Tennessee Window Tint Law 2026

Tennessee expresses this as a MANUFACTURER'S MARKING, not as a measurement and not as the AS-1 line. There is no inches-from-the-top figure anywhere in § 55-9-107, so any source publishing one for Tennessee is not reading the statute. The band that is excepted is the one the manufacturer installed as standard — which means the permitted extent varies by vehicle and cannot be stated as a number. This is precisely the incompatibility that `windshield_strip_extent` exists to preserve rather than flatten.

BASIS: `net_assembly`, and the contrast with the 35 percent row one subparagraph earlier is deliberate on the statute's part, not an artefact of this encoding. (a)(1)(A) regulates the transmittance OF THE MATERIAL; (a)(1)(B) regulates transmittance "in the windshield" — the glazing and anything applied to it, taken together. A film that is itself 70 percent will not keep a windshield at 70 percent once installed.

BASIS: `film`. The 35 percent is a property of the applied material, not of the finished window. § 55-9-107(a)(1) opens by describing a window that already meets FMVSS 205 and then prohibits altering it with "any material that ... [h]as a visible light transmittance of less than thirty-five percent (35%)". A film measured on its own at 35 percent is what the statute names; the same film over factory glass reads lower on a meter, and the statute does not set that figure. Front door windows are the one place Tennessee allows no exemption at all — see (a)(6)(B).

BASIS: `film`. The 35 percent is a property of the applied material, not of the finished window. § 55-9-107(a)(1) opens by describing a window that already meets FMVSS 205 and then prohibits altering it with "any material that ... [h]as a visible light transmittance of less than thirty-five percent (35%)". A film measured on its own at 35 percent is what the statute names; the same film over factory glass reads lower on a meter, and the statute does not set that figure. Tennessee draws NO line between front and rear side glass: (a)(1)(A) reaches "any window". Exempt classes under (a)(6)(A): vehicles federally permitted to carry non-conforming windows (those windows only); vehicles on commercial or government-service plates used for law enforcement, for windows rearward of the front doors; vehicles registered in another state that comply with the state of registration; and vehicles owned or leased by licensed private investigators. (a)(6)(B) shuts the door on reading any of that broadly: the subdivision "shall not be construed in any way to exempt the front door windows of any motor vehicle of any kind".

BASIS: `film`. The 35 percent is a property of the applied material, not of the finished window. § 55-9-107(a)(1) opens by describing a window that already meets FMVSS 205 and then prohibits altering it with "any material that ... [h]as a visible light transmittance of less than thirty-five percent (35%)". A film measured on its own at 35 percent is what the statute names; the same film over factory glass reads lower on a meter, and the statute does not set that figure. The rear window is governed by the same "any window" language as the sides — Tennessee grants no rear-glass concession to SUVs, vans or trucks, unlike most of its neighbours. Exempt classes under (a)(6)(A): vehicles federally permitted to carry non-conforming windows (those windows only); vehicles on commercial or government-service plates used for law enforcement, for windows rearward of the front doors; vehicles registered in another state that comply with the state of registration; and vehicles owned or leased by licensed private investigators. (a)(6)(B) shuts the door on reading any of that broadly: the subdivision "shall not be construed in any way to exempt the front door windows of any motor vehicle of any kind".

Tennessee's scheme is unusual in two respects worth surfacing to a reader. First, the exemption is not self-executing on a doctor's note: a departmental MEDICAL REVIEW BOARD evaluates the certificate and sets the degree of tint allowed, so the permitted figure is per-applicant and is not published in the Code. Second, § 55-9-107(b)(2) gives a refused applicant a real appeal — under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, to the chancery court of the county where the applicant resides, at the applicant's option. Tennessee names no qualifying conditions, unlike New Jersey's enumerated list.

The label goes on the LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF THE DRIVER'S WINDOW — not the windshield, which is where most states put it — and must carry the installer's business name and the legend "Complies with Tennessee Code Annotated, § 55-9-107." The duty falls on a "professional installer", defined by (a)(2) as anyone who installs tinting in Tennessee "for profit, barter, or wages or commissions", so an owner who tints their own car has no label to affix. Separately, (a)(4) requires the installer to give the customer a signed receipt recording the installation date, the vehicle's make, model, paint colour and plate, and the legend "This receipt shall be kept with motor vehicle registration documents." That receipt matters because (a)(5) puts the BURDEN OF PROOF of compliance on the vehicle's owner.