North Carolina Window Tinting Laws

Window tinting laws vary from state to state. It is always best to check with your state or locality to insure that any window tinting meets the current requirements for your locality. Failure to meet those requirements could result in failed inspections, traffic tickets or citations, fines, imprisonment and/or impounding of your vehicle.

The state of North Carolina is one of many states that are enforcing current laws on the streets everyday. Law enforcement officers carry light meters/gauges that can calculate the Visible Light Transmission percentage (VLT %) to determine if your tint is legal or not.

North Carolina requires that not only are residents to abide by window tinting laws, but out-of-state visitors as well. That means even if your car is registered in another state, your vehicle is still expected to have legal window tint.

With the exception of the front windshield, any window on a vehicle may be tinted with a combined film and window light transmission of no more than 35%. The light reflectance must be 20% or less. Reflective tint film is not permitted at all, and the colors yellow and amber are not allowed.

Front windshield tinting is becoming more and more common, and the state of North
Carolina has addressed those issues as well. The windshield may be tinted only along the top of the windshield, and that strip may not exceed five inches below the top of the windshield, unless the AS1 line extends further down the windshield. In that case, the window tint film may not fall below the AS1 line. This requirement doesn't apply to clear untinted film used to reduce or eliminate UV radiation from entering the vehicle.

For those who have a medical condition that may require a darker window film, additional laws were implemented. In 1999, the General Assembly of North Carolina ratified a bill that stated any person who suffered from a medical condition that caused the person to be photosensitive to visible light be permitted to have window tint darker than allowed and eliminated the additional inspection fee for the vehicle(s) owned by that person. It would be required for that person to have a Medical Exception permit issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles to allow the window tint.

DMV will not issue no more than two medical exception permits to be valid for one person at any one time. The permit(s) issued by DMV will specify for that particular vehicle which windows that may be tinted, and the allowed levels of tinting. The permit must be carried inside the vehicle of which it applies and a sticker must also be placed in the lower left hand corner of the rear window. Failure to display the sticker is punishable by a fine of $200.

A few vehicles are exempt from the previously mentioned regulations: Limousines, Law Enforcement vehicles, Motor Homes, Ambulances, For-Hire passenger vehicles and SUV's.