Tint laws by state
Florida tint law: one front limit, two rear limits
Florida sets a different rear limit for cars and for SUVs and vans. Choose your vehicle type: the calculator applies the right one and multiplies film by glass.
Too dark for the law in Florida
24.5% front side
| Meter reads | Law | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front side | 24.5% | 28% | too dark |
| Rear side | 24.5% | 15% | legal |
| Back window | 24.5% | 15% | legal |
Darkest film on this glass: front side 40% · rear side 21.5% · back window 21.5%
Windshield: AS-1
Statute: Fla. Stat. § 316.2951 (definitions) · Florida
Read on October 24, 2026 on the official site flsenate.gov.
Florida's tint law, Fla. Stat. § 316.2951 (definitions) and the sections around it, sets the same front rule for every vehicle and splits the rear rule in two. The front side windows must transmit more than 28% of the light and reflect no more than 25%. Behind the driver, a car must keep more than 15% on the rear side windows and the back window, with a reflectance cap of 35%, while a multipurpose vehicle (an SUV, van or pickup built on a truck chassis) may go down to 6%. The windshield may take a transparent strip above the AS-1 line only. Transmittance is tested on the glass of your own vehicle, so the film and the glass count together, with a 3-point tolerance. Each installation needs a compliance label on the driver's door jamb. A violation is a noncriminal, nonmoving infraction; the state sets a $30 base amount, and county fees and court costs are added.
Darkest legal film for your car
Front side windows · Florida
37.4%
| Rear side windows | 8% |
| Back window | 8% |
| Front limit in the law | 28% |
Statutes read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the check works
Read on October 24, 2026 on the official site flsenate.gov.
Car or SUV: the rear rule changes
| Window | Car | SUV, van, pickup | Reflectance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windshield | transparent strip above AS-1 | same | transparent only |
| Front side | 28% | 28% | 25% max |
| Rear side | 15% | 6% | 35% max |
| Back window | 15% | 6% | 35% max |
The split matters for a buyer comparing films. A sedan owner who wants a uniform dark look behind the driver can go to about 18.8% film on 80% glass, the darkest that still clears 15%. The owner of an SUV has more room: on the same glass, 7.5% film keeps the reading above 6%. Some SUVs leave the factory with privacy glass behind the driver, darker than ordinary glass; enter your own reading, because a dark film over dark glass can fall under 6%.
What "more than 28%" means at the roadside
Florida writes its limits as transmittance "more than" the figure and tests the material as applied to your vehicle, which is the film and the glass together. The law then allows a 3-point tolerance on the reading. On 75% factory glass, a 35% film reads 26.2% and passes; a 30% film reads 22.5%, inside the tolerance; a 25% film reads 18.8% and fails. Try your own glass with the tool below, set to an SUV.
Darkest legal film for your car
Front side windows · Florida
40%
| Rear side windows | 8.6% |
| Back window | 8.6% |
| Front limit in the law | 28% |
Mirrors, labels and the exemption certificate
If the back window is made nontransparent, the vehicle must have outside mirrors on both sides. Every installation must carry the installer's compliance label on the driver's door jamb, and selling or installing film that breaks the rules is a second-degree misdemeanor for the business. Drivers with lupus or another condition requiring limited light exposure can apply to the state motor vehicle department for a medical exemption certificate; it follows the vehicle, not the person, so a new car means a new certificate.
Buying a used car that is already tinted
A used car bought in Florida comes with whatever film the previous owner chose, and the missing door-jamb label is common. Before you pay, take three readings: the front side window, a rear side window and the back window. If the front reads under 28% even with the 3-point tolerance, budget for removal and new film; if the rear of a sedan reads under 15%, the same applies behind the driver. The seller's word that the tint is legal counts for nothing at a traffic stop: the reading does.
Florida and its neighbors
Georgia asks for 32% on every window of a car and Alabama for 32%, so a Florida sedan tinted to 15% behind the driver is too dark for both once it crosses the state line. In the other direction, Georgia and Alabama cars meet Florida's front rule. The state-by-state table lists all fifty.
The Florida figures here were read in the Florida Statutes on October 24, 2026; the text of sections 316.2953 and 316.2954 is unchanged since 1999.