Are you looking for New York Window Tinting Laws?
If you own a car, it is easy to assume that you can tint its windows as dark or reflective as you want. That is not the case though. Because too much of everything is bad, there exists laws that aim at keeping your intentions within a standard that is considered reasonable.
This is true everywhere across America as it is in New York i.e. the state that this article focuses on.
The details traversed include the broad branches of tinting darkness and reflection laws and then other scattered restrictions which are important too for you as a car driver.
Finally, I conclude by looking at practical aspects of tinting that in my experience you will find salient in contextualizing the information that I will have shared up to that point.
NY tinting laws were first passed in 1991 but have been revised overtime though including most recently in 2017. For this, I have made sure that I pick out only the provisions that are still law as well as those that have been added to them thereby presenting to you only the laws that you need to know rather than throw everything at you and let you “figure it out”.
My analysis also takes the approach of comparing numerous of the legislation stipulations traversed with their equivalent in other states in the country hoping to give you a sense of how New York is either restrictive or otherwise. That way you will appreciate how legitimate the state’s tinting law is.
New York Window Tinting Darkness Laws
Window tinting darkness is the more famous aspect of tinting, which is to say that when most people hear about tinting, that is what they think about. Tint darkness works through placement of a film that is literally dark on a vehicle’s windows and in turn, it blocks part of the light coming its way from getting to the occupants of the car in question.
It is not the case however, that all dark tint allows in more light percentages. This brings us to the notion of VLT which is the unit in which the percentage of light going through dark tint is calculated. The higher the percentage, the more the light that is allowed into the car.
Occupants of a car that is covered with tint that is 90% VLT therefore will have more light on the inside as opposed to those that sit in a car with 40% VLT.
Legislators therefore determine which tint levels are to be used in a state by providing caps on VLT. In order to do this, they rely on two major factors. The first one regards the type of car being looked at particularly as relating to its purpose as well as structure.
Taking the former attribute, it is the case for instance that law makers allow law enforcement vehicles to adopt very minimal VLT percentages. The rationale often related to the fact that these officers encounter with nefarious characters in their day-to-day work thereby necessitating protection of their privacy since they can otherwise always be targets when off duty and their families too.
There is also a guarantee of easy tracking of these cars since they are few thereby giving congress men and women more confidence that the special allowance cannot be abused.
The other consideration regards the position of windows on a vehicle. Now, whereas the same car might have several windows, it could be a mistake to think that they all play the same role which is why not the same VLT percentage is expected from them.
There is especially an insistence by laws to allow through as much light as possible through the windshield.
One sees the justification since this is the point through which a driver gets to directly view the most important part of the road i.e. the front since that is where a car will often be headed.
Note however, that states will not always consider both the factors mentioned. They can take on only one or even none. In the case of NY though, the two of them are factored in as we will now see.
- Sedans
Windshield: must allow a minimum of 70% VLT. This is a very liberal take as most states simply keep it at 100% VLT. Non-reflective darker that 70% VLT can also be used within the top six inches of the screen.
Front side windows: must allow a minimum of 70% VLT. This is rather very restrictive. Most states allow numbers below 50% VLT.
Backside windows: must allow a minimum of 70% VLT. This is rather very restrictive. Most states allow numbers below 50% VLT.
Rear windows: there are no restrictions on VLT levels i.e. you can use film with as low as 0% VLT levels.
- SUVs and vans
Windshield: must allow a minimum of 70% VLT. This is a very liberal take as most states simply keep it at 100% VLT. Non-reflective darker that 70% VLT can also be used within the top six inches of the screen.
Front side windows: must allow a minimum of 70% VLT. This is rather very restrictive. Most states allow numbers below 50% VLT.
Backside windows: there are no restrictions on VLT levels i.e. you can use film with as low as 0% VLT levels.
Rear windows: there are no restrictions on VLT levels i.e. you can use film with as low as 0% VLT levels.
New York Window Tinting Reflection Laws
Window tinting reflection is the less known part of tinting i.e. not many people will think about it when one tells them of tinting. This does not mean however, that it does not perform. If at all, there are situations in which it unambiguously beats tint darkness.
I would therefore recommend that you always consult with a professional every time you intend to tint a vehicle on which variation of tint to adopt rather than take it for granted that tint darkness is the thing.
The way tint darkness works is that once a film is placed on a vehicle’s windows, then it will reflect portions of light that are not intended to penetrate through to the inside.
And like tint darkness, it is captured in percentages with the highest numbers indicating more light being deflected away. Legislators however, will usually want to keep the said figures as low as possible.
Important to note too is that regulation plays a more crucial role under tint reflection than tint darkness since there is otherwise no incentive whatsoever on the part of car owners under tint reflection. Consider bad tinting practices that tantamount into accidents.
Whereas the driver of the car with poor tinting is going to be immediately affected since with the blurry vision it would mean that they are going to themselves knock someone that is not the case under tint reflection.
What happens instead is that a vehicle that is overly reflective flashes out light onto the road users that are looking at it from the outside thereby negatively impacting innocent third parties instead. The only way that you would handle such a situation without laws is hope that people act morally which is of course does not always work well.
When providing the percentage reflection figures law makers still consider the same factors discussed under tint reflection i.e. the position of windows on a car and then the kind of vehicle being looked at. Again, it is not that both of them will always be relied on. In NY, only the former plays out as seen below;
- Front side windows: tint should not be mirrored or metallic.
- Backside windows: tint should not be mirrored or metallic.
Other New York Window Tinting Laws
At this point, we have covered the thrust of NY’s window tinting law. That said, there are several provisions of law which if you did not understand would still mean that you still lack important knowledge which is an issue that could potentially land you on the wrong side of the law something that I believe you were trying to avoid to begin with.
Suffice it to say, this section does not go through all other specifications under NY tint law because doing so would be a task that exhausts you for no good reason. So I have only kept with that which you need to know.
- Restriction on colors: NY has no limits on what colors a person may use for their car tinting. This is a rather liberal take since on average the states that are less restrictive will still have at least two colors banned, usually red and amber.
The rationale for states that ban some colors is that the same are more shouting than most and therefore more likely cause distortions on the road. It does seem in the case on New York though that things do not have to be that way especially if the reflection standard is enforced.
- Certificates and Stickers: NY does not require that manufacturers certify the tint they sell. Certificates in the context of tinting are pieces of documentation issued by manufacturers as a way of affirming that the tint in question conforms to the applying laws. They come in handy in instances that involve determination of responsibility. If pulled over for illegal tinting thus, you can successfully avoid liability if your certificate shows that it is the manufacturer that misled you.
Stickers serve more or less the same function as certificates. The main difference is around portability i.e. once a sticker is placed on a window, then there is no need to worry about losing it. New York mandates attaching stickers on all tinted windows.
While there are several states that require no usage of stickers or certificates, the sticker requirement in New York should not be considered so restrictive as it is easy to fulfil and it is for the best of intentions i.e. safety.
- Side mirrors: New York mandates that drivers who adopt tint that is below 70% VLT for their rear windows place side mirrors on both sides of their vehicles. Here, the state sits right in the middle of the two common approach that places elsewhere in the country tend to adopt. On one side of things, legislators require that side mirrors are installed at every point when any tinting is used whereas there are those that only ask of this when 0% VLT is used.
The reason for side mirror mandates in these instances is to create a new way for the drivers to keep up with the happenings behind a vehicle since this function is otherwise the primary function of the rear.
- Medical exemptions: New York allows special tinting for persons who due to their medical situations it is not possible for them to follow the general VLT standards lest their conditions would be exacerbated. This principle is widely acknowledged throughout the United States. Common examples in this regard are porphyria, lupus, and albinism.
It could also be that your problem is not permanent though it extends to a considerably long period of time e.g. you are on drugs that make you photosensitive.
Whatever is your issue then, you will obtain the allowance stated by applying to the state which will then revert once your claims have been verified as legitimate.
In my experience, the law does not operate in a vacuum. Because of this, I strongly believe that there are insights regarding the general operation of the industry that you need to acclimatize with yourself first before you finally decide whether you are going to tint your car or not.
And so I thought that there is no reason for you to move away from this article and go to yet another site looking for the said information. Here are my greatest picks then;
- Enforcement aspects in New York: whereas you might succeed at evading law enforcement in the usual driving even when your car’s tint violates the law as discussed, please note that NY has an annual vehicle inspection program which will certainly catchup with you eventually.
Secondly, the aspects of law discussed are general i.e. at state level. It is the case however, that some cities and counties may have more particular regulations. You should check out then to be sure whether the location where you are at is one of those or not.
- Unique advantages: all of us know that tinting your car protects privacy but that is not all there is about. There are in fact less known and yet more salient benefits. One of these is the fact that tinting keeps the inside of your car cool. It is estimated that the improvement here goes up to 60% on average. This means in return, that you do not have use your air conditioning system something that reduces the degree to which your car uses energy.
And then there is the bit of keeping the inside new i.e. when UV rays are kept out, there is reduced wear and tear as well as fading at very high proportions.
- Tint film cost: when it comes to this issue, everything goes back to what you are looking to use with the tint and then how much you can afford. To take an example, classic film (which is the cheapest) may cost you about $150 on average if you have a sedan. On the other side of things, ceramic tint goes for roughly $400. These numbers may vary slightly of course depending on the number of windows such a car has, the place where you are buying the tint etc.
New York State Info
Located in the Northeastern region of America, New York State has some pretty interesting borders. From international ones e.g. with Ontario and Quebec to ones that are maritime e.g. with Rhode Island. And it is also bordered by other US states of course among them Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
New York occupies and estimated 141,000 km sq making it the 27th largest state in the country. Its capital is Albany. Other cities in New York include; New York, Long Beach, Levittown, Bronxville, Garden City, Beacon, and Town of Hempstead.