To get an NJ window tint medical exemption, you file the MVC Sunscreening 1 form with a physician’s certification that you have a qualifying photosensitivity condition, submit it along with a valid prescription to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, wait for written approval, then have the film installed at an MVC-licensed facility. Only after that installation is confirmed does the MVC issue your permanent exemption card. Installing tint before approval is illegal, even if your paperwork is already in the mail.
Who Qualifies
The exemption is for drivers with an ophthalmic or dermatological photosensitivity condition. N.J.S.A. 39:3-75.1 names the qualifying diagnoses: polymorphous light eruption, persistent light reactivity, actinic reticuloid, porphyrins, solar urticaria, and lupus erythematosus. The statute also lets the MVC director approve other photosensitive disorders.1Justia. New Jersey Code 39-3-75.1 – Certain Tinting Materials on Windshields, Windows of Motor Vehicles, Permitted for Medical Reasons N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.5 adds chronic actinic dermatitis, photosensitive eczema, and skin cancers associated with chronic actinic dermatitis.2Cornell Law Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 13:20-1.5 – Medical Exemption Certificate Application Procedure; Application Contents
Who signs the form matters as much as the diagnosis. The certifying physician must be a certified ophthalmologist or a physician holding a plenary license to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey or a bordering state. A nurse practitioner or physician assistant cannot sign, and a form completed by one will be rejected.
Filing the Sunscreening 1 Form
Download the Sunscreening 1 from the MVC website or request a copy by emailing SUNSCREENING@mvc.nj.gov. You fill in the vehicle information (VIN, plate, year, make, model) and owner information; your physician completes the medical certification section, including a recommended treatment and, for dermatological conditions, certification that photo-testing was performed and identification of the wavelengths that trigger your reaction.3New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. New Jersey MVC Sunscreening 1 Medical Exemption Form
A few details are worth getting right the first time. The vehicle information must match your New Jersey registration exactly. The exemption is tied to one specific VIN, so a second car needs its own separate application. And you must submit a valid prescription from the same physician who completed the medical section; the form alone is not enough.
Submit the completed form and prescription by email to SUNSCREENING@mvc.nj.gov, or by mail to:
Customer Advocacy Office
Attn: Sunscreening Exemption
PO Box 403
Trenton, NJ 08666-04034New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Window Sun-screening For Medical Reasons
If you mail it, use a trackable service and keep copies of everything. Questions about a pending application can go to 609-984-2973.
What Happens After You Submit
Filing the form does not authorize installation. This trips people up. Going to a tint shop before the MVC approves your application is illegal, and you can be fined during a traffic stop or vehicle inspection.3New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. New Jersey MVC Sunscreening 1 Medical Exemption Form
When the MVC approves your application, it sends a temporary approval letter and an Installation Confirmation page. Take both to one of the MVC’s licensed sunscreening facilities; the current list is on the MVC’s sunscreening page. Any other tint shop, however reputable, cannot perform the work under your exemption.4New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Window Sun-screening For Medical Reasons The installer completes and signs the Installation Confirmation page after the job is done.
Send the signed Installation Confirmation page back to the Customer Advocacy Office at the same email address or PO Box. The MVC then issues your permanent Sunscreening 4 card, valid for 48 months.
How Dark the Tint Can Be
The exemption does not let you tint your windows to any level you want. The film must still meet state light transmittance standards:
- Windshield: film cannot bring visible light transmittance below 70 percent, and it must be clear rather than colored.
- Front side windows: film cannot bring visible light transmittance below 60 percent, and it may be clear or tinted.5Cornell Law Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 13:20-1.4 – Sun-screening Materials or Products; Color
- Upper six inches of the front side windows: with a medical exemption, you may apply readily removable material between sunrise and sunset that reduces transmittance to as low as 35 percent.6New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.2 – Light Transmittance Standard; Motor Vehicle Windshield and Front Side Windows
These percentages are measured with the film layered over the factory glass, not the film alone. An 80 percent film can fall below the legal limit once combined with lightly tinted factory glass, so a licensed installer should verify the total with a light meter before finishing.
Keeping the Card and Label With the Vehicle
Keep the Sunscreening 4 card in the vehicle at all times. Officers can ask to see it at a traffic stop or during vehicle inspection, and without it there is no way for them to tell your legal tint from an illegal one; a citation can follow.4New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Window Sun-screening For Medical Reasons If you lose the card, request a duplicate by resubmitting the Sunscreening 1 with “Duplicate card” checked in Step 1.
Each treated window also has to carry a one-inch-square label between the film and the glass showing the manufacturer’s name and the installation facility’s MVC registration number. Placement is specified in the regulation, and a missing or misplaced label can cause problems at inspection.7New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.8 – Label; Attachment; Size; Content; Representation of Compliance With Subchapter The licensed installer applies the label; your job is to make sure it stays on.
Renewal, New Vehicles, and Common Pitfalls
The exemption expires after 48 months. To renew, resubmit the Sunscreening 1 with “Renewal Sunscreening” checked and a current prescription. Your physician has to complete the medical section fresh each time; the MVC will not accept an expired certification.4New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Window Sun-screening For Medical Reasons
Because the exemption is tied to a specific VIN, it doesn’t transfer. Selling or trading the vehicle ends the exemption for that car, and any replacement vehicle needs a new application, even if your condition is unchanged. A second car in the household needs its own application and its own card.3New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. New Jersey MVC Sunscreening 1 Medical Exemption Form
Applications get rejected or delayed for a short list of reasons: no prescription enclosed, vehicle information that doesn’t match the registration, a medical section signed by someone without a plenary medical license or ophthalmology certification, and, for dermatological conditions, a missing photo-testing certification. Check every field before you send. A returned application starts the clock over.