How to Apply for the Delaware Medical Tint Waiver (Form MV495)

The Delaware medical tint waiver is a free authorization from the Division of Motor Vehicles that lets you run window tint darker than the standard 70 percent light transmittance limit when a doctor or optometrist certifies you need it for a medical reason. You apply online at dmv.de.gov, print the form for your provider’s signature, and upload the signed version through a link the DMV emails you. The DMV stopped accepting paper applications in October 2022.¹

Who Qualifies

Under 21 Del. C. § 4313(d), you cannot be convicted of a tint violation if you hold a signed statement from a licensed physician, osteopath, or optometrist verifying that tinted windows are medically necessary for you as the vehicle’s owner or usual operator.² The statute names no specific diagnoses. Conditions involving UV sensitivity, chronic photosensitivity, lupus, porphyria, and certain eye disorders are common reasons, but the medical judgment belongs to the certifying provider.

A nurse practitioner or physician assistant signature alone does not satisfy the statute. The certification has to come from a licensed practitioner of medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine, or optometry.²

The waiver can cover a non-owner who is the usual operator of the vehicle, or a household passenger. If you’re applying on someone else’s behalf, you’ll need their Delaware ID number, driver license number, and date of birth.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Your vehicle registration card, with the title and registration in your name.
A current address on your registration. If it’s out of date, update it at mydmv.de.gov first.
A printer, since you have to print the form for your provider to sign.
If the tint is for someone other than you, that person’s Delaware ID number, driver license number, and date of birth.

You can cover up to four vehicles on a single application.¹

Filling Out the Online Application

Open the medical tint waiver page at dmv.de.gov and click start application. Enter your first name, last name, and email address. Choose Initial/New Tint Waiver Request as the application type. Fill in the vehicle and personal information from your registration card, then submit.

The DMV then emails you two things: a copy of your completed application, and a weblink you’ll use later to upload the signed version. Print the application from that email.¹ There is no fee.

Getting the Physician Signature and Uploading It

Take the printed application to your physician, osteopath, or optometrist. The provider reviews it, certifies that tinted windows are medically necessary, signs and dates the form, and returns it to you.

Go back to the weblink from the DMV email and upload every page of the completed application, including the physician’s certification page.³ Make sure the scans or photos are legible. Blurry uploads are the easiest way to slow the process down.

Adding More Vehicles Later

If you already have an approved waiver and want to cover a new or additional vehicle, you don’t need another appointment with your doctor. Start a new application, enter your name and email, and select Add New/Additional Vehicle(s) to An Existing Approved Tint Waiver. The DMV validates the waiver already on file and extends coverage to the new vehicle, up to four per application.¹

After You’re Approved

Keep the approved waiver certificate in the vehicle whenever you’re driving on public roads. If you’re pulled over or go through inspection, you’re expected to produce it. Driving with darker-than-legal tint and no waiver in hand can result in a citation for illegal equipment or an order to remove the film.

When the waiver arrives, check that your name and vehicle information are correct. If anything is wrong, contact the DMV for a corrected version before you have the tint installed.

What the Waiver Actually Overrides

Delaware’s baseline law, 21 Del. C. § 4313(a), requires the windshield, the driver and passenger side windows, and the side wings forward of the driver to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 205, which sets a 70 percent minimum visible light transmittance.²⁴ Your waiver lets you go darker than that on the front side windows, which is where meaningful UV protection matters. Rear windows and the back windshield on passenger cars are less restricted under federal rules to begin with.

Any aftermarket film also has to carry a manufacturer’s certificate showing it meets FMVSS 205. That requirement is separate from the medical waiver, and a reputable installer will provide the sticker or label as a matter of course.²

At the Tint Shop

Under 21 Del. C. § 4313A, a commercial business that installs tint in violation of § 4313 can be fined between $100 and $500 and must refund the installation fee.⁵ Show the shop your approved waiver before work begins so both sides have documentation that the installation is legal.

Driving Out of State

A Delaware medical tint waiver does not automatically carry across state lines. When you drive into another state, that state’s tint laws apply to your vehicle. Some states have their own medical exemption programs and may give you leniency if you show the Delaware waiver; others enforce their limits regardless. If you regularly drive in Maryland, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, check each state’s rules before you pick a VLT percentage, so you don’t end up with film that’s legal at home and ticketed on the commute.

1
Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Medical Tint Waiver Application
2
Justia Law. Delaware Code 21 – Section 4313
3
Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles. Medical Tint Waiver Helpful Handout
4
NHTSA. 17440.drn
5
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code 21 – Equipment and Construction of Vehicles