Like with most restrictive laws, window tint regulations exist to balance the interests of the interests of individuals and those of the broader society.
Yes you want your car windows to look a certain way, but how far are we to allow you to exercise this right? Especially if you are going to drive on a road that is full of other cars.
Do you realize the mess you would cause if you went too far? Another way to look at it is whether you would love it if the person driving ahead of you, towards you, past you… tinted the car just in the same way. On the other hand, no one wants to grant extremely broad rights to the state lest it abuses it. Anyway, for Massachusetts, these queries were settled in a 1985 law.
By the time you are through reading this essay, you will have learnt the most salient of its provisions and therefore better placed to decide on how to go about tinting your car if you already have one or deciding which car to buy if you intend to.
Among other things, I will be covering the provisions of this law relating to window tint darkness, window tint reflection, enforcement provisions, and exemptions to the general rules.
I have also made sure that I look at the most recent developments so you can be sure that what you read is the applicable law at the time of publication. Additionally, we revisit our articles from time to time so the substance should again not be far off if you are reading the work sometime after it was written.
Lastly, it is important to note that the state of Massachusetts has one of the most favorable window tinting regulations in the whole of New England so you should feel lucky to know that you will not have much to give up.
Window Tint Darkness Regulations
Window tint regulations are classified into two broad aspects the first one being window tint darkness. As the name suggests, this is about how deem the inside of the car gets as a result of the tinting on the windows.
Actually, there is a standard way of measuring this attribute and it is known as Visible Light Transmission also shortened as VLT.
VLT is calculated in percentage in a sense that the higher the percentage figure that a law requires, the more the light expected to enter the car. California’s VLT minimum requirement for instance, is 75%. That is much lighter to be expected than what MA allows as we will soon see.
Another dichotomy to keep at the back of one’s mind as we go around window tinting darkness regards the type of car that one owns, drives…. Going back to the introduction briefly, sometimes the building of a vehicle will necessitate that less dark tinting as opposed to one of another kind given the increased threat that doing otherwise would mean for the public good.
In this regard, cars are divided into passenger vehicles vis-à-vis multipurpose vehicles. Passenger vehicles include station wagons, sedans, couples, as well as convertibles. On the other hand, multipurpose vehicles include pick-ups, SUVs, minibuses, RVs, Vans, and minibuses. In the case of Massachusetts nonetheless, the same window tint darkness regulations apply regardless of the type of car that one is driving.
Should you find however, that you might every now and then have to drive to another state, then you should be keen to ascertain whether the type of car you are driving does not determine the kind how much Visible Light Transmission you are allowed to accommodate.
Moreover, if you are confused about the faction in which your car falls on these dimensions of car types, then you should be sure to inquire from experts.
Finally, light goes hand in hand with the positioning of windows on a car. Windshields are especially often required to carry very high VLT since it is through them that the driver directly interfaces with everything else on the road. Blocking them would not be plausible, at least until we finally get driverless cars on the road.
Here then are the VLT levels expected of cars in Massachusetts;
- Windshield: the tint allowed is that which only covers the top six inches.
- Front side windows: a minimum of 35% VLT is allowed.
- Back side windows: a minimum of 35% VLT is allowed.
- Rear window: a minimum of 35% VLT is allowed.
Window Tint Reflection Regulations
The second division of window tint regulations away from tint darkness is reflection. This is about the amount of light which the tint used on a car’s windows reflects away whenever rays from the outside project towards them.
This procedure serves to keep the inside of the vehicle cool notwithstanding the conditions outside. Often, this property is enabled by metallic elements that are carried within the tint.
Window tinting too is in some cases determinate on the car type that an individual is driving though MA laws again provide a blanket cover for all cars. What differs however, as we will see shortly is the reflection allowed for the differing window positions on cars.
Before we go there though, it is salient to recognize that the Massachusetts window tint regulations impose no restrictions on the colors of tint to be used even when we know that certain shades of coloring are certainly more distracting when reflected than others.
This is again testimony to the degree of liberty allowed by MA when it comes to window tinting. Moreover, no certification of tint film producers is required from drivers when one is stopped on the road for instance.
Okay then, here are the reflection requirements:
- Windshield: the window should not reflect any lighting at all.
- Front side windows: a maximum of 35% reflection is permitted.
- Back side windows: a maximum of 35% reflection is permitted.
Other Window Tint Regulations
It is simply impossible for us to comb through all legislation regarding window tinting in MA. Moreover, most of it is technical so it is not particularly necessary.
Having looked at window tinting darkness and window tint reflection thus, we have already equipped you with the stuff you need to know for the most part.
That said, there are a couple more provisions of law that are salient if you are going to have proper insight and so we have handpicked them from the regulations so we can share about them too. In that spirit, let us begin;
- Dual side mirrors. You will recognize that tinting law generally provides either a maximum or minimum standard to be followed meaning that drivers are free to do everything else so long as they do not contradict the threshold.
In regards to window tinting darkness however, one must equally be alive to the fact that if they are to tint the rear window, then another factor comes into play i.e. they must ensure that their car has installed on it both side mirrors. The rationale here is that tinting the rear window and having no side mirrors would mean that the driver has no way of telling when another road user is coming from the behind of their vehicle and as such become likely to cause accidents.
- Stickers. While the regulations do not require manufacturers’ certificates, they do recommend that drivers carry stickers for the same purpose. Notably, this provision is still not mandatory.
That said, my advice would be that if you can get a sticker, please do. The beauty with these little things is that once you have attached it to your car, you do not have to worry about how to keep it. This is necessary because at times you might be stopped on the road and end up meeting the penalty of overly tinting your car even when the real problem might have been with the manufacturer e.g. situations when the VLT indicated on the sticker does not match the actual measurements in the mirror.
- Exemption. Generally, MA does not allow for window tint darkness or window tint reflection exemptions. This is understandable since the 35% VLT figures as well as 35% maximum reflection are rather a big compromise on the part of the state.
That said nonetheless, there can be waivers every now and then. This especially happens for concerns arising from the standard expectations for windshields usually on grounds of health complications. To qualify for an exemption though, you would have to first obtain documentation from a physician evidencing your condition and then file an application to the Registry of Motor Vehicles attaching the doctor’s diagnosis/testimony along.
You can start on this process by visiting the registry’s website.
- Penalties. Should you be pulled aside and be found to have violated any of the stated rules, then law enforcement will penalize you. The most adopted mechanisms are fines though this will in most cases depend on whether you knew about that you were committing a crime already.
First time offenders thus face a fine of $250 while second and third time offenders will have their driver licenses suspended for ninety days.
Conclusion
Now that you know exactly what it is that the law is, I thought you could still benefit from a couple more practical aspects of window tinting which though not directly gotten from the MA regulations will often be incidental to the activities that one engages in when they decide to tint their car.
That way, you get to get a two in one package and so you don’t have to go on the web again, looking for articles written on these matters. You are welcome;
- Opting for manufacturers’ tint. If you find the dos and don’ts of tinting to be too much work, then you might have to consider adding tinting on the list of priorities when you decide to buy your next car. This is because broadly speaking, the VLT percentage adopted by companies that make cars will be high enough to fit that which is allowed in Massachusetts.
That would mean that upon purchase, you don’t have to worry about consulting professionals regarding the subjects of window tinting darkness and window tint reflection.
- Benefits of tint. My guess is that by the time you are reading this article then you know about several uses of tinting a car i.e. you are looking at ways of harnessing them while not jeopardizing your life with law enforcement intrusions.
That said, there are quite several unique aspects to tinting that one rarely knows all. One that blew my mind is the fact that tinting your car improves the fuel economy. It does so by reducing the internal heat.
Most of the other functions rotate around the tinting’s ability to block UV rays from entering the car. Because of this, it helps keep the inside of the car cool that way the environment on the inside is comfortable for the inhibitors.
Tinting also helps keep your windows from cracking not to mention the fact that it maintains one’s privacy while on the road. It is no wonder then that many people want to keep their tinting.
- Cost. Whenever you set out to tint your car, it is salient to note that several factors determine how much money you would have to invest in the project.
First, is the type of the car. This is so because different cars have varying numbers of windows and so a vehicle with more windows will require that you pay considerably more money as opposed to one with just a couple of them.
The tinting type used is another factor too. Just like the way tint varies in regards to the darkness, reflection… quality is not always the same either. Moderate quality tint might cost you an approximate of $150 while the upper end sort will for around $400.
The stated sums include payment for the person that fixes the tint onto the car. As a result, if you can buy a DIY kit and do it yourself, then you will get considerable quality for as low as $100.
- Pelicar. Talking of people to help you place tint on your car, there are several professionals in MA that you can reach out to as the task is not that difficult really. Should you want to quickly work with someone without having to go into the difficulties of finding out, then Pelicar is one company that I would recommend you to.
Pelicar has more than thirty years of dealing with cars so you can trust them to do a good job for you. If at all you wish to learn more about them, then you can look them up on the web.
About Massachusetts
Many will abbreviate Massachusetts as MA but won’t know that Massachusetts is already a short form. The state’s full name is the Common Wealth of Massachusetts.
MA is located in New England which a region located to the North East of the United States of America. It is bordered by among others; Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.
MA covers 27, 336 km sq of land making it the seventh smallest state in the entire country. At the same time however, Massachusetts has quite a huge number of people.
It is in fact the fourteenth most populous state. Its population density is the third highest throughout America. The actual population is estimated at 6,600,000 people.
There are many people in this state largely because there is a lot that goes on there in terms of business. Thus MA has the sixth highest GDP per capita in USA. Talking of business, Massachusetts’ capital is Boston.
Other cities in the state include; Cambridge, Medford, New Bedford, Dedham, Billerica, Fall River, Peabody, and Weymouth.
Cities in Massachusetts: Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, Salem, Worcester, Springfield, Framingham, Brookline, Newton, Lowell, Somerville, Quincy, Waltham, New Bedford, Plymouth, Amherst, Provincetown, Northampton, Woburn, Gloucester, Concord, Natick, Andover, Fall River, Medford, Braintree, Wellesley, Brockton, Chicopee, Arlington, Revere, Barnstable, Haverhill, Weymouth, Lynn, Newburyport, Falmouth, Beverly, Pittsfield, Hyannis, Taunton, Peabody, Foxborough, Chelmsford, Needham, Dedham, Rockport, Lexington, Malden, Billerica
Counties in Massachusetts: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Worcester
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