New York Window Tint Law: 70 Percent, Metered at Inspection, and a 50 Percent Bill Sitting Unsigned
New York holds the windshield and the side windows beside the driver to 70 percent light transmission, which puts it among the strictest states in the country, and then does something only a handful of states do: it meters tint at a mandatory annual inspection. Vehicle and Traffic Law 375(12-a) sets the limits, and 15 NYCRR 79.21 tells the inspector exactly what to test.
The rear of the car is where New York gets misreported, so it is worth being precise. The 70 percent rule for side windows behind the driver applies only to a vehicle classified as a station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe, hatchback or convertible. A vehicle classified as a multipurpose passenger vehicle or a truck falls outside that list, and its rear side windows carry no transmission minimum. The rear window itself may go below 70 percent on any vehicle that has functioning side mirrors on both sides.
The practical result is that the same 35 percent film is unlawful on the back doors of a sedan and lawful on the back doors of an SUV. Classification is printed on the federal identification label on the left front door panel, and station wagon is doing real work in that list, because some crossovers are labeled Passenger Car and are covered.
| Glass | Minimum transmission |
|---|---|
| Windshield | 70 percent, except the uppermost 6 inches |
| Front side windows | 70 percent, every vehicle |
| Rear side windows, passenger car classification | 70 percent |
| Rear side windows, MPV or truck classification | No limit |
| Rear window | Any darkness with dual side mirrors, otherwise 70 percent |
| Reflectance and colors | Not regulated |
The 50 percent bill: passed, and still not law
A5306, for which S9226 was substituted, would drop the front side windows, the rear side windows and the rear window to 50 percent, keep the windshield at 70 with its six inch exception, and add a measurement tolerance of plus or minus seven percent. It passed the Assembly on February 24, 2026 and passed the Senate on June 2, 2026.
As of late July 2026 it has not been delivered to the Governor, has not been signed, has not been vetoed, and carries no chapter number. It would take effect on the sixtieth day after becoming law. Until then, 70 percent is the enforceable standard, and any shop or article treating 50 percent as the current New York limit is wrong. An earlier 50 percent bill, S4572, had its enacting clause stricken in February 2026.
Two other bills are pending and neither has passed: one would raise fines and suspend registration on a third violation in two years, and one would let an officer require windows be lowered at a stop.
How the inspection actually tests it
Tint became a mandatory inspection item on January 1, 2017. The inspector checks the windshield, all side windows adjacent to or forward of the driver seating position, the rear window on any vehicle without dual outside rearview mirrors, and on 1992 and newer vehicles all side windows behind the driver seating position where the vehicle is classified Passenger Car. The reject threshold is below 70 percent for model year 1992 and newer, and below 35 percent for model year 1991 and older, a live two-tier standard most summaries omit.
The regulation states no tolerance. Its only measurement discretion is observational: where a window clearly meets the standard by eye, the inspector need not use the tint meter. A vehicle displaying a valid exempt tinted windows sticker is not inspected for tint at all.
A strict limit with a soft penalty
The enforcement asymmetry here is striking. Section 375(12-a) sets no penalty of its own, so the general traffic infraction provision governs: up to one hundred fifty dollars on a first conviction, up to three hundred on a second within eighteen months, and up to four hundred fifty on a third or subsequent within eighteen months, plus the mandatory state surcharge. Equipment violations other than inadequate service brakes carry zero points. There is no fix-it dismissal, though the statute does let the Commissioner test a window for a person who has been charged and affix a conformity label if it passes.
Selling is covered too. No person may manufacture, sell, offer for sale, equip or operate a vehicle in violation of the subdivision, and the DMV states plainly that it is illegal to sell, offer for sale, or install non-complying glass.
The exemption that also exempts you from the inspection
New York issues a tinted window exemption on form MV-80W, certified by a New York licensed physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner, covering conditions such as albinism, chronic actinic dermatitis, lupus erythematosus, porphyria, xeroderma pigmentosum, severe drug photosensitivity and photophobia. There is no fixed darkness figure: the certifying practitioner states the minimum level of light transmission that particular patient requires. Approved vehicles display an exempt tinted windows sticker, and that sticker is what tells the inspection station to skip the tint check.
The exemption reaches the windshield and the front side windows only. It does not extend to glass behind the driver, which for most vehicles is the part that needed no exemption anyway.
What this means if you are getting tint done here
Because inspection is annual and metered, New York is one of the few markets where an over-tinted car reliably costs its owner money on a schedule. Ask any installer for the combined reading on your own glass rather than the film grade, since factory glass already absorbs a slice of light and a film labeled 70 percent will meter lower once installed. Our directory of window tint shops in New York and the best reviewed tint shops in the city are the places to start, and if you cross the river regularly, read New Jersey before you buy, because it is stricter up front than New York is.
References
Verified July 2026 against VTL 375(12-a), 15 NYCRR 79.21 and the bill histories on the Legislature own systems. A5306 had passed both houses but had not been delivered to the Governor at the time of writing; this page will need revisiting if it is signed.