Window tint laws in New Jersey (2026)

The rules, window by window

Windshield

No person shall drive with any sign, poster, sticker, or other non-transparent material upon the front windshield, wings, deflectors, side shields, corner lights adjoining windshield, or front side windows, other than a certificate or article required by law (N.J.S.A. 39:3-74). No top strip allowance appears in the statute; for medically exempt vehicles, N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.2(b) permits material above the AS-1 line.

The standard in the law's own words

In addition to the non-transparent material ban, no person shall drive any vehicle so constructed, equipped, or loaded as to unduly interfere with the driver's vision to the front and to the sides (N.J.S.A. 39:3-74).

Reflectivity

For vehicles operating under a medical exemption certificate, the visible light reflectance of sun-screening materials on the windshield and/or front side windows shall not exceed 8 percent (N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.3). No statutory reflectance limit was identified for rear windows.

Color restrictions

Under the medical exemption regulations, windshield material must be a clear film; front side window material must be a clear film or a tinted film (N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.4).

Medical exemption

N.J.S.A. 39:3-75.1 and N.J.A.C. 13:20-1 allow the owner or lessee of a vehicle driven by or regularly transporting a person with ophthalmic or dermatological photosensitivity (conditions include polymorphous light eruption, persistent light reactivity, actinic reticuloid, porphyrins, solar urticaria, lupus erythematosus, and others the Chief Administrator determines) to obtain a medical exemption certificate from the Motor Vehicle Commission, with written certification by a certified ophthalmologist or plenary-licensed physician. Under the exemption: windshield tint may not reduce combined transmittance below 70% (below-AS-1 area), front side windows not below 60%, and readily removable material on the uppermost 6 inches of front side windows may go to 35% between sunrise and sunset (N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.2). Certificates are valid 48 months, must be carried in the vehicle and shown to police, and are void on sale or lease termination (N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.6, 1.7).

Enforcement

Installation for medically exempt vehicles must be done by MVC-registered sun-screening installation facilities, which must attach a 1 inch by 1 inch label between the film and the glass on the windshield lower right corner and front side windows (N.J.A.C. 13:20-1.8, 13:20-2).

Notes

New Jersey statute sets no numeric VLT for any window for the general public: aftermarket tint on the windshield and front side windows is effectively prohibited by the non-transparent material ban in N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 (nulls recorded with restrictions still applying to the front zone), while windows behind the driver and the rear window are not covered by 39:3-74 and have no statutory VLT floor (rear tint is commonly installed; if the rear window is obscured, N.J.S.A. 39:3-71 mirror requirements apply - not verified in this pass). The numeric standards (70% windshield, 60% front side, 8% reflectance, combined film-plus-glazing measurement per the regulatory definition of transmittance) apply only to vehicles holding medical exemption certificates under N.J.A.C. 13:20-1. Primary-source note: N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 text was confirmed from the Justia reproduction of the 2025 New Jersey Revised Statutes because the official njleg statute database blocked automated fetching; the N.J.A.C. 13:20 standards were verified from the official NJ MVC publication of the regulations (nj.gov). A human reviewer should confirm 39:3-74 against the official NJ Legislature database.