Revised Texas window tint laws effective September 1, 2009 (Information
take from TX Dept. of Public Safety website conerning auto window tinting)
What are the actual Texas (TX) state driving laws
for after-market window tinting in Texas?
Texas Laws Concerning Sunscreening Devices (Window Tinting)
Section 547.613 of the Texas Transportation
Code makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material (including a sunscreening device) attached to
the windshield, rear, or side windows that obstructs or reduces the driver’s visibility.
Section
547.613 also makes it a misdemeanor
for any person to apply any material (including a sunscreening device) that changes the color or reduces the light transmission
of any vehicle window.
Windshield's in Texas
Sunscreening devices cannot be applied to the windshield unless
the conditions below are met.
1. Sunscreening devices must be
applied above the AS-1 line. If there is no AS-1 line, sunscreening devices must end five inches below the top of the windshield.
If the AS-1 line is less than five inches from the top of the windshield, it will mark the end of the permissible area. If
the AS-1 line is more than five inches from the top pf the windshield the five inch measurement will mark the end of the permissible
area.
2. Sunscreening devices may not
be red, amber, or blue in color.
3. Sunscreening devices, when measured
in combination with the original glass, must have a light transmittance value of 25% or more.
4. Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination
with the original glass, must have a luminous reflectance value of 25% or less.
Side
Windows to The Right and Left of The Driver in Texas
Sunscreening devices can be applied to the side windows to the right and left of the
driver if the following conditions are met.
1. Sunscreening devices, when measured
in combination with the original glass, have a light transmittance value of 25% or more.
2. Sunscreening devices, when measured in combination
with the original glass, have a luminous reflectance value of 25% or less.
Side
Windows to The Rear of The Driver (Revised September 1, 2009) in Texas
These windows are completely exempted from regulation
under the Texas Transportation Code. Reference Legislation: Senate Bill 589
Rear Window in Texas
A sunscreening device can be
applied to the rear window of the vehicle if the following conditions are met.
1.
If
a motor vehicle is equipped with an outside mirror on each side of the vehicle that reflects to the vehicle operator a view
of the roadway for a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear of the vehicle then there are no restrictions regarding the
sunscreening devices applied to the rear window.
2. If a motor vehicle is not equipped
with such mirrors then the rear window must meet the following standards:
· Sunscreening devices, when measured
in combination with the original glass, must have a light transmittance value of 25% or more.
·
Sunscreening
devices, when measured in combination with the original glass, must have a luminous reflectance value of 25% or less.
Does my window require a window tint label?
In
the past, the language of 547.609 of the Texas Transportation Code was interpreted by the Department as requiring one label for one car regardless of how many
windows had sunscreening devices applied to them. As a result, in Chapter 21 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) we have
only required that one label be attached to the rearmost, bottom corner of the driver’s side window of the vehicle.
The only information required on those labels by the Department was the manufacturer’s name and a statement indicating
that the sunscreening device met our standards (“Complies with DPS” or “Complies with 37 Texas Administrative
Code (TAC)”).
The new amendments to 547 of the Texas Transportation
Code make the legislature’s intent more clear. The language appears to indicate that these labels should be applied
to every window to which a sunscreening device is applied. As a result, Vehicle Inspection is in the process of rewriting
Chapter 21 TAC to require labels on every window to which a sunscreening device is applied. The new information required on
the label has not been completely determined. It must have a statement indicating that the film with which it is applied meets
Texas Transportation Code 547.613(b) standards. Vehicle Inspection
is still deciding what kind of installer information to include.
Are there any exemptions available,
should a medical condition require that I place dark tint on my vehicle? In certain cases, you may obtain department approval
to place darker tint on your vehicle's windows. The department approves tint exemptions on a case-by-case basis.
Motorists
may request a medical exemption for window tinting requirements from the Texas Department of Public Safety by sending a written
request and a signed statement from a licensed physician or licensed optometrist. This statement should state that it is his
or her opinion that the exemption is necessary to safeguard the motorist’s health.
The
request should include the motorist’s name, address, and telephone number and their request for a medical exemption
to window tinting restrictions. Once issued, the exemption letter from the department should be carried in the vehicle that
has the darker tint applied. The written request and physician/optometrist statement should be sent to the following address:
Texas
Department of Public Safety
Attn: Vehicle Services Bureau
PO Box 14900
Austin, TX 78761-4900
Note: The medical exemption allows motorists to place a darker tint on the side windows
and the upper portion of the front windshield (top 5 inches or above the AS-1 line, whichever is less). The exemption does
not, however, allow a motorist to place a sun screening device on the rest of the front windshield. Motorists are allowed
to place a clear (un-tinted) UV film anywhere on the front windshield without a medical exemption being required.
If you buy window tint and have it applied, make sure it meets or exceeds the laws
of your state. Buy tint and block the heat. Buy transparent films, block the heat; but
not the light. Buy films like CK 70 (virtually transparent).
To see other window tinting state rules and regulations.
