New Jersey Window Tint Law: There Is No Percentage
Every figure you will find online for a New Jersey tint limit is either the medical exemption number or invented. The state publishes no visible light transmission percentage for ordinary drivers. Its rule descends from an early windshield obstruction statute about signs and posters, and it works as a flat prohibition rather than a threshold: R.S. 39:3-74 bars any non-transparent material on the front windshield, wings, deflectors, side shields, corner lights adjoining the windshield, or front side windows. No number, no allowance, no grade of film that satisfies it.
Behind the driver, nothing is regulated for darkness at all. Rear side windows and the rear window may be blacked out entirely. That produces one of the widest front-to-back gaps in the country: no film permitted on the front doors, unlimited film behind them.
| Glass | What is permitted |
|---|---|
| Windshield | No aftermarket tint below the top strip |
| Front side windows | No aftermarket film, medical exemption only |
| Rear side windows | Unrestricted |
| Rear window | Unrestricted, with mirrors required where the view is blocked |
| Statutory fine | Capped at 25 dollars, zero points |
| Inspection | Emissions only, tint is not checked |
The lowest tint penalty in the country, on conduct that is flatly banned
The penalty section for the article containing 39:3-74 is 39:3-79, and it provides that any person violating any provision of the article shall be subject to a fine not exceeding twenty five dollars. The better known general penalty in Title 39 reaches only chapter 4 and does not apply here. The Judiciary tables list the violation at twenty five dollars with points recorded as none, and one published copy of the Statewide Violations Bureau Schedule shows a higher payable figure, so the amount actually collected may differ from the statutory ceiling. Court costs are additional in every case.
So the state prohibits front tint outright and then attaches one of the smallest fines in the United States to it, with no points, no insurance surcharge exposure, and no escalation for repeat offenses. It is a strange combination, and it explains a great deal about what you see on the road here.
The inspection cannot catch it, by design
The inspection program does not look at window tint, and structurally cannot. R.S. 39:8-1 limits passenger automobiles and non-commercial trucks to emissions and emission-related items such as emission control equipment and onboard diagnostics. In the inspection standards for licensed private inspection facilities, every equipment section including glazing is headed commercial vehicle inspection; there is no non-commercial glazing section. Enforcement is entirely roadside and entirely discretionary.
A 2026 bill, A4673, would change that by codifying the front tint prohibition and requiring passenger automobiles and non-commercial trucks to be inspected for permissible tint, with a certificate of approval issued only on passing. It was introduced in March 2026 and referred to the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, where it has not moved. It sets no percentage and no penalty amount. A 2018 attempt to introduce an actual 70 percent standard also failed.
The only legal route to front film, and it is a real process
The medical exemption is where actual numbers finally appear, and they are strict. Permanent film on the front side windows may not take transmission below 60 percent. Windshield film must be clear and may not go below 70 percent below the AS-1 line. Readily removable material on the uppermost six inch portion may go to 35 percent but only between sunrise and sunset. Reflectance is capped at 8 percent throughout.
Certification is narrower than most states allow: a certified ophthalmologist, or a physician holding a plenary license to practice medicine and surgery in New Jersey or a bordering state. Optometrists do not qualify. Qualifying conditions cover ophthalmic and dermatological photosensitivity, chronic actinic dermatitis, photosensitive eczema, and skin cancers with an associated chronic actinic dermatitis diagnosis.
The Motor Vehicle Commission runs it as a sequenced four document workflow: application, a temporary approval valid sixty days, an installation confirmation, then permanent approval. The certificate names the specific vehicle and windows, runs forty eight months, requires a renewal application no later than thirty days before expiry, becomes void on sale or lease termination, and has to be in the driver possession at all times and shown to police on request. Film must come off before the vehicle is sold or returned.
The installer label, and the rectangle it has to leave clear
There is a labeling regime here, and it applies to exemption work. A one inch by one inch label goes on the lower right corner of the windshield viewed from inside and on the front side windows, carrying the film manufacturer name and the registration number of the sun screening material installation facility, which implies facility registration with the Commission. Attaching the label is the installer representation that the work complies. The installer also has to leave roughly a six by eight inch area clear at the lower left of the windshield for the inspection sticker.
A note for drivers who cross the river
The two sides of the Hudson do not line up, and not in the direction most people assume. New Jersey is stricter up front than New York: New York permits 70 percent film on the front doors, New Jersey permits none. Behind the driver the comparison flips, because a sedan in New York is held to 70 percent on its back doors while New Jersey has no rear limit at all. A car tinted legally in one state can be illegal in the other in either direction depending on body style. Read New York alongside this page, and browse window tint shops in New Jersey or our best reviewed Newark tint picks when you are ready to book.
References
Verified July 2026 against N.J.S.A. 39:3-74, 39:3-79 and 39:8-1 and against N.J.A.C. 13:20 subchapter 1. The current Statewide Violations Bureau Schedule could not be retrieved directly, so no payable amount is stated as definitive.