Montana Window Tint Law 2026
Montana requires at least 24% on the front side windows, 14% on the back side windows and 14% on the rear window.
As an Amazon Associate, StreetLawful earns from qualifying purchases. Product listings are matched to statutory requirements as we read them — this is not a guarantee of compliance, and we do not test or measure any film ourselves.
Choose a tint level
Our pick at 35% VLT
- 35%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 35% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 35% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
Our pick at 50% VLT
- 50%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 50% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 50% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
Our pick at 70% VLT
- 70%VLTARANAARANA 70% VLT 36"x15FT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film | Keep Car Cool, UV Heat Blocking, Daytime Privacy & Anti-Glare, Scratch Resistant, Phone/GPS Friendly, DIY InstallCeramic (nano-ceramic)36″ × 15′ rollRated 70% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
More options that clear this figure, darkest first
- 35%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 35% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 35% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
- 35%VLTRockRoseRockRose 35% Nano Ceramic Car Window Tint 36 in x 25FT 2PLY Privacy Film Heat Block, 99% UVR, and 85% IRR Block for Auto or Home Strong Adhesive, Easy Shrink, Plotter Friendly - CharcoalCeramic (2-ply nano-ceramic)36″ × 25′ rollRated 35% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
- 50%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 50% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 50% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
- 70%VLTARANAARANA 70% VLT 36"x15FT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film | Keep Car Cool, UV Heat Blocking, Daytime Privacy & Anti-Glare, Scratch Resistant, Phone/GPS Friendly, DIY InstallCeramic (nano-ceramic)36″ × 15′ rollRated 70% VLT — meets the 24% requirement for front side windows.View on Amazon
Showing 4 of the 12 films we list that clear this figure. Verify before you tint. We match a film’s own rating against the figure in the statute above. We do not measure film, and a manufacturer rating is not a compliance certificate.
The limits at a glance
Film rated to meet the 24% requirement for front side windows
- 24% VLT minimum — measured on the film itselfMCA §61-9-405(4)(b) — Montana Code Annotated · read
- This state also restricts film colour: Sunscreening material on the windshield above the AS-1 line may not be red, yellow or amber. No colour restriction is stated for the side or rear windows.MCA §61-9-405(4)(a) — Montana Code Annotated · read
- This state also caps reflectance for this glass at 35%. Mirrored and metallic films can exceed it regardless of their VLT rating.MCA §61-9-405(4)(b) — Montana Code Annotated · read
Every Montana tint rule we track
| Rule | Applies to | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windshield strip — how dark the strip may be | All vehicles | No VLT percentage is stated for the windshield. Above the AS-1 line the only constraint is colour (not red, yellow or amber); below the AS-1 line any sunscreening material must be clear and transparent.DetailRendering Montana with a windshield-strip VLT figure would invent a rule the statute does not contain. The 24% and 14% figures in (4)(b)-(c) are scoped to side and rear glass and do not reach the windshield. | MCA §61-9-405(4)(a) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the windshield has sunscreening material that is not clear and transparent below the AS-1 line or if it has a sunscreening material that is red, yellow, or amber in color above the AS-1 line;” |
| Windshield strip — how far down it may extend | All vehicles | AS-1 line — windshield must be clear and transparent BELOW it; no tinted strip is authorizedDetailMontana inverts the usual construction. Most states permit a tinted band down to a stated depth; Montana instead requires clarity below the AS-1 line and regulates only COLOUR above it. So the AS-1 line is the boundary of a clarity duty, not the depth limit of a permitted tint band. The statute does not define the AS-1 line — contrast Nebraska, which defines it and supplies a 5-inch fallback. | MCA §61-9-405(4)(a) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the windshield has sunscreening material that is not clear and transparent below the AS-1 line or if it has a sunscreening material that is red, yellow, or amber in color above the AS-1 line;” |
| Windshield below the strip | All vehicles | unclear No published figure Under review — this dimension is still under review. This is a gap in our research, and it says nothing about what Montana requires here; the state may set its rule in words rather than a percentage. | — |
| Front side windows | All vehicles | 24% VLT minimum measured on the film itself Detail24% is materially darker than the 35% figure common across the model-act states — Nebraska, whose statute is otherwise near-identical in structure, sets 35% here. FILM basis: (4) attaches the duty to windows that "have sunscreening or other transparent material that ... has light transmission of less than" the figure, and (5)(b) defines "Light transmission" as "the ratio of the amount of total light, expressed in percentages, that is allowed to pass through the sunscreening or transparent material to the amount of total light falling on the motor vehicle window" — the material is the regulated object. | MCA §61-9-405(4)(b) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the front side windows have sunscreening or other transparent material that has a luminous reflectance of more than 35% or has light transmission of less than 24%;” |
| Back side windows | Sedan | 14% VLT minimum measured on the film itself DetailMontana steps down behind the front seat — the boundary is the FRONT SEAT, not the driver. FILM basis: (4) attaches the duty to windows that "have sunscreening or other transparent material that ... has light transmission of less than" the figure, and (5)(b) defines "Light transmission" as "the ratio of the amount of total light, expressed in percentages, that is allowed to pass through the sunscreening or transparent material to the amount of total light falling on the motor vehicle window" — the material is the regulated object. | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the rear window or side windows behind the front seat have sunscreening or other transparent material that has a luminous reflectance of more than 35% or has light transmission of less than 14%, except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus; or” |
| Multipurpose passenger vehicle | confirmed No transmission or reflectance limit for side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle or van.DetailMCA §61-9-405(4)(c) carves the rear figures out for these classes in the operative sentence itself: "except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus". Because the exception sits inside the same clause that states BOTH the 14% transmission and the 35% reflectance limits, both are lifted — contrast West Virginia, where the parallel exemption reaches only the transmittance duty. (5)(d) defines "Multipurpose vehicle" as "a motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers that is constructed on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road use." | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus” | |
| Bus | confirmed No transmission or reflectance limit for side windows behind the front seat on a bus.DetailMCA §61-9-405(4)(c) carves the rear figures out for these classes in the operative sentence itself: "except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus". Because the exception sits inside the same clause that states BOTH the 14% transmission and the 35% reflectance limits, both are lifted — contrast West Virginia, where the parallel exemption reaches only the transmittance duty. (5)(d) defines "Multipurpose vehicle" as "a motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers that is constructed on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road use." | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus” | |
| Rear window | Sedan | 14% VLT minimum measured on the film itself DetailThe same clause governs the rear window and the side windows behind the front seat. Montana states no mirror condition attached to tinting the rear window. FILM basis: (4) attaches the duty to windows that "have sunscreening or other transparent material that ... has light transmission of less than" the figure, and (5)(b) defines "Light transmission" as "the ratio of the amount of total light, expressed in percentages, that is allowed to pass through the sunscreening or transparent material to the amount of total light falling on the motor vehicle window" — the material is the regulated object. | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the rear window or side windows behind the front seat have sunscreening or other transparent material that has a luminous reflectance of more than 35% or has light transmission of less than 14%, except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus; or” |
| Multipurpose passenger vehicle | confirmed No transmission or reflectance limit for the rear window of a multipurpose vehicle or van.DetailMCA §61-9-405(4)(c) carves the rear figures out for these classes in the operative sentence itself: "except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus". Because the exception sits inside the same clause that states BOTH the 14% transmission and the 35% reflectance limits, both are lifted — contrast West Virginia, where the parallel exemption reaches only the transmittance duty. (5)(d) defines "Multipurpose vehicle" as "a motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers that is constructed on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road use." | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus” | |
| Bus | confirmed No transmission or reflectance limit for the rear window of a bus.DetailMCA §61-9-405(4)(c) carves the rear figures out for these classes in the operative sentence itself: "except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus". Because the exception sits inside the same clause that states BOTH the 14% transmission and the 35% reflectance limits, both are lifted — contrast West Virginia, where the parallel exemption reaches only the transmittance duty. (5)(d) defines "Multipurpose vehicle" as "a motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers that is constructed on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road use." | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus” | |
| Reflectivity — front side windows | All vehicles | 35% reflectance maximumDetail(5)(c) defines "Luminous reflectance" as "the ratio of the amount of total light, expressed in percentages, that is reflected outward by the sunscreening or transparent material to the amount of total light falling on the motor vehicle window." | MCA §61-9-405(4)(b) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the front side windows have sunscreening or other transparent material that has a luminous reflectance of more than 35% or has light transmission of less than 24%;” |
| Reflectivity — back side windows | Sedan | 35% reflectance maximumDetailUnlike West Virginia, the rear reflectance cap does NOT survive the vehicle-class exemption. MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) carves the rear figures out for these classes in the operative sentence itself: "except for the rear window or side windows behind the front seat on a multipurpose vehicle, van, or bus". Because the exception sits inside the same clause that states BOTH the 14% transmission and the 35% reflectance limits, both are lifted — contrast West Virginia, where the parallel exemption reaches only the transmittance duty. (5)(d) defines "Multipurpose vehicle" as "a motor vehicle designed to carry 10 or fewer passengers that is constructed on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road use." | MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read “the rear window or side windows behind the front seat have sunscreening or other transparent material that has a luminous reflectance of more than 35% or has light transmission of less than 14%” |
| Medical exemption | All vehicles | unclear No published figure Under review — the official sources we read state no figure for this. This is a gap in our research, and it says nothing about what Montana requires here; the state may set its rule in words rather than a percentage. Not addressed in MCA §61-9-405. The section's only escape route is a "currently valid certificate of waiver ... as specified under 61-9-428", and (7) ties that instrument to vehicles registered in Montana on October 1, 1991 that already carried prohibited material on that date — a grandfathering mechanism, not a medical exemption. Whether Montana provides a medical accommodation requires reading §§61-9-428 and 61-9-429, which §61-9-405(5) cross-references but which were not retrieved. No medical rule is asserted either way. | — |
| Certification sticker / label | All vehicles | unclear No published figure Under review — the official sources we read state no figure for this. This is a gap in our research, and it says nothing about what Montana requires here; the state may set its rule in words rather than a percentage. Not addressed in MCA §61-9-405. The section imposes no labelling duty on manufacturers or installers. §§61-9-428 and 61-9-429 are cross-referenced by the definitions subsection and are the likely home of any certification or waiver-sticker requirement; they were not retrieved. | — |
| Restricted colors | All vehicles | Sunscreening material on the windshield above the AS-1 line may not be red, yellow or amber. No colour restriction is stated for the side or rear windows.DetailThe colour bar is confined to the windshield. §61-9-405 states no colour rule for side or rear glass, where the only constraints are the transmission and reflectance figures. | MCA §61-9-405(4)(a) — Montana Code Annotated · read “or if it has a sunscreening material that is red, yellow, or amber in color above the AS-1 line;” |
| Side mirrors required if the rear window is tinted | All vehicles | unclear No published figure Under review — the official sources we read state no figure for this. This is a gap in our research, and it says nothing about what Montana requires here; the state may set its rule in words rather than a percentage. Not addressed in MCA §61-9-405. Montana conditions no tint allowance on mirror equipment — the rear figures in (4)(c) stand alone, and the vehicle-class exemption is unconditional rather than mirror-contingent. Contrast West Virginia, where any film behind the driver triggers a dual-mirror requirement. | — |
Film rated to meet the 14% requirement for the rear window
- 14% VLT minimum — measured on the film itselfMCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read
- This state also restricts film colour: Sunscreening material on the windshield above the AS-1 line may not be red, yellow or amber. No colour restriction is stated for the side or rear windows.MCA §61-9-405(4)(a) — Montana Code Annotated · read
- This state also caps reflectance for this glass at 35%. Mirrored and metallic films can exceed it regardless of their VLT rating.MCA §61-9-405(4)(c) — Montana Code Annotated · read
As an Amazon Associate, StreetLawful earns from qualifying purchases. Product listings are matched to statutory requirements as we read them — this is not a guarantee of compliance, and we do not test or measure any film ourselves.
Choose a tint level
Our pick at 15% VLT
- 15%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 15% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 15% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
Our pick at 20% VLT
- 20%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 20% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 20% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
Our pick at 35% VLT
- 35%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 35% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 35% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
Our pick at 50% VLT
- 50%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 50% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 50% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
Our pick at 70% VLT
- 70%VLTARANAARANA 70% VLT 36"x15FT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film | Keep Car Cool, UV Heat Blocking, Daytime Privacy & Anti-Glare, Scratch Resistant, Phone/GPS Friendly, DIY InstallCeramic (nano-ceramic)36″ × 15′ rollRated 70% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
More options that clear this figure, darkest first
- 15%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 15% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 15% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
- 20%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 20% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 20% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
- 35%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 35% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 35% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
- 50%VLTIAQWEIAQWE 50% VLT Ceramic Car Window Tint Film 20 in x 20 ft Roll | High Heat Rejection, UV Block, Privacy, Shatterproof, Scratch Resistant & No Signal InterferenceCeramic (nano-ceramic, 5-layer)20″ × 20′ rollRated 50% VLT — meets the 14% requirement for the rear window.View on Amazon
Showing 4 of the 20 films we list that clear this figure. Verify before you tint. We match a film’s own rating against the figure in the statute above. We do not measure film, and a manufacturer rating is not a compliance certificate.
Sources
- MCA §61-9-405(4) — Montana Code Annotated, read
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