California Window Tint Law 2026
California requires at least 88% on the front side windows. We have not established a published figure for the back side windows and rear window, and this page marks that as a gap rather than implying no limit applies.
The limits at a glance
California sets the same limits for passenger cars and for SUVs, vans and trucks, so there is nothing to switch between.
This state requires film rated at 88% VLT or lighter-transmitting for front side windows, and none of the films we have verified clears it. That is a statement about our shelf, not about what the state allows.
Every California tint rule we track
| Rule | Applies to | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windshield strip — how dark the strip may be | All vehicles | No numeric VLT specified for the topmost-windshield material; it must not be red or amber, must not carry opaque lettering, and must not increase glare.DetailRendered as a prose standard because the statute sets none. Do not surface a number here. | CVC §26708(c)(2)–(4) — California Vehicle Code · read “The material is not red or amber in color. (3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through the windshield. (4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any greater extent than the windshield without the material.” |
| Windshield strip — how far down it may extend | All vehicles | 29 in Bottom edge of the material must sit at least 29 inches above the undepressed driver’s seat, measured five inches in front of the bottom of the backrest, seat rearmost and lowermost, vehicle level. DetailCalifornia expresses the windshield strip as a seat-relative CLEARANCE, not as inches from the top of the glass and not against the AS-1 line. The permitted strip therefore varies by vehicle. Aggregators that report "4 inches" or "AS-1 line" for California are citing a rule that does not appear in §26708. | CVC §26708(c)(1) — California Vehicle Code · read “The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above the undepressed driver’s seat when measured from a point five inches in front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver’s seat in its rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.” |
| Windshield below the strip | All vehicles | 88% VLT minimum measured on the film itself Only clear, colorless, transparent material, and only under the §26708(e) medical route (dermatologist certificate) — otherwise no material is permitted below the topmost portion. | CVC §26708(e)(1)–(2) — California Vehicle Code · read “clear, colorless, and transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the windshield, side, or rear windows of a motor vehicle if the following conditions are met: (1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent. (2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent” |
| Front side windows | All vehicles | 88% VLT minimum measured on the film itself Material must be clear, colorless and transparent; installer or manufacturer certificate must be carried in the vehicle. DetailThis is the FILM figure. California permits no darker aftermarket film on front side windows: §26708(a)(1) prohibits material on the windshield and side/rear windows outright, and subdivision (d) is a narrow exception for clear UV-blocking film only. The widely republished "California front side = 70% VLT" is not what the statute says. | CVC §26708(d)(1) — California Vehicle Code · read “The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.” |
| All vehicles | 70% VLT minimum measured on the installed glass + film together Glazing with the material applied, measured as the assembly. DetailThe 70% figure is the FMVSS 205 floor for the finished assembly, adopted by reference — not a California film rating. Note the statute says AS–14 (an abrasion-resistance class), not AS-1. | CVC §26708(d)(2) — California Vehicle Code · read “The window glazing with the material applied meets all requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49 C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS–14 glazing, as specified in that federal standard.” | |
| Back side windows | All vehicles | confirmed No VLT limit — side windows to the rear of the driver are excepted from the §26708(a) prohibition entirely.DetailAffirmative absence: the subdivision (b) exception list removes these windows from the prohibition, so no darkness limit attaches. Not a gap. | CVC §26708(b)(4) — California Vehicle Code · read “Side windows that are to the rear of the driver.” |
| Rear window | All vehicles | confirmed No VLT limit, provided the vehicle has dual outside mirrors meeting the 200-foot rearward view requirement. Conditioned on outside mirrors on both sides giving a view at least 200 feet to the rear. | CVC §26708(b)(8) — California Vehicle Code · read “The rear window or windows, if the motor vehicle is equipped with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the vehicle.” |
| Reflectivity — front side windows | All vehicles | No numeric reflectance limit for front side windows. Reflective aftermarket film is unavailable in the first place: the only film §26708(d) permits there is clear, colorless material at ≥88% VLT.DetailThe only numeric reflectance figure in the California scheme (35%) governs §26708.2 medical sun-screening devices, not general aftermarket film. Encoding it as a general front-window reflectivity limit would be wrong. | CVC §26708.5(a) — California Vehicle Code · read “No person shall place, install, affix, or apply any transparent material upon the windshield, or side or rear windows, of any motor vehicle if the material alters the color or reduces the light transmittance of the windshield or side or rear windows, except as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 26708.” |
| Reflectivity — back side windows | All vehicles | confirmed No numeric reflectance limit for windows to the rear of the driver; those windows are excepted from the §26708(a) prohibition. | CVC §26708(b)(4), (b)(8) — California Vehicle Code · read “Side windows that are to the rear of the driver. ... The rear window or windows, if the motor vehicle is equipped with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the vehicle” |
| Medical exemption | All vehicles | RequiredDetailTwo distinct routes. (1) §26708(b)(10) + §26708.2: removable sun-screening DEVICES (frame, rigid material with temporary fasteners, or roller shade) on front-seat side windows — green, gray or neutral smoke, luminous transmittance ≥35%, reflective quality ≤35% on either surface; not to be used during darkness; requires a letter from a licensed physician and surgeon, or a licensed optometrist for a visual condition. (2) §26708(e): clear 88% film on windshield/side/rear windows with a certificate signed by a licensed dermatologist. No state-issued permit or placard is involved in either route — the documentation is carried by the driver. | CVC §26708(b)(10) — California Vehicle Code · read “Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section 26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle’s front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in their possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a medical condition, or has in their possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not be used during darkness.” |
| Certification sticker / label | All vehicles | Certificate carried in the vehicle, not a window sticker.DetailCalifornia requires a paper certificate identifying installer and film manufacturer, carried in the vehicle — distinct from the adhesive compliance labels other states require on the glass. If the owner installed the film, the certificate comes from the material’s manufacturer instead. | CVC §26708(d)(4) — California Vehicle Code · read “The driver has in their possession, or within the vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of this subdivision and the certificate identifies the installing company and the material’s manufacturer by full name and street address” |
| Restricted colors | All vehicles | Red and amber prohibited on the topmost windshield material. Front side window film must be clear and colorless. Medical sun-screening devices must be green, gray, or neutral smoke. | CVC §26708(c)(2), (d), §26708.2(b) — California Vehicle Code · read “The material is not red or amber in color.” |
| Side mirrors required if the rear window is tinted | All vehicles | Required Dual outside mirrors are the condition on which the rear-window exception depends. | CVC §26708(b)(8) — California Vehicle Code · read “The rear window or windows, if the motor vehicle is equipped with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of the vehicle.” |
This state publishes no light-transmittance figure for this glass, so there is no percentage to match a film against. Other rules — colour, reflectivity, obstruction — can still apply, so we are not going to present a shelf as though nothing does.
Sources
- CVC §26708 — California Vehicle Code, read
- CVC §26708.2 — California Vehicle Code, read
- CVC §26708.5 — California Vehicle Code, read
Nearby states
Other California modification laws
California exhaust and muffler laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.
California lighting and underglow laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.
California lift kit and bumper height laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.
California wheel and tire laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.
California ECU tuning and emissions laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.
California intake laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.
California body and appearance laws
Not published yet. We have not researched this category for California — which is a statement about us, not about whether California regulates it.