Arizona Window Tint Law: VLT Limits, Exemptions, and Penalties

Arizona window tint law lets you tint every piece of glass on a passenger vehicle, but how dark you can go depends on the window. Under ARS 28-959.01, front side windows must allow at least 33 percent of outside light through, rear side windows and the back glass can be as dark as you want, and the windshield can only carry a transparent strip along the top. Reflectivity is capped at 35 percent on every side window, and commercial drivers face a much stricter federal rule.¹

Front Side Windows: 33 Percent Minimum

The driver and front passenger windows must transmit at least 33 percent of visible light. The statute builds in a plus-or-minus three percent testing tolerance, so a meter reading anywhere from 30 to 36 percent passes. That tolerance exists because tint meters aren’t perfectly precise, not because you get to pick a darker number inside the band.¹

Reflectance is the other half of the rule. Front side windows cannot reflect more than 35 percent of light outward, with the same three percent tolerance. Mirror-finish or chrome-look films on the front doors are almost certainly out. The two standards apply at the same time, so your film has to pass both the darkness test and the reflectance test.¹

Rear Side Windows and Back Glass: No Darkness Limit

Arizona places no limit on how dark you can tint the rear side windows or the rear windshield. Five percent “limo” film on every window behind the driver is legal. The 35 percent reflectance cap still applies, so dark is fine but mirrored is not.¹

There is one condition tied to the rear glass. If you tint the back window dark enough that the interior rearview mirror is no longer useful, the vehicle has to have working exterior side mirrors on both sides, each giving at least 200 feet of visibility behind the car. Most modern vehicles meet this from the factory, but it matters for older or specialty vehicles with a single exterior mirror.¹

Windshield: Transparent Strip Only

Windshield rules are the strictest. Tint material is allowed only along the top of the windshield, and it must be transparent. The statute sets the location by measurement: the bottom edge of the strip has to sit at least 29 inches above the driver’s seat in its rearmost and lowest position, measured from a point five inches forward of the bottom of the seatback.¹

The strip cannot be red or amber. Beyond that strip, the statute prohibits any material on the windshield that obstructs or reduces the driver’s clear view. Clear ceramic or UV-rejection films that don’t darken the glass are generally used across the whole windshield without a problem, but any film that visibly tints the main viewing area violates the statute.¹

Medical Exemption

If you have lupus, severe photosensitivity, or another condition that calls for extra protection from direct sunlight, you can apply for an exemption from the standard tint limits. Subsection G of ARS 28-959.01 authorizes the Arizona Department of Transportation to issue them.¹

The application is ADOT Form 40-1511. It requires written certification from an MD, DO, naturopathic medical doctor, or ophthalmologist stating that you need shielding from direct sunlight and that eye-protective devices alone won’t do the job. The exemption covers a vehicle you own or regularly ride in as a passenger, and once approved it lets you alter the color or reduce light transmission on side and rear windows beyond normal limits.²

Keep a copy in the vehicle. The statute doesn’t explicitly require it, but if you get pulled over for dark front windows, an officer has no way to know you hold an exemption unless you can produce the paperwork. Without it, you’re likely getting a citation to contest.

Commercial Vehicles

Federal rules override Arizona’s limits on commercial motor vehicles. Under 49 CFR 393.60, the windshield and the two windows next to the driver must allow at least 70 percent light transmittance. That’s more than double what Arizona requires for passenger cars. Rear and cargo-area windows carry no federal tint restriction.³

A tint job that’s legal on a personal truck can be a federal violation on a commercial rig with the same cab. If the vehicle gets used both ways, build to the stricter federal number.

Driving Into Other States

Arizona’s 33 percent front-window rule is among the more permissive in the country, and there’s no federal reciprocity that forces other states to honor it. Most states enforce their own equipment laws against any vehicle on their roads regardless of plate. A legally tinted Arizona car can draw a ticket across the state line.

Penalties

A violation of ARS 28-959.01 is a civil traffic infraction, not a criminal charge. It carries a fine that varies by court. Many jurisdictions handle these as fix-it tickets: remove the illegal film, bring proof of correction (a shop receipt or re-inspection), and the court will often reduce or dismiss the fine.

The citation goes on your driving record as an equipment violation. A single fix-it ticket is unlikely to move your insurance rate on its own, but repeated violations can draw attention. If you’re in a crash and your windows are illegally tinted, an insurer may decline to cover damage tied to the tinted glass itself.

Installer Disclosure

Arizona also puts an obligation on the shop. Anyone who sells or installs window film has to conspicuously disclose that putting the product on driver or passenger windows may be illegal in some states. A shop that skips the disclosure is the one violating the statute, but that won’t shield you from a ticket somewhere else.¹

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-959.01 – Materials on Windows or Windshield; Exceptions; Requirements; Violation; Definitions
2
Arizona Department of Transportation. Application for Window Tint Medical Exemption
3
eCFR. 49 CFR 393.60 – Glazing in Specified Openings