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N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 bars non-transparent material on the windshield and front side windows and states no percentage. The Motor Vehicle Commission's position is that those windows may be tinted only with a medical exemption; exempt film plus factory glass must keep at least 70% on the windshield below the AS-1 line and 60% on the front side windows. MVC inspection guidance allows tint behind the driver with an exterior mirror on each side.
Source: N.J.S.A. 39:3-74; N.J.S.A. 39:3-75.1; N.J.S.A. 39:3-75.1 (medical exemption); N.J.A.C. 13:20-1 and 13:20-2 (sun-screening standards, medical exemption certificates, installer registration; MVC-posted 2017 text); NJ MVC: Window Sun-screening For Medical Reasons; NJ MVC: Application for Sunscreening (MVC Sunscreening 1, R09/26); NJ MVC: Sunscreening Frequently Asked Questions; NJ MVC: Private Inspection Facility Manual (r 5/17), Glazing, Medical Tinting and Vision Obstruction sections; NJ MVC: Sun Screening Installer Licensing. Summary last checked against these sources on September 28, 2026.
| Window | Rule |
|---|---|
| Windshield | N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 bars driving with any sign, poster, sticker or other non-transparent material on the front windshield, other than a certificate or other article required by statute or by the commissioner's regulations; it states no percentage. The MVC's position is that the windshield may be tinted only with a medical exemption. For an exempt vehicle, N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.2(a) and 1.4(a) require clear film (defined as having a neutral gray appearance over the factory glass) that, together with the factory glass, keeps visible light transmittance at 70% or more; 1.2(b) lets exempt film above the AS-1 line go below 70%. Separately, the MVC's inspection manual lists as an exception strips of add-on tint at the top of the windshield that project down no more than 20% of the windshield's vertical height; the MVC's medical-exemption page does not mention this allowance. |
| Front side windows | 39:3-74 puts the front side windows (and the wings, deflectors, side shields and corner lights adjoining the windshield) under the same non-transparent-material ban, with no percentage; the statute does not use the words film or tint. The MVC's position is that front side windows may be tinted only with a medical exemption, and its inspection manual lists add-on tinting on any window to the immediate right or left of the driver as a condition not to certify. For an exempt vehicle, N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.2(c) requires at least 60% visible light transmittance through the film and factory glass combined, and 1.2(d) also allows readily removable material on the uppermost six inches between sunrise and sunset, down to 35%. The inspection manual, listing what the installer's label shows (60% for front side windows, 70% for the windshield), says a tolerance of minus 5% light transmittance will be allowed; the 2017 rule text states no tolerance. |
| Rear side windows | The non-transparent-material ban in 39:3-74 does not name windows behind the driver, but the statute's third paragraph bars driving a vehicle so constructed, equipped or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver's vision to the front and to the sides. The MVC inspection manual says any motor vehicle may have side windows to the rear of the driver tinted so as to partially obscure the driver's vision, and a vehicle registered for commercial purposes and built on a truck chassis (including noncommercial trucks registered code 15) may have them painted or tinted so as to obstruct vision, in both cases provided the vehicle has an exterior mirror on each side. Neither source states a percentage. |
| Rear window | Not named in 39:3-74. The MVC inspection manual says any motor vehicle may have the rear window tinted so as to partially obscure the driver's vision, and a vehicle registered for commercial purposes and built on a truck chassis (including noncommercial trucks registered code 15) may have it painted or tinted so as to obstruct vision, in both cases provided the vehicle has an exterior mirror on each side. No percentage is stated. |
| Reflectance and color | Neither statute sets a reflectance limit; 39:3-75.1 mentions reflectance only in allowing exempt material that increases it. The MVC inspection manual says a vehicle with mirror-type material on any window shall not be certified, and lists highly reflective or mirror type tinted glazing as a condition not to certify. For medically exempt film, N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.3 caps visible light reflectance at 8% on the windshield and front side windows, and 13:20-1.4 requires clear film on the windshield and clear or tinted film on the front side windows. The manual's medical-tint inspection rejects exempt film with a mirrored or colored appearance other than light gray. |
| Installer duties | Exempt film on the windshield or front side windows may be installed for pay only by a facility registered with the MVC (N.J.A.C. 13:20-2.2(b)), and the MVC's application form says it must be installed by an approved installer. The facility attaches a one-inch-square label, between the film and the glass on each treated window, showing the film manufacturer and the facility's registration number (13:20-1.8). The MVC's installer page says the driver must provide a medical exemption certificate to the installer. |
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).
N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 applies to anyone who drives a motor vehicle with non-transparent material on the front windshield, wings, deflectors, side shields, corner lights adjoining the windshield or front side windows; a certificate or article required by statute or by the commissioner's regulations is excepted. The statute names no percentage and does not name windows behind the driver; its only other vision rule is a general bar on a vehicle so constructed, equipped or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver's vision to the front and sides. That ordinary film on the windshield and front side windows needs a medical exemption is the MVC's position, stated on its medical-exemption page and in its inspection manual, not words of the statute. The 70%, 60%, 35% and 8% figures come from the MVC's medical-exemption rule (N.J.A.C. 13:20-1, read in the 2017 text the MVC posts), where transmittance means light passing through the film and the factory glass together. The mirror condition for rear tint, the commercial truck-chassis allowance, the mirror-type-material rule, the top-of-windshield strip allowance and the minus 5% tolerance come from the MVC's inspection manual (r 5/17), not the statute or the rule.
N.J.S.A. 39:3-75.1 lets the owner or lessee of a vehicle driven by, or regularly used to transport, a person with a medical condition involving ophthalmic or dermatologic photosensitivity apply for permission to treat the windshield and windows. The application needs a written certification from a certified ophthalmologist or a physician licensed in New Jersey or a bordering state; the MVC's FAQ says the physician must reside in New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania. The statute lists polymorphous light eruption, persistent light reactivity, actinic reticuloid, porphyrins, solar urticaria, lupus erythematosus, and other conditions the director determines; N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.5(a) adds chronic actinic dermatitis, photosensitive eczema, and skin cancers with an associated diagnosis of chronic actinic dermatitis. The physician's certification must state the wavelength or action spectra of light the patient is sensitive to, and dermatological conditions need a photo-testing certification (13:20-1.5(d)). Per the MVC, the applicant submits form MVC Sunscreening 1 with the physician's section and a valid prescription by email to SUNSCREENING@mvc.nj.gov or by mail to the Customer Advocacy Office, and may not tint until approved. An approved applicant receives a temporary approval valid for 60 days and an Installation Confirmation form, has a licensed sunscreening facility install the film and sign the confirmation, returns it to the MVC, and then receives a permanent approval valid for 48 months that stays in the vehicle; it is renewed every 48 months. Each vehicle gets its own exemption card. The certificate must be carried and shown to police on request (13:20-1.7). It becomes void when the vehicle is sold or its lease ends, and the owner or lessee must remove the film before then, unless a lessee buys the vehicle at lease end, in which case the certificate stays valid until a replacement is issued and the purchaser must apply within 14 days of the new registration (13:20-1.6(d), (e)).
This page does not cover penalties for a violation. Confirm with the state.
N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 bars non-transparent material on the front windshield and front side windows and gives no percentage. The MVC's position is that those windows may be tinted only with a medical exemption. For an exempt vehicle, N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.2 requires at least 70% visible light transmittance on the windshield below the AS-1 line and 60% on the front side windows, measured through the film and factory glass together; removable material on the top six inches of the front side windows may go to 35% between sunrise and sunset. For windows behind the driver, the MVC inspection manual allows tint that partially obscures vision if the vehicle has an exterior mirror on each side.
The statute itself bars non-transparent material on the front side windows without naming a percentage or using the words film or tint. The MVC says the windshield and front side windows may be tinted only with a medical exemption, and its inspection manual lists add-on tinting on any window to the immediate right or left of the driver as a condition not to certify. So, by the MVC's reading, ordinary aftermarket film on the front side windows is not allowed without an exemption.
39:3-74's non-transparent-material ban does not name windows behind the driver, though the statute also bars a vehicle that unduly interferes with the driver's vision to the front and sides. The MVC inspection manual says any motor vehicle may have the rear window and side windows to the rear of the driver tinted so as to partially obscure vision, and a vehicle registered for commercial purposes and built on a truck chassis (including noncommercial trucks registered code 15) may have them obstruct vision, provided the vehicle has an exterior mirror on each side. Neither source states a percentage.
N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 sets no reflectance limit, and 39:3-75.1 mentions reflectance only for exempt material. The MVC inspection manual says a vehicle with mirror-type material on any window shall not be certified. For medically exempt film on the windshield and front side windows, N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.3 limits visible light reflectance to 8%.
Complete the MVC Sunscreening 1 application, have your physician fill out the physician section, and send it with a valid prescription to SUNSCREENING@mvc.nj.gov or the MVC Customer Advocacy Office. Do not tint until the MVC approves. If approved, you get a temporary approval valid for 60 days and an Installation Confirmation form; a licensed sunscreening facility installs the film and signs the confirmation, you return it to the MVC, and you then receive a permanent approval valid for 48 months to keep in the vehicle. The qualifying conditions are those in N.J.S.A. 39:3-75.1 and N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.5(a), and each vehicle needs its own exemption.
Under N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.6, the medical exemption certificate becomes void when the vehicle is sold or its lease ends, and the owner or lessee is responsible for removing the film from the windshield and front side windows before the sale or lease end. A lessee who buys the vehicle at lease end is treated differently: the certificate stays valid until a replacement is issued, and the purchaser must apply for the replacement within 14 days of the new registration.
Running a tint shop in New Jersey? See shop software for New Jersey.
This page summarizes New Jersey 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.