Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches Northeast New York tint laws

I've found varying information on the internet, so I thought I'd come here for some real world advice.

How much tint do some of you have that live in New York? And do you ever get pulled over/ticketed for it?


Thanks for any help you can provide...

If you have 35%, MOST police will not bother you. I have 35, I've never been stopped once for it in about 2 years. One cop flat out told me he didn't care about that, I was getting busted for "other" things. One officer who was still a little green behind the ears recommended I do something about the tins, but that's it. I've seen people with darker, even with full mirror tint. Never see them getting stopped. I wouldn't worry..just don't go too crazy and they should leave you alone.

Here is what the law says, although what individual police choose to actually enforce will certainly vary.

This is Section 375, subdivision 12-a, paragraphs (b) through (f) of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law:

12-a. (b) No person shall operate any motor vehicle upon any public highway, road or street:
(1) the front windshield of which is composed of, covered by or treated with any material which has a light transmittance of less than seventy percent unless such materials are limited to the uppermost six inches of the windshield; or
(2) the sidewings or side windows of which on either side forward of or adjacent to the operator's seat are composed of, covered by or treated with any material which has a light transmittance of less than seventy percent; or
(3) if it is classified as a station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe, hatchback or convertible and any rear side window has a light transmittance of less than seventy percent; or
(4) the rear window of which is composed of, covered by or treated with any material which has a light transmittance of less than seventy percent. A rear window may have a light transmittance of less than seventy percent if the vehicle is equipped with side mirrors on both sides of the vehicle so adjusted that the driver thereof shall have a clear and full view of the road and condition of traffic behind such vehicle.

(c) Any person required for medical reasons to be shielded from the direct rays of the sun and/or any person operating a motor vehicle belonging to such person or in which such person is an habitual passenger shall be exempt from the provisions of subparagraphs one and two of paragraph (b) of this subdivision provided the commissioner has granted an exemption and notice of such exemption is affixed to the vehicle as directed by the commissioner. The applicant for such exemption must provide a physician's statement with the reason for the exemption, the name of the individual with a medically necessary condition operating or transported in the vehicle, the specific condition involved, and the minimum level of light transmission required. The commissioner shall only authorize exemptions where the medical condition certified by the physician is contained on a list of medical conditions prepared by the commissioner of health pursuant to subdivision sixteen of section two hundred six of the public health law. If such such exemption is granted, the commissioner shall make a record thereof and shall distribute a sufficiently noticeable sticker to the applicant to be attached to any window so shielded or altered pursuant to such exemption.

(d) The commissioner may test any window for a person who has been charged with violating this subdivision. If such window is found to be in conformity with this subdivision, a small label attesting to the conformity shall be affixed to the window tested.

(e) On and after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-two, no person shall manufacture, sell, offer for sale, equip or operate a motor vehicle in this state in violation of the provisions of this subdivision, except that a person may operate a nineteen hundred ninety one or earlier model year vehicle without violating this subdivision if the windows on said vehicle were in conformity with this subdivision as it existed on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-one.

(f) The commissioner shall make such rules and regulations as he shall deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this subdivision.

wow thanks... 70% though that's kinda steep!

That's 70percent LIGHT TRANSMISSION.
30percent tint is OK

I heard from a few cops it's 30% tint which is almost factory a/c tint. that means 70% of sun light is supposed to shine in. I have 90% tint on all windows... really dark.... The cop told me that i wasn't supposd to have "ANY" tint on the front windows. But he didn't give me a ticket.

I'm pretty sure that the % refers to how much light "enters" the vehicle...i.e. 30% means 70% of it is blocked by the tint. If this is the case, that means the law as stated here means NYers can only legally block 30% of the light.

That said, 70% is pretty strict, not too dark at all!
correct?

Originally posted by SaratogaSVT:

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any material which has a light transmittance of less than seventy percent unless such materials are limited to the uppermost six inches of the windshield;

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The law says that the amount of total light that passes through the window cannot be less than 70%.

If 70% of the total light goes through, that's okay.

If only 69% of the total light goes through, the tint is violating the law.

That having been said, I see a whole lot of cars out there that have some pretty dark windows, and I am sure that most police officers aren't going to write a ticket just for windows that are too dark, unless you give them a reason to write you a ticket. (i.e., be nice!)

I'm no expert on window tint, so I can't tell you whether or not 30% is hardly dark at all, or not.

Originally posted by CJ 2000:

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I'm pretty sure that the % refers to how much light "enters" the vehicle...If this is the case, that means the law as stated here means NYers can only legally block 30% of the light.

That said, 70% is pretty strict, not too dark at all!
correct?

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You are correct.

70% tint is very light tint.

30% tint is somewhat darker but to give you a reference, your average factory sun strip on the top of the windshields and factory found on the back of most SUVs are usually 20%. I have 5% titanium (limo) on my sides and back of my Camaro and have recieved 2 warnings by PA state police, but was never told to remove it. It all depends on the cop and your attitude. I have had tint on my Camaro since '98.

I'm still skeptical about tinting the SVT. The area where I work is "supposedly" cracking down on tint and they bought a tint % measuring device that can grade the tint when they pull you over. They slip it on your side window and grade it. So I'm holding out for now.

The lower the number of tint, the darker it is. 5% is pretty much the lowest you can go, which is limo, which you CANT see through during the day. You probably will get busted for it eventually...bsaically, I have found, if you're not doign anything wrong nobody cares...but they just might nab you if you get pulled over for something else. Yeah they do have tint measuring devices, again, only if they really want to be ball busters. I wouldnt' tint the windshield, it is very illegal...and, when you do that, I'd be afraid of it peeling eventually from inspection/registration stickers. 35% You can see through during the day if you get right up on it...at night it's very hard to see through. I wouldn't worry but the choice is yours.