Tint rules
Medical exemption for window tint: who qualifies and how to apply
Pick a state to see whether its tint statute provides a medical exemption and what limit applies without it. The sections below explain the three ways states handle the request.
Does your state allow a medical exemption?
Medical exemption in Florida
Yes
| Front limit without it | 28% |
| Statute read | Fla. Stat. § 316.2951 (definitions) |
Most states let a person with a light-sensitive medical condition drive with darker windows than the law otherwise allows. Of the 51 jurisdictions read for this site, 42 provide a medical exemption in the tint statute or its rules, 5 do not (Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska and South Dakota), and for 4 the text read did not settle the question. The exemptions work in three ways. Some states issue a permit, certificate or sticker after an application with a doctor's statement, as Florida, North Carolina, New York and Pennsylvania do. Others issue nothing: the driver carries a signed statement or affidavit from a physician or optometrist, as in Ohio, Minnesota, Maryland and South Carolina, and Texas makes the medical need a defense in court. A few limit what the exemption allows, such as Kansas and Pennsylvania, which allow only clear or colorless material. Depending on the state, the exemption is tied to a person, a vehicle or both, often ends when the vehicle is sold or the condition ends, and must stay in the vehicle. Only some states extend it to the windshield.
Compare two states
Front side windows: California / Texas
70% / 25%
| Rear side windows | any darkness / any darkness |
| Back window | any darkness / any darkness |
| Stricter in front | California |
Statutes read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the check works
Medical exemption by state
"Yes" means the tint statute or its rules provide an exemption for a medical condition; "no" means the text read has none; "not confirmed" means the text read leaves it open, for instance because it delegates the question to a regulation that was not located.
Three ways states handle it
A permit or certificate. The driver applies to the motor vehicle or public safety agency with a doctor's statement, and the agency issues a document, sometimes a sticker for the glass. North Carolina's permit lasts five years and names the windows and the levels; New York's comes with a sticker on each shielded window; Pennsylvania's certificate must be shown to the police and at inspection.
A statement carried in the car. No permit is issued. The driver keeps a signed statement or affidavit from a physician or optometrist in the vehicle. Ohio, Minnesota, Maryland and South Carolina work this way. In Texas the medical need is a defense to prosecution, which means it is raised after the ticket rather than before.
A limited exemption. Some states allow only part of what people expect. Kansas allows only clear, colorless film that blocks ultraviolet light. Pennsylvania limits medical certificates to colorless material. California allows removable sun screens on the front side windows rather than darker film.
What to prepare
Ask the doctor for a statement that names the condition, says that it requires shielding from the sun and, where the state asks for it, the minimum light transmission needed. Check whether your state requires a doctor licensed there. Keep the document, permit or sticker in the vehicle at all times: most statutes make it a condition of the exemption, and North Carolina fines a missing sticker separately.
What the exemption does not change
An exemption usually covers the person, the vehicle named or the vehicles the person rides in, and only the windows the statute lists. Several states leave the windshield rule untouched, others allow only the top strip or a 70% windshield. Reflective and colored films often stay banned even with an exemption. If you travel, compare your state with the one you are heading to:
Compare two states
Front side windows: North Carolina / Virginia
35% / 50%
| Rear side windows | 35% / 35% |
| Back window | 35% / 35% |
| Stricter in front | Virginia |
States without a medical exemption
Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska and South Dakota have no medical exemption in the text read for this site. In Iowa, dark-window exemptions issued before July 4, 2012 remain valid under the former rule, but no new ones are granted. In these states the only lawful route for a light-sensitive driver is film within the general limit, plus measures that do not reduce light transmission, such as clear UV-blocking film where the statute allows it.