each tinted window, legible from outside, showing the sticker registration number and a certification of compliance (14-99g(e)). The sticker must be pressure-sensitive, self-destructive upon removal and no more than one square inch (14-99g(e)). The regulation requires a valid compliance sticker on each window of a vehicle made and sold since January 1, 1994 that has aftermarket film, and the manufacturer's certification label on each window of an older vehicle filmed after that date (14-99g-6(a), (c)). A sticker supplied with material suitable only for the rearmost window must say REAR ONLY (14-99g-5(c)(4)). |
| Manufacturers, sellers and installers | Before shipping tint material into the state or making it available for installation, the manufacturer must apply to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for approval and registration of the material and its sticker, and the commissioner may not approve them unless they are shown to comply (14-99g(e); 14-99g-4). A business that tints vehicle windows or sells or installs tint material must display at each service counter a sign stating the light transmission and reflectance standards in block letters at least three inches high, the penalties, and actual tinted material samples (14-99g(i)). A mobile tinting business must give the purchaser a written statement of the standards and penalties (14-99g(j)). Since July 1, 1996, no one may sell, offer for sale or deliver in the state a motor vehicle whose windshield or any window exceeds the light transmission and reflectance standards (14-99g(d)). |
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).
Subsection (b) of section 14-99g applies to the operation of any motor vehicle, and the section does not name SUVs. The 35% rules on windows behind the driver do not apply to trucks, motor buses, trailers, mobile manufactured homes or multipurpose passenger vehicles with outside mirrors on both sides showing at least 200 feet to the rear (14-99g(c)(6)). 49 CFR 571.3 defines a multipurpose passenger vehicle as one designed to carry 10 persons or less, built on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation, and a truck as a vehicle designed primarily for transporting property or special purpose equipment, so an SUV is exempt behind the driver only if it meets one of those definitions and has the required mirrors. Subsections (b) to (g) do not apply to motor vehicles in livery service as defined in 13b-101 (14-99g(h); regulation 14-99g-8). A vehicle made and sold before January 1, 1994 that had aftermarket film applied before that date must be presented to the DMV for testing, certification and stickers (regulation 14-99g-6(b)). A vehicle required to be inspected under 14-12 or 14-16a does not pass inspection if its tint does not comply (regulation 14-99g-6(d)).
A person required for medical reasons to be shielded from the direct rays of the sun, and a person operating a vehicle belonging to that person or in which that person is a usual passenger, is exempt from subsection (b) (14-99g(b)). The application is made in writing to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, supported by documentation from a physician or optometrist licensed to practice in Connecticut (14-99g(b)). Under the regulation, the application is signed under penalty of false statement; after approval the commissioner provides a validated form, which must be carried in the exempted vehicle (14-99g-7(b)). The exemption covers the light-transmittance rules and the compliance-sticker rules (14-99g-7(a)), but a window with a minimum light transmittance standard may not be so dark as to impair driving safety, and light transmittance below 20% is deemed to impair driving safety unless that is waived for good cause shown (14-99g-7(c)).
Each violation of subsections (b) to (e) is an infraction (14-99g(f)). A person who violates subsection (b) must remove the obstructing material and, within 60 days, report to the police department that issued the infractions complaint to present the vehicle for inspection and show compliance; a person who fails to report and is cited for a later violation has the vehicle impounded after notice and opportunity for hearing (14-99g(f)). Infraction fines are set by the Chief Court Administrator's schedule; for a Title 14 infraction the scheduled fine may be no less than $50 and no more than $90, and a Title 14 infraction with no scheduled fine carries $50 (51-164m(c)(2), (e)). This page did not read the schedule's amount for 14-99g or any added fees.
Film on the front side windows, rear side windows and rear window must not be mirror-like, and the material with the glazing must have total light transmission of not less than 35%, plus or minus 3%, with luminous reflectance of 27% plus or minus 3% on the front side windows and 21% plus or minus 3% behind the driver (14-99g(c)(1), (c)(5)). The DMV regulation states the measured floor as 32% on a meter accurate to plus or minus 3% or better (14-99g-2). The rear window is exempt if the vehicle has outside mirrors on both sides showing at least 200 feet to the rear (14-99g(c)(10)). Windshield film is allowed only on the topmost portion, with its bottom edge at least 29 inches above the undepressed driver's seat, and not red or amber (14-99g(c)(11)).
Section 14-99g and the DMV regulations read here do not require a permit for tint that meets the limits. They require a compliance sticker on the lower left corner of each tinted window of a vehicle manufactured and sold on or after January 1, 1994 (14-99g(e); 14-99g-6), and the application to the commissioner they describe for a driver is the medical exemption (14-99g(b); 14-99g-7). Subsection (g) required owners of vehicles tinted after factory delivery to present them to the DMV by July 1, 1996 to receive stickers; the regulation applies that testing to vehicles made and sold before 1994 whose film went on before 1994 (14-99g-6(b)).
Possibly. The windows behind the driver on any truck, motor bus, trailer, mobile manufactured home or multipurpose passenger vehicle, as defined in 49 CFR 571.3, are exempt from the 35% rule if the vehicle has outside mirrors on the left and right sides showing the highway for at least 200 feet to the rear (14-99g(c)(6); 14-99g-2(c)(1)). The statute does not name SUVs. 49 CFR 571.3 defines a multipurpose passenger vehicle as one designed to carry 10 persons or less that is built on a truck chassis or has special features for occasional off-road operation, and a truck as a motor vehicle designed primarily for transporting property or special purpose equipment. An SUV that does not meet either definition follows the 35% rule on its rear side windows.
The statute states the limit as not less than 35% plus or minus 3% (14-99g(c)(1), (c)(5)). The DMV regulation states it as a measured light transmittance of not less than 32%, using a light transmittance meter with an accuracy of plus or minus 3% or better (14-99g-2(b), (c)). A reading of 32% or more therefore meets the regulation's light-transmittance figure; the reflectance caps, the no-mirror-look condition and the sticker rule still apply.
The front side and rear window exceptions in 14-99g(c)(1) and (c)(5) cover only material that is not mirror-like in appearance, and film that alters color or reduces light transmittance is otherwise barred unless another exception applies (14-99g(b)). Reflectance is capped: the regulation allows luminous reflectance of not more than 30% on the front side windows and wing vents and not more than 24% on the windows behind the driver and the rearmost window (14-99g-3). The statute itself words those figures as 27% and 21%, each plus or minus 3%.
A person required for medical reasons to be shielded from the direct rays of the sun applies in writing to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, supported by a Connecticut-licensed physician or optometrist (14-99g(b)). After approval the commissioner provides a validated form, which must be carried in the exempted vehicle (14-99g-7(b)). Light transmittance below 20% is deemed to impair driving safety unless waived for good cause shown (14-99g-7(c)).
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This page summarizes Connecticut 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 inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed to comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard, 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.