Kentucky Window Tint Law 2026

Separate from (2)(c), which permits sunscreening across the windshield generally at 70% net assembly. The two allowances are alternatives in one list, not a strip rule plus a below-strip rule.

Kentucky writes the marking as "AS/1" rather than the usual "AS-1", and gives no inches-from-the-top fallback for a windshield with no identifiable marking.

NET ASSEMBLY basis, stated in the text — and note that this is a DIFFERENT basis from the side-window figures in the very next subsection, which are measured on 1/8 inch clear glass. Colour is constrained here too: not red or yellow.

FILM-ON-REFERENCE-GLASS basis: the figure is measured "when tested on one-eighth (1/8) inch clear glass", a standard substrate rather than the vehicle's own glazing. This is not the same quantity as a net-assembly reading — a vehicle whose factory glass is already tinted will measure differently on the road than the film measures on the test glass. A tolerance of ±3% applies under subsection (7).

Subsection (4) governs "any windows behind the driver" as one class, so the rear side windows and the rear window share this figure. FILM-ON-REFERENCE-GLASS basis: the figure is measured "when tested on one-eighth (1/8) inch clear glass", a standard substrate rather than the vehicle's own glazing. This is not the same quantity as a net-assembly reading — a vehicle whose factory glass is already tinted will measure differently on the road than the film measures on the test glass. A tolerance of ±3% applies under subsection (7).

The multipurpose-passenger-vehicle floor is 8%, less than half the 18% that applies to other vehicles behind the driver. Publishing Kentucky as a flat "18% rear" would overstate the limit for a large share of the vehicle fleet. The same 35% nonfilm-side reflectance ceiling applies; the quote starts after it because the PDF hyphenates "thirty-five" across a line break, and stitching the halves back together in a quote would be an edit to the source text rather than a reading of it. FILM-ON-REFERENCE-GLASS basis: the figure is measured "when tested on one-eighth (1/8) inch clear glass", a standard substrate rather than the vehicle's own glazing. This is not the same quantity as a net-assembly reading — a vehicle whose factory glass is already tinted will measure differently on the road than the film measures on the test glass. A tolerance of ±3% applies under subsection (7).

A parallel route for perforated material, and note the basis flips again: (4)(b) measures "in conjunction with existing glazing or film material" — net assembly — where (4)(a) measures on 1/8 inch clear glass. (4)(b) also supplies its own averaging method for materials of uneven reflectance: divide the area into sixteen equal sections, average the overall reflectance, and no single section may exceed 50%.

The rear window falls within "any windows behind the driver" and so takes the (4)(a) figure — but see the side_mirror row: subsection (5) separately permits a NONTRANSPARENT rear window outright where the vehicle has side mirrors on both sides, which displaces the percentage rather than supplementing it. FILM-ON-REFERENCE-GLASS basis: the figure is measured "when tested on one-eighth (1/8) inch clear glass", a standard substrate rather than the vehicle's own glazing. This is not the same quantity as a net-assembly reading — a vehicle whose factory glass is already tinted will measure differently on the road than the film measures on the test glass. A tolerance of ±3% applies under subsection (7).

Measured on the NONFILM side, on 1/8 inch clear glass. Kentucky is stricter on the front side windows (25%) than behind the driver (35%) — the reverse of the usual pattern, where reflectance ceilings are uniform.

Same 35% ceiling applies to the perforated route under (4)(b), stated there as "total reflectance of visible light".

Kentucky specifies the label's physical construction (pressure-sensitive, self-destructive, non-removable vinyl film) and its exact location (inside left door jamb), which is more prescriptive than any other labelling rule extracted so far. Factory glazing meeting FMVSS 205 is exempt from the requirement.

Red and yellow — not the more common red/amber pairing. The restriction is confined to the windshield allowance in (2)(c); nothing in (3) or (4) names a colour.

This is the mirror trade in its strongest form: with side mirrors on both sides, the rear window may be made NONTRANSPARENT — not merely darker than the (4)(a) floor. Kentucky therefore has two coexisting rear-window regimes, a percentage under (4) and an outright allowance under (5), and rendering only the percentage would misstate the law for any vehicle with dual side mirrors.