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New York requires at least 70% visible light transmission on the windshield (except the top six inches), front side windows, and — only for sedans, wagons, hardtops, coupes, hatchbacks, and convertibles — rear side windows. The rear window must also hit 70% unless the car has two functioning side mirrors. State law does not regulate tint reflectivity or require a general compliance sticker.
Source: N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 375(12-a); NY DMV — Tinted Windows (official agency guidance); NY Senate — VTL § 1800 (general traffic-infraction fine schedule). Summary last checked against these sources on September 23, 2026.
| Window | Rule |
|---|---|
| Windshield | VTL 375(12-a)(b)(1): the front windshield must have at least 70% VLT; only the uppermost six inches may be darker than that, and the statute sets no separate minimum for that strip. |
| Front side windows | VTL 375(12-a)(b)(2): the sidewings/side windows on either side, forward of or adjacent to the operator's seat, must have at least 70% VLT — no exception anywhere on the window. |
| Rear side windows — sedan, station wagon, hardtop, coupe, hatchback, convertible | VTL 375(12-a)(b)(3): on a vehicle classified as one of these body styles (the 'Passenger Car' federal ID-label class per NY DMV), rear side windows must have at least 70% VLT. |
| Rear side windows — vehicles classified as trucks or multi-purpose vehicles | Not addressed. Paragraph (b)(3)'s vehicle list does not include multi-purpose vehicles or trucks, so the statute sets no minimum VLT for their rear side windows; verify against the vehicle's registration/body-style classification before relying on this. |
| Rear window | VTL 375(12-a)(b)(4): the rear window must have at least 70% VLT on any vehicle — this clause carries no body-style limitation — UNLESS the vehicle has two side mirrors, one on each side, adjusted to give the driver a clear, full view of the road and traffic behind it, in which case the rear window is exempt from the 70% floor. |
| Reflectance / mirrored or metallic film | Not addressed. The full text of VTL 375(12-a) contains no language limiting reflectivity, mirror finish, or metallic film; it regulates only visible light transmittance. |
| Sticker / label | Not required for an ordinary legal installation. VTL 375(12-a)(c) requires a Commissioner-issued exemption sticker only for vehicles with an approved medical exemption; 12-a(d) lets the Commissioner affix a conformity label to a tested window only after the owner has been charged with a violation. There is no general pre-installation certification sticker mandate. |
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).
Applies to every motor vehicle except motorcycles when driven on a NY public highway, road, or street (12-a(a)). The rear-side-window rule in (b)(3) only reaches passenger-car body styles — station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe, hatchback, convertible — so vehicles classified as trucks or multi-purpose vehicles (which can include SUVs and pickups, depending on how each is classified) fall outside that one clause, though the windshield, front-side-window, and rear-window clauses still apply to them. The statute has applied since January 1, 1992, and grandfathers 1991-or-earlier model-year vehicles that conformed to the pre-1992 standard (12-a(e)); it does not separately address factory-tinted glass versus aftermarket film.
VTL 375(12-a)(c) lets the DMV Commissioner grant a medical exemption, but only from subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph (b) — the windshield and front-side-window rules; it does not exempt rear side windows or the rear window. A physician's or nurse practitioner's statement (nurse practitioners were added by L. 2026, ch. 159, effective August 25, 2026) must identify the condition, the person, and the minimum light transmission needed, and the condition must appear on a list the NYS Commissioner of Health maintains under Public Health Law § 206(16) — the statute itself names no conditions and defers entirely to that health-commissioner list (DMV materials describe examples such as albinism, lupus erythematosus, porphyria, xeroderma pigmentosum, and severe photosensitivity, and reference Form MV-80W to apply). Once approved, the Commissioner's notice of exemption must be affixed to the vehicle as directed. No non-medical or hardship exemption is described in the statute.
VTL 375(12-a) itself sets no violation-specific fine. Read as a standard Article 9 traffic infraction, it falls under the general cap in VTL § 1800(a) — not more than $150 for a first offense, with mandatory surcharges added by other statutes and higher caps for repeat offenses. Separately, a 2025-2026 session bill (A4026, in the Assembly Transportation committee as of early 2026) would raise this to $200 first offense / $500 for repeats and add inspection-failure consequences; it has not been enacted, so the $150 first-offense cap still applies today. A different bill (A5306, substituted for S9226 in the Senate) that would lower the non-windshield VLT floor from 70% to 50% and remove the rear-window mirror exemption passed both houses on June 2, 2026 and was returned to the Assembly; as of September 28, 2026 it had not been delivered to or signed by the Governor. Confirm current law before relying on the 70% figures on this page if that bill has since been signed.
Every window covered by VTL 375(12-a)(b) — the windshield below its top six inches, the front side windows, and (for the body styles the statute lists) the rear side windows and rear window — must let at least 70% of visible light through. There's a single floor, 70%, used across every category the statute regulates.
No. VTL 375(12-a)(b)(3) limits the rear-side-window requirement to vehicles 'classified as a station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe, hatchback or convertible' — the body styles carrying a 'Passenger Car' federal ID label. A vehicle classified as a multi-purpose vehicle or truck (an SUV or pickup can be, but the statute doesn't say how they are classified) isn't on that list, so the statute sets no rear-side-window VLT minimum for it. Its windshield, front side windows, and rear window are still covered, though.
The statute doesn't say. VTL 375(12-a) regulates only visible light transmittance (VLT) and never mentions reflectivity, mirror finish, or metallic film. Several tint-industry websites claim New York bans 'mirrored' film outright, but that restriction does not appear in the statute or on the NY DMV's own tinted-windows page — treat those claims with skepticism.
Not for an ordinary legal tint job. VTL 375(12-a)(c) requires a sticker only for drivers with an approved medical exemption, and 12-a(d) lets the Commissioner affix a conformity label to a window only after it's been tested following a violation charge. There's no requirement to certify or label a compliant tint installation up front.
Only the mirror exception applies to the rear window, and it's separate from the rear-side-window rule. VTL 375(12-a)(b)(4) exempts the rear window from the 70% floor only if the vehicle has two outside side mirrors, one on each side, adjusted to give the driver a clear, full view of the traffic behind. Dark rear side windows don't create that exemption, and the mirror exception doesn't extend to the rear side windows themselves.
Read the full New York breakdown
Running a tint shop in New York? See shop software for New York.
This page summarizes New York 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.