New Hampshire Window Tint Law 2026

A GENUINE NUMBER FOR THE STRIP, which most states do not state — the allowance is conditional on the strip itself passing 35%. Note the inversion against the side glass: New Hampshire lets the windshield strip go DARKER (35%) than the front side windows (70%). ASSEMBLY basis: the measured object is "after-market tinted windows" — the window as tinted, not the film in isolation.

A flat 6 inches "at the very top of the windshield" — no AS-1 reference and no tie-breaker, matching Massachusetts and Illinois in form. Structurally the strip is framed as a construction proviso ("Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit"), carved out of an otherwise absolute windshield prohibition, rather than as an affirmative allowance.

Recorded as prose because there is no permitted darkness to express as a number. The four-way enforcement structure — seller, inspector, installer, driver — is broader than any other state extracted so far, and RSA 265:95, III(a) adds a fifth hook by making the same conduct an obstruction offence.

70% ties Pennsylvania as the strictest front-side figure in the dataset — double the 35% that most states allow. The qualifier "where they are allowed" matters: it signals that the percentage governs only those windows aftermarket tint may lawfully be applied to at all, which is why the windshield below the strip carries a flat prohibition instead of a number. ASSEMBLY basis: the measured object is "after-market tinted windows" — the window as tinted, not the film in isolation.

New Hampshire steps down sharply behind the driver: 70% front, 35% rear. The statute uses the single phrase "rear windows" rather than distinguishing rear side glass from the back window, and the mirror clause in the same subsection speaks of "windows to the rear of the driver" — so the 35% figure is recorded on both vlt_back_side and vlt_rear. ASSEMBLY basis: the measured object is "after-market tinted windows" — the window as tinted, not the film in isolation.

DELIBERATELY NOT A NUMBER AND NOT A NO_RESTRICTION ROW. The carve-out does not free these vehicles; it substitutes a federal standard for the state figure. Resolving it into a percentage would require 49 C.F.R. §571.205, which this session did not retrieve, and the answer is not simply "70%" — the reference is to what FMVSS 205 permits for factory-tinted rear glass, which differs by window position and vehicle class. Recorded as prose so the cross-reference survives; Phase 1b should retrieve §571.205 and §571.3.

The statute's single phrase "rear windows" covers the back window as well as the rear side glass. ASSEMBLY basis: the measured object is "after-market tinted windows" — the window as tinted, not the film in isolation.

See the corresponding vlt_back_side row — a federal cross-reference, not a percentage and not an exemption.

A state-issued special permit rather than a carried physician letter. Its scope is notable: the permit route is available for the WINDSHIELD — the one surface where tinting is otherwise flatly prohibited — as well as the front side windows. The permit machinery lives in RSA 266:61-a, IX, which this session did not retrieve, so the application requirements, certifying professional and validity period are not recorded here. The existence of the exemption is asserted on the quoted text; its terms are not.

A free-standing conditional duty, like West Virginia's rather than Maine's: applying any aftermarket tint behind the driver triggers a requirement for both outside mirrors, and the trigger is the PRESENCE of tint, not a darkness threshold. New Hampshire is unusual in stating whom the mirrors are for — "for the use of the driver and a front seat passenger". RSA 265:95, III(b) contains a parallel but distinct rule for stickers and other nontransparent material on a rear window, also conditioned on exterior mirrors on both sides.