Legal Window Tint in Louisiana: VLT Limits, Reflectivity, and Fines

Legal window tint in Louisiana lets you go as dark as 25% visible light transmission (VLT) on every side window of a passenger car and 12% on the rear window. SUVs, trucks, vans, and similar vehicles follow the same 25% rule up front but can be tinted to any darkness behind the driver. Reflectivity is capped at 20% on every window, the windshield is off-limits except for a strip across the top, and the installer has to leave a label on the glass. The front side window minimum dropped from 40% to 25% on August 1, 2025, under Act 143 of 2025.

How Dark You Can Legally Tint Each Window

VLT measures the percentage of sunlight that gets through the glass and film together. A lower number means darker tint. Louisiana’s limits sit in R.S. 32:361.1 and change based on the vehicle type and which window you’re tinting.¹

Passenger Cars

Every side window on a standard passenger car has to let at least 25% of light through. The rearmost window can go darker, down to a minimum of 12% VLT.¹

SUVs, Trucks, Vans, and Multipurpose Vehicles

Multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, trailers, and motor homes get more latitude. The front side windows still have to meet the 25% minimum, but anything behind the driver can be tinted to any level, including full blackout. That’s why work vans and SUVs often carry rear tint that would be a ticket on a sedan.¹

The Windshield

No film is allowed on the windshield at all, with one exception: a transparent strip across the top that extends no more than five inches down. That strip cannot be red or amber. Louisiana measures from the top edge of the glass and does not use the AS-1 line that some other states reference.¹

The 20% Reflectivity Cap

Darkness isn’t the only limit. Louisiana caps luminous reflectance at 20% on every sun screening device, no matter which window it covers. The cap targets mirror-like film that would bounce sunlight or headlight glare into other drivers’ eyes. Reflectance and VLT are measured independently, so when you’re comparing products, check both numbers on the spec sheet. A film can be within VLT limits and still fail on reflectivity.¹

The Installer Label You Need on the Glass

Every installer who applies tint in Louisiana has to leave a permanent label, no larger than one and a half square inches, between the film and the glass at the lower right corner of the driver’s side window. It has to carry the installer’s name and the city where the business is located. If an officer stops you, that label is how they confirm who did the work.¹

If you had tint installed and don’t see a label, call the shop. A missing label is a violation on its own, and it tends to invite closer inspection of the tint itself.

Medical Exemption for Darker Tint

If sunlight exposure is medically dangerous for you, Louisiana will let you tint darker than the standard limits. The exemption covers the registered owner, their spouse, and family members who operate or are authorized to operate the vehicle.²

The affidavit form is prepared by the Louisiana State Police and lists recognized conditions such as albinism, lupus, and porphyria. Other conditions can qualify with a detailed physician description. For photophobia, the physician has to explain why prescription sunglasses aren’t enough and why the darker tint won’t impair the person’s ability to drive at night. A licensed optometrist or physician, including ophthalmologists and dermatologists, must sign the affidavit, and the applicant signs a notarized release allowing the department to access medical records.³

Once the Department of Public Safety and Corrections approves the request, it issues a decal that must be displayed on the vehicle at all times, and the original exemption certificate has to stay inside the vehicle whenever you drive it. The exemption is tied to the specific vehicle on the application, so a new car means a new application. Approvals are also subject to periodic review.²

Fines for Illegal Tint

Driver penalties escalate with each offense:

First offense: up to $150
Second offense: up to $250
Third or subsequent offense: up to $350

Shops have much more to lose. Sellers, installers, manufacturers, and distributors of non-compliant film face $1,000 for a first violation and $2,000 for a second. A third conviction bars the business from selling or installing sun screening devices entirely.¹

Tint violations are equipment infractions rather than moving violations, so they generally don’t add points to your driving record. A tint stop still gives an officer the opening to look at the rest of the vehicle and your paperwork, which is how a small ticket occasionally becomes a larger one.

Where Federal Rules Fit In

Federal safety standard No. 205 requires at least 70% light transmittance on any window considered necessary for driving visibility, which covers every window on a passenger car as it leaves the factory. Under the federal Safety Act, no manufacturer, dealer, or repair shop may knowingly install tint that brings those windows below 70%, with civil penalties up to $1,000 per non-complying installation.⁴

States are allowed to set their own aftermarket tint rules, which is why Louisiana’s 25% and 12% limits can go darker than the federal floor. The federal number matters mainly when you’re buying a new vehicle with factory privacy glass. That glass should already meet the 70% minimum up front, even if the rear windows look very dark.

1
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 32 RS 32-361.1 – View Outward or Inward Through Windshield or Windows; Obscuring Prohibited
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 32-361.2 – Medical Exemption
3
Louisiana State Police. Louisiana State Police Window Tint Medical Exemption Affidavit
4
NHTSA. Interpretation 7685