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Oklahoma exempts side and back windows whose tint, with the glazing, has at least 25% light transmission and at most 25% luminous reflectance; no tolerance is stated. Windshield tint is limited to a transparent, non-red, non-amber top strip no lower than the AS-1 line or 5 inches from the top, whichever is closer. Pre-1996 vehicles may go to 10% behind the driver with both outside mirrors.
Source: 47 Okla. Stat. § 12-422; 47 Okla. Stat. § 17-101 (misdemeanor penalties); 47 Okla. Stat. § 1-105 (bus definition); 47 Okla. Stat. § 1-174 (taxicab definition). Summary last checked against these sources on September 28, 2026.
| Window | Rule |
|---|---|
| Windshield | Material on the windshield is unlawful except as the section provides ((B), (C)). Transparent material on the topmost portion is exempt if it does not extend below the AS-1 line or more than 5 inches from the top, whichever is closer to the top, and is not red or amber ((D)(11)). The statute states no light-transmission figure for the strip. Signs, stickers or other materials in a 49-square-inch area in the lower corner farthest from, or nearest to, the driver are also exempt ((D)(5)). |
| Front side windows | Side or back windows are exempt when the substance or material, in conjunction with the glazing, has a light transmission of at least 25% and a luminous reflectance of at most 25% ((D)(1)). The text says 'side or back windows' without limiting it to windows behind the driver; the pre-1996 rule in (D)(10), by contrast, names side windows to the rear of the driver. No measurement tolerance is stated. |
| Rear side windows | At least 25% light transmission and at most 25% luminous reflectance, material with glazing ((D)(1)). On vehicles manufactured before the 1996 model year, side windows to the rear of the driver may go to at least 10% light transmission (reflectance still at most 25%) if the vehicle has outside mirrors on both sides showing the highway at least 200 feet to the rear ((D)(10)). All windows to the rear of the driver's seat of a vehicle licensed as a bus or taxicab are exempt ((D)(12)). |
| Rear window | The same 25% light-transmission and 25% luminous-reflectance figures apply to back windows ((D)(1)), with the same pre-1996 10% allowance when the vehicle has outside mirrors on both sides ((D)(10)) and the same bus and taxicab exemption ((D)(12)). Louvered materials, when installed as designed, may not reduce the driver's area of visibility below 50% as measured on a horizontal plane; on the rear window the measurement is based on the driver's view from inside the rearview mirror ((F)). |
| Reflectance and color | Luminous reflectance may be at most 25% on side and back windows ((D)(1), (D)(10)). The definition of glass coating material or sunscreening devices excludes materials with a mirrored or mirror-like finish ((A)(1)). Any windshield top-strip material may not be red or amber ((D)(11)), and transparent material that alters the color of the windshield or side or rear windows is unlawful except as the section provides ((C)). |
| Installer certification | A person who sells or installs a regulated product must certify, in a bold-face written statement that is part of the sale or installation contract, that the product complies with the section's reflectivity and transmittance requirements and that installing it on the driver's or passenger's side window may be illegal in some states ((G)). The section does not require a sticker or label on the vehicle. |
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).
Section 12-422 makes it unlawful to sell, install or operate a motor vehicle with material on the windshield or side or rear windows except as the section provides ((B)). It does not apply to all windows to the rear of the driver's seat of a vehicle licensed as a bus or taxicab, vehicles not subject to registration in Oklahoma, implements of husbandry, or law enforcement vehicles owned by the state or a political subdivision ((D)(12)-(15)). A bus means every motor vehicle designed for carrying more than eight passengers and used to transport persons, and every motor vehicle designed and used to transport persons for compensation, but not a vehicle used under the Oklahoma Transportation Network Company Services Act (§ 1-105). The section has no separate SUV, truck or multipurpose passenger vehicle rule. Federal, state or political subdivision certificates required by law may be placed on any window ((E)).
The Commissioner of Public Safety may issue an exemption for a motor vehicle belonging to a person who, for medical reasons, must be shielded from the direct rays of the sun, or in which that person is a habitual passenger. The person applies, supported by a written attestation from a physician licensed under 59 O.S. § 495. Any person may then operate the vehicle, or tint its side or rear windows, in accordance with the exemption ((H)). The section states no light-transmission floor for exempt vehicles.
A violation of any provision of the section is a misdemeanor punished as provided in § 17-101 ((I)). Section 17-101(B)(1), which covers Sections 10-101 through 14-121 (a range that includes § 12-422) where no other penalty is provided, sets a fine of $5 to $500 or imprisonment for up to 10 days; for a second conviction within one year after the first, imprisonment for up to 20 days; for a third or later conviction within one year after the first, imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both fine and imprisonment.
Side and back windows are exempt from the section's ban when the substance or material, in conjunction with the glazing, has a light transmission of at least 25% and a luminous reflectance of at most 25% (47 Okla. Stat. § 12-422(D)(1)). The statute states no tolerance. On the windshield, only a transparent, non-red, non-amber strip reaching no lower than the AS-1 line or 5 inches from the top, whichever is closer to the top, is exempt ((D)(11)).
The exemption in (D)(1) covers 'side or back windows' and does not limit them to windows behind the driver, so the 25% light-transmission and 25% reflectance figures are the ones that apply to the driver's and front passenger's side windows. The separate pre-1996 rule in (D)(10) is the one that names only side windows to the rear of the driver.
Yes, behind the driver. On vehicles manufactured before the 1996 model year, side windows to the rear of the driver and back windows may have light transmission of at least 10% and luminous reflectance of at most 25%, if the vehicle has outside mirrors on both sides showing the highway at least 200 feet to the rear ((D)(10)).
The section has no SUV, truck or multipurpose passenger vehicle carve-out, so the 25% figures in (D)(1) apply, subject to the pre-1996 10% rule in (D)(10). Among vehicle classes, the section exempts all windows behind the driver's seat only on a vehicle licensed as a bus or taxicab ((D)(12)); a bus includes a motor vehicle designed for carrying more than eight passengers and used to transport persons (§ 1-105). Law enforcement vehicles and vehicles not subject to Oklahoma registration are also outside the section ((D)(13), (D)(15)).
Reflectance is capped rather than banned: side and back windows may have a luminous reflectance of at most 25% ((D)(1)). The section's definition of glass coating material or sunscreening devices excludes materials with a mirrored or mirror-like finish ((A)(1)).
The section requires no sticker on the vehicle. Instead, a person who sells or installs a regulated product must certify in a bold-face written statement, made part of the sale or installation contract, that the product meets the reflectivity and transmittance requirements and that installing it on the driver's or passenger's side window may be illegal in some states ((G)).
Yes. On application from a person who must be shielded from the direct rays of the sun for medical reasons, supported by a written attestation from a physician licensed under 59 O.S. § 495, the Commissioner of Public Safety may issue an exemption for a vehicle belonging to that person or in which the person is a habitual passenger ((H)).
Running a tint shop in Oklahoma? See shop software for Oklahoma.
This page summarizes Oklahoma 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.