New Mexico Window Tint Law 2026

Two limits combined by a WHICHEVER-IS-CLOSER test rather than the more common "AS-1, or five inches if no marking": New Mexico applies both and takes the higher line, so a windshield whose ASI line sits more than five inches down gets only five inches. The statute writes the marking as "ASI" rather than "AS-1".

The mirror requirement is a condition on using ANY sun screening material on these windows, not merely on darkening the rear — a vehicle without both outside mirrors may not use it at all. BASIS UNSPECIFIED, and that is a reading of the text rather than a shrug: §66-3-846.1(H)(1) defines "light transmission" as light passing through "a product or material", with none of the "including the glazing" language Louisiana, Alaska or Hawaii use — which reads as film. But the operative clause, (B)(2), applies the figure to sun screening material "used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials" of the named windows, which reads as the assembly. The statute supplies no measurement method to break the tie, so neither `film` nor `net_assembly` can be asserted without adding something the legislature did not say.

New Mexico applies one figure to every window it regulates; there is no step-down toward the rear. BASIS UNSPECIFIED, and that is a reading of the text rather than a shrug: §66-3-846.1(H)(1) defines "light transmission" as light passing through "a product or material", with none of the "including the glazing" language Louisiana, Alaska or Hawaii use — which reads as film. But the operative clause, (B)(2), applies the figure to sun screening material "used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials" of the named windows, which reads as the assembly. The statute supplies no measurement method to break the tie, so neither `film` nor `net_assembly` can be asserted without adding something the legislature did not say.

A whole-class exemption, not a darker floor: for these five vehicle types there is no percentage behind the driver at all. Publishing New Mexico as a flat "20% all around" misstates the law for a large share of the fleet. The (F) exemption is expressly limited to the light transmission requirement, so the nonreflective requirement in (B)(2) still bites.

Separately, §66-3-846(A) exempts the rearmost window from its nontransparent-material prohibition where it is not needed for driving visibility: "The rearmost window is not necessary for driving visibility where outside rearview mirrors are attached to the vehicle." BASIS UNSPECIFIED, and that is a reading of the text rather than a shrug: §66-3-846.1(H)(1) defines "light transmission" as light passing through "a product or material", with none of the "including the glazing" language Louisiana, Alaska or Hawaii use — which reads as film. But the operative clause, (B)(2), applies the figure to sun screening material "used in conjunction with the safety glazing materials" of the named windows, which reads as the assembly. The statute supplies no measurement method to break the tie, so neither `film` nor `net_assembly` can be asserted without adding something the legislature did not say.

A design test, not a measurement — the definition asks what the material was designed to do, which no meter reading answers. Recorded as prose for that reason; rendering it as a percentage would invent a threshold New Mexico never set.

A carried affidavit, not a state-issued permit: no application, no agency, no decal, no renewal cycle. The exemption attaches to the VEHICLE'S REGISTRATION — it must be registered in the name of the person or their legal guardian — and the affidavit must be with that person whenever they are being transported in it.

The manufacturer, not the installer, carries the duty. The label must be installed permanently and legibly between the sun screening material and each glazing surface, must contain the manufacturer's name, the date of manufacture and the percentage of light transmission, and must sit in the left lower corner of each glazing surface viewed from outside. (C)(1) separately requires certification to the division that the material complies, and (D)(2) makes installing material without permanently affixing the label an offence in itself.

A three-colour bar — red, yellow AND amber — where Alabama and Louisiana bar red and amber only and Kentucky bars red and yellow.

Broader than the usual formulation: the mirrors are a precondition for sun screening material on ANY of the regulated windows — the side wings and front side windows included — not just for darkening the rear. §66-3-846(A) uses the mirrors for a second purpose as well, deeming the rearmost window unnecessary for driving visibility where they are fitted.