How to Get a Medical Tint Exemption in Texas: Statement and Label

To get a medical tint exemption in Texas, you need a signed statement from a licensed physician or licensed optometrist confirming that darker-than-standard window tint is medically necessary for you or a passenger. You do not file that statement with any state agency. It stays in the vehicle and serves as your proof of legality at annual inspections and traffic stops. The Department of Public Safety stopped issuing formal exemption certificates on January 1, 2019, so the doctor’s signed statement is now the entire process.¹

What the Signed Statement Has to Say

The statement must do two things:¹

Identify, with reasonable specificity, the driver or occupant who needs the protection.
State the physician’s or optometrist’s opinion that equipping the vehicle with sunscreening devices is necessary to safeguard that person’s health.

That’s the full legal requirement. Texas does not publish a mandatory form or template. The doctor can write it on office letterhead. You do not need to include the vehicle’s VIN, model year, or any other identifying information about the car itself. What you do need is language that tracks the statute closely enough that an inspector or officer can read it and recognize a valid exemption. A casual note saying the patient “prefers dark windows” won’t do the job; the statement should tie the tint to protecting the person’s health.

Keep the original in the vehicle at all times. The glove compartment or center console works. Inspectors and officers may look at the statement, but they don’t keep it or copy it.² If you lose it, get a replacement from your doctor before your next inspection.

Who Can Sign and Who Qualifies

Either a licensed physician (MD or DO) or a licensed optometrist can sign.¹ You don’t need a specialist, though a dermatologist or ophthalmologist may be a natural fit depending on the condition.

Texas allows the exemption for anyone with a medical condition that makes them susceptible to harm from exposure to sunlight or bright artificial light.³ There is no closed list of qualifying diagnoses. The decision is the treating clinician’s. If your doctor is willing to form and sign that opinion, you have your exemption.

The exemption covers passengers too. A parent whose child has a qualifying condition can tint the vehicle used to transport that child. But the exemption follows the person, not the car. If you sell the vehicle, the buyer cannot rely on your statement.

Which Windows the Exemption Actually Affects

The exemption only matters where Texas restricts tint in the first place. Front side windows (the two next to the driver) must let at least 25% of light through under normal rules. Anything darker on those windows requires the medical statement.¹

Rear side windows have no tint restriction in Texas, and the rear window has none either as long as the vehicle has an outside mirror on both sides.¹ Most people who go through the medical exemption process do it specifically to darken those two front side windows below 25%.

Two limits the exemption does not lift:

Windshield tint is capped at the top five inches or above the AS-1 line, whichever is smaller. No exemption reaches below that line.²
Luminous reflectance (the mirror-like quality of the film) must stay at 25% or below on any window. The exemption addresses darkness, not reflectivity.¹

When You’ll Need to Show the Statement

Two situations trigger a request:

At the annual vehicle inspection. If the inspector measures the front side windows below 25% light transmission, they’ll ask for the statement. A valid one lets the vehicle pass, and the inspector notes the documentation in the inspection database.²
At a traffic stop. If an officer pulls you over because of the tint, produce the statement right away.¹

DPS does not specify an expiration date for the statement. Still, keeping it reasonably current is good practice. If your doctor retires or your condition evolves, a recent statement from your active provider avoids awkward questions about whether the medical need still exists.

Don’t Forget the Installer’s Compliance Label

Separate from the medical statement, Texas Transportation Code Section 547.609 requires a compliance label on any vehicle with aftermarket sunscreening devices. The label must be legible, must contain information on the film’s light transmission and luminous reflectance, and must be permanently installed between the tint material and the glass.⁴

DPS reads this as one label per vehicle, placed at the rearmost bottom corner of the driver’s side window, stating “Complies with TRC Chapter 547” or similar wording. A reputable installer handles this as part of the job.¹ If you already have tint without a label and you’re adding a medical exemption, ask the installer to take care of the label at the same time.

What Happens Without a Valid Statement

Driving with over-limit tint and no valid medical exemption statement is a misdemeanor under Texas Transportation Code Section 547.613.⁴ Because the statute doesn’t specify a category, it defaults under the Penal Code to a Class C misdemeanor: maximum fine of $500, no jail.

The more common consequence is a failed inspection. Front side windows below 25% with no signed statement means the vehicle doesn’t pass. You then either remove or replace the tint, or produce a valid statement before the vehicle can be certified.¹ Having the tint and losing the paperwork puts you in the same position as never having an exemption. The signed statement is the whole legal defense.

1
Department of Public Safety. Window Tinting Standards
2
Texas Department of Public Safety. Window Tint Medical Exemption Notice
3
LII. Texas Administrative Code 37 TAC 21-3 – Standards for Sunscreening Devices
4
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Chapter 547 – Vehicle Equipment