In Maryland, aftermarket window tint is illegal if it blocks more than 65% of outside light on any window that requires the 35% Visible Light Transmission (VLT) minimum, if it covers the windshield below the AS-1 line, or if the film is red, yellow, amber, mirrored, or sparkling. So the short answer to what tint is illegal in Maryland is anything darker than 35% VLT on a regulated window, almost any tint on the windshield, and any film in a prohibited color or finish, regardless of how light it is.1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs
A violation is a civil traffic offense with a $90 fine and a mandatory repair order. Ignore the repair order and your registration gets suspended.
The 35% VLT Rule
VLT measures how much outside light passes through the glass. Lower number, darker tint. Maryland’s floor is 35%, but where that floor applies depends on your vehicle class.
For passenger cars (sedans, coupes, convertibles, station wagons), every window other than the windshield has to let at least 35% of light through. Front sides, rear sides, rear window: same rule, no exceptions for the back glass.1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs
For multipurpose vehicles (SUVs, vans, and trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less), the 35% minimum applies to the front side windows only. The rear side windows and the back window can be tinted to any darkness, including full blackout, as long as the vehicle has working side mirrors on both sides.1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs
The common mistake: putting limo-dark tint on the back windows of a sedan because an SUV in the next lane has it. The classification matters.
Windshield Tint
No vehicle, of any class, may have aftermarket tint on the windshield below the AS-1 line or below five inches from the top, whichever leaves less tinted area.1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs In practice this is the thin sun strip across the top edge. Full windshield tint is illegal even if the film itself is a legal VLT, and even for drivers with a medical exemption.2Maryland General Assembly. Chapter 452 – Motor Vehicles – Enhanced Tinted Windows – Medical Exemption
Banned Colors and Finishes
Some tints are illegal in Maryland no matter how much light they let through. On any window of any vehicle, you cannot use film that is:1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs
- Reflective or mirrored
- Red
- Yellow
- Amber
- Sparkling or glittered
A perfectly measured 50% VLT film in any of those finishes is still a violation.
The $90 Fine and the Repair Order
When an officer stops you for illegal tint, you get two documents: a citation with a $90 payable fine, and a Safety Equipment Repair Order (SERO).1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs The fine is straightforward. The SERO is the part that actually controls your car.
A SERO gives you 10 days to correct the tint and 30 days total to send proof to the Maryland State Police Automotive Safety Enforcement Division (ASED). For tint, that proof has to come from a Maryland licensed inspection station, even if you removed the film completely. A trooper or local officer cannot sign off on it. Drivers with a medical exemption contact an ASED trooper instead.3Maryland State Police. Safety Equipment Repair Order (SERO)
What Happens If You Ignore the Repair Order
If ASED does not receive the certified SERO within 30 days, Maryland suspends your vehicle registration. The suspension takes effect five days after the notice is mailed. You cannot legally drive the vehicle or renew the plates, and you have 10 days from the suspension notice to return the plates to an MVA branch office. Miss that window and a tag pickup order goes out: any officer can seize the plates on the spot. The registration stays suspended until ASED confirms the tint has been fixed.3Maryland State Police. Safety Equipment Repair Order (SERO)4Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 23-105 – Safety Equipment Repair Orders
The Medical Exemption
Maryland allows darker-than-35% tint on side and rear windows for drivers with serious light-sensitive conditions. Conditions manageable with sunglasses do not qualify. Lupus, Cockayne syndrome, Bloom syndrome, solar urticaria, erythropoietic protoporphyria, and certain skin cancers are examples that do. The exemption never reaches the windshield below the AS-1 line.2Maryland General Assembly. Chapter 452 – Motor Vehicles – Enhanced Tinted Windows – Medical Exemption
To apply, download the “Medical Exemption for Aftermarket Window Tinting” form from the Maryland State Police website. A Maryland-licensed physician completes and signs part of it under penalty of perjury, then you submit the form to ASED.5Maryland State Police. Medical Exemption Tint Explanation If approved, the documentation must stay in the vehicle. Any driver operating the car can rely on the exemption, even if the person with the condition is not aboard. Duration is set by the physician: permanent conditions get an indefinite exemption; others last as long as the physician certifies.2Maryland General Assembly. Chapter 452 – Motor Vehicles – Enhanced Tinted Windows – Medical Exemption
Two Situations People Overlook
Illegal tint causes a vehicle to fail the safety inspection that Maryland requires when you transfer a title.1Maryland State Police. Vehicle Equipment FAQs If you buy a used car with dark windows, the tint has to be corrected before the title can transfer. Sellers do not always disclose this.
Maryland-legal tint is not automatically legal elsewhere. Each state enforces its own VLT rules on vehicles driving through, regardless of registration. Some nearby jurisdictions require a lighter front-window tint than Maryland’s 35%, so a car that passes at home can be ticketed a short drive away. Check the limits in each state before a trip.