Georgia Window Tint Law Changed on July 1, 2026: 28 Percent Front, 15 Percent Rear
If you have read anything about tinted windows law in Georgia that quotes 32 percent, it is out of date. House Bill 1161, signed as Act 640 in May 2026 and effective July 1, 2026, split the old single standard in two. Front side and door windows now require a minimum of 28 percent light transmission. The rear windshield and the rear side and door windows dropped to 15 percent. Both figures keep the statutory tolerance of plus or minus three percentage points, and reflectance stays capped at 20 percent.
The direction is unusual. Georgia tightened the front and loosened the back substantially, in the same act, in the same sentence structure. Most reform moves one way.
| Glass | Before July 1, 2026 | From July 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Front side and door windows | 32 percent, plus or minus 3 | 28 percent, plus or minus 3 |
| Rear side and door windows | 32 percent, plus or minus 3 | 15 percent, plus or minus 3 |
| Rear windshield | 32 percent, plus or minus 3 | 15 percent, plus or minus 3 |
| Reflectance, all regulated glass | 20 percent maximum | 20 percent maximum |
| Front windshield | No reduction in transmission at all | Unchanged |
The agency paperwork has not caught up with the statute
This is worth flagging plainly, because it is a trap for anyone doing their own research. As of late July 2026 the Department of Public Safety pages describing Georgia tint law still print 32 percent, and the medical exemption application still sets a 23 percent floor, a figure derived from the old 32 percent standard by allowing nine points below it. Both documents predate the change and neither has been conformed to it. Sourcing the number from the agency rather than the code currently produces the wrong answer.
Zero tolerance on the front windshield
Georgia does not give the windshield a percentage. Any material that reduces light transmission through the front windshield is unlawful, full stop. What is permitted instead is narrowly listed: a transparent item that is not red or amber on the uppermost six inches, a sticker inside a seven inch square in the lower corner farthest from the driver, one inside a five inch square in the corner nearest the driver, any legally required government sticker, and adjustable sun visors mounted forward of the side windows and not attached to the glass. There is no AS-1 reference in the Georgia statute; the measurement is six inches.
The exemptions are broad, and the new rear rule mostly binds sedans
Subsection (c) removes the rear windshield and rear side and door windows of several vehicle classes from the darkness rules entirely rather than giving them a looser number. That list covers multipurpose passenger vehicles, school buses and other public transportation buses, buses and vans owned or leased by religious or nonprofit organizations, and any limousine owned or leased by a public or private entity. Vehicles tinted or darkened before factory delivery are also outside the rule, which is what makes factory privacy glass lawful.
Georgia scopes that class narrowly: ten passengers or fewer, and either a truck chassis underneath or special features meant for occasional use off the pavement. Because the class was already exempt behind the driver, the new 15 percent rear standard mostly bites on sedans and coupes. Front side and door windows and the windshield remain fully regulated on every vehicle regardless of class.
Further exemptions run by status rather than body type: law enforcement vehicles, vehicles displaying certain government official plates, state and local government vehicles, and vehicles operated in the course of business by licensed private detective and private security businesses. Commercial motor vehicles are handed to the federal standard in 49 CFR 393.60 instead, which sets 70 percent.
A misdemeanor, for the driver and the installer alike
Violating the darkness rules is a misdemeanor in Georgia, and the statute reaches the installer in the same breath: no person shall install material whose installation would put a vehicle outside the limits. The section names no specific fine, so the general misdemeanor provision governs, with a ceiling of one thousand dollars or up to twelve months, or both. Local surcharges vary by jurisdiction. No window tint offense appears on the state points schedule, and the statute provides no correct-and-dismiss mechanism and no escalation for repeat offenses.
Georgia also has no periodic safety inspection. The only recurring test is emissions, limited to thirteen metro Atlanta counties, and it does not examine glass. Enforcement is roadside.
Exemptions run through the Department of Public Safety
Georgia is one of the states where an optometrist can certify, not just a physician, and the exemption can also cover a vehicle in which the qualifying person is merely a habitual passenger. The application is DPS form 431, sent to the Office of Professional Standards with a ten dollar non refundable fee, and the medical letter has to be mailed directly from the medical office. An approved exemption runs four years, has to be carried in the vehicle, and does not authorize any windshield film.
Worth remembering that this statute was struck down once and legislatively revived in 2005, which is part of why its structure reads the way it does. If you are comparing across a state line, Florida works from 28 percent front and 15 percent rear too but adds a mandatory installer label, Alabama and Tennessee set different figures again, and the complete jurisdiction tables put all sixty four side by side.
References
Verified July 2026 against the codified text of O.C.G.A. 40-8-73.1 as amended by 2026 Ga. Laws Act 640, and against the enrolled bill as signed. Georgia DPS materials had not been updated to match at the time of writing.