Window tint laws in Missouri (2026)

The rules, window by window

Windshield

All sun-screening devices applied to the windshield are prohibited, except factory-installed tinted glass, its equivalent replacement, or tinting material applied to the upper portion of the windshield that is normally tinted by the manufacturer of motor vehicle safety glass.

The standard in the law's own words

Section 307.173 is written as specific numeric percentages for the regulated front windows rather than a general qualitative visibility standard; there is no separate qualitative catch-all clause in the text reviewed.

Reflectivity

A sun-screening device on the front sidewing vents or windows located immediately to the left and right of the driver must have a luminous reflectance of thirty-five percent or less, plus or minus three percent (Mo. Rev. Stat. section 307.173.1).

Medical exemption

The Department of Public Safety may issue a permit allowing a sun-screening device on the front sidewing vents/driver and front passenger windows with less light transmission and more reflectance than the general limits, to a person with a serious medical condition that requires it, on the prescription of the permittee's physician. The permit also covers use by the titleholder or a relative within the second degree by consanguinity or affinity residing in the same household (Mo. Rev. Stat. section 307.173.1). Permit procedure is further set out in 11 CSR 30-7.010.

Enforcement

A violation is a class C misdemeanor (Mo. Rev. Stat. section 307.173.4). The statute regulates only the front sidewing vents and the windows immediately to the left and right of the driver; it does not set a numeric VLT or reflectance limit for rear side windows or the rear window. Vehicles of model year 1920 or earlier registered as historic vehicles are exempt (Mo. Rev. Stat. section 307.173.5).

Notes

Missouri's sun-screening statute (Mo. Rev. Stat. section 307.173) only regulates two zones: (1) the windshield, where sun-screening devices are banned outright except factory/manufacturer upper-band tint, and (2) the front sidewing vents and the windows immediately to the left and right of the driver, which must allow 35% light transmission or more (plus/minus 3% tolerance) and have luminous reflectance of 35% or less (plus/minus 3% tolerance). The statute text obtained does not set any numeric VLT or reflectance figure for rear side windows or the rear window, and does not describe a separate MPV/SUV/van category with different numbers; rear windows/side windows behind the front seat appear unrestricted by this section. The statute references sun-screening devices applied to safety glazing material but the fetched text did not explicitly state whether light transmission is measured as net film only or combined glass-plus-film; this is recorded as unconfirmed rather than guessed. Medical exemption permit procedures are administered under 11 CSR 30-7.010, a Missouri Code of State Regulations provision that was identified via secondary sources but not independently fetched and read in this pass; the summary above reflects only the exemption language found directly in section 307.173.1.