Sticking to the Most Illegal Window Tint in Tennessee: Everything You Should Know

A Guide to the Tennessee Window Tint Law

Tennessee has specific guidelines about window tint. There are legal restrictions on what levels of tint can be applied based on the kind of vehicle you own, who’s driving it, and even what kind of vehicle it is. So without further ado, here’s your guide to Tennessee’s legal window tint options.
Tennessee divides vehicles into three different categories: passenger cars (>10k lbs.), vans/multipurpose vehicles, and SUVs. The law concerning window tint varies depending on your vehicle type. Here’s a quick breakdown.
For passenger cars, the following regulations apply: For vans, SUVs, and other multi-purpose vehicles, the following regulations apply: There is also a limit on how much of your car’s windshield can be tinted, regardless of where you live. The uppermost five inches may not have any tint on it. As far as translucent colors go, only tints that transmit white, gray, or neutral shades of blue are legal. And yes, as a general rule, these tint restrictions apply to all of the windows , including the windshield, driver’s side window, passenger side window, and rear window.
The Difference Between Warranted and Non-Warranted Window Tint Tennessee’s requirement for warranted tint is that it must not have a Visible Light Transmission (VLT) of less than 35 percent. This accounts for about 35 percent of all transmittance. The transmittance is what allows light in and out. Therefore, a film that has a VLT of 35 percent would allow 35 percent of the light possible to enter the window tint, hence a tint of 35 percent VLT. However, some companies will carry non-warranted tint that is technically darker and has a VLT of 20 percent or less. That means that if a police officer suspected a car of having warrantied tint and had 20 percent tint instead, it could still be legal. But because it’s a non-warranted tint, the police officer would likely issue a ticket or citation. Following the ticket, the tint would have to be verified by an authorized law enforcement officer.

The Advantages of Dark Tint

The process of adding window film to your vehicle may seem like a personal choice. After all, the darkest legal tint in Tennessee may not be everyone’s’ first choice for that all-important windshield tint job. However, there are some clear advantages to going so dark with your window film that they become hard to ignore. For one, you will benefit from a considerable amount of UV protection for your skin. Even through glass, ultraviolet light can cause some significant damage. The longest wavelengths of UVA are actually still able to reach you even when you’re safely inside your car. A high-quality tint job will eliminate up to 99 percent of these dangerous wavelengths.
UV exposure is especially dangerous for people who spend a lot of time driving. For those individuals, the risk of developing skin cancer raises considerably, and so do the chances of premature aging due to sun damage. If you spend a lot of time on the road, it’s best to invest in a dark windshield tint to keep your skin protected. A high-quality window tint doesn’t just keep out the dangerous rays of the sun. It also prevents unnecessary heat from entering your vehicle. This saves you from running your air conditioning as often. It also keeps the rest of your vehicle cooler.
In addition to saving you on gas, a window tint also has some serious benefits for the environment. If you love your car and plan on keeping it for a long time, consider this: if you choose a high-quality window tint that does not break down easily, it will preserve the appearance of your vehicle’s interior far longer than a clear tint will. As the vinyl fades, it can leave you with unsightly blotches or a yellowing tint. When you have the darkest legal tint allowed in Tennessee, you won’t have to worry about this level of deterioration, which will keep your car looking great for a longer period of time.
People often bring up the issue of safety when it comes to the decision of whether to have a window tint installed on their vehicles. But there are products on the market that end up being so dark, that they truly become a safety hazard. In Tennessee, the law includes a clearly defined limit to help you choose the right tint for your windows.

Possible Consequences of Illegally Tinted Windows in Tennessee

Unlike some states, where window tint notifications are usually displayed in or around the vehicle, and a violation may get you a ticket or a warning, Tennessee is different. That is not to say that we are any more or any less serious about window tint laws, but when it comes to penalties for violations, TN is pretty serious. If you violate the window tint laws in Tennessee, your car can actually be impounded and you can be cited with a criminal charge.
Technically, the law enforcement officer writing the violation ticket will determine the severity of the sentence, but the state lists minimum and maximum penalties for each offense. Here are the fines and offenses:
Level 1
Fine: $50
Offense: Class C Misdemeanor, State offense
Level 2
Fine: $100
Offense: Class B Misdemeanor, State offense
Level 3
Fine: $200
Offense: Class A Misdemeanor, State offense
Level 4
Fine: $500
Offense: Class A misdemeanor, State offense
Even though this all seems pretty serious, the law is not all doom and gloom. That is, officers writing violations have a lot of leeway when it comes to requisitioning penalties. No officer wants to seize your vehicle if they can just give you a warning, and most cannot just order you to take the tint off. They can recommend it. Still, having your tint removed by a vehicle shop is a lot easier than figuring out how to get a hold of your car from your local police department, or court, and then paying to have the car towed to a shop that can remove the tint.
So if you live in Tennessee and have illegal tint on your vehicles, be careful. Your best bet is to keep your windows clear and your headlights functional.

Window Tint Exceptions and Unique Circumstances

Tennessee’s window tint laws have a few exceptions you may be eligible for, or you may just be interested in learning about. The most common exception you might want to apply for is a medical exception, which is fairly easy to do and will allow you to legally have darker tint on all of your vehicle’s windows and windshield. There are also a few exemptions for certain vehicles.
As of 2016, 2,518 individuals in the state have been granted permission to use darker window tint for medical reasons. From birth, some people are diagnosed with life-long sensitive eyes. Most of these individuals are able to get a prescription from their eye doctor (or any other doctor they’re under care for any reason) stating that they have sensitive eyes. Some people diagnosed with other conditions that affect their eyes , such as Albinism or melanoma are also granted permission for a medical exemption. People who only occasionally struggle with sensitive eyes don’t receive this permission. The prescription must state how long a person will need an exemption and a phone number for the doctor.
For passenger and freight buses, there’s an exception that allows for darker tint anywhere other than the driver or passenger side windows. This exemption was put in place back in 2006 after it was considered to be unsafe to drive with highly tinted windows in those areas of a bus.
In Tennessee, window tinting shops are allowed to sell tints labeled "do-it-yourself kits" or various non-reflective tints for tinting the top sides of windshields on cars, SUVs and vans. These don’t require police officers or safety inspectors to have a tint meter with them to check the tint inside or near the vehicle.

Making Your Windows Comply with Tennessee Window Tint Law

You can measure your window tint with a tint meter, a device that shines a bright beam of light through your tinted windows. A lot of law enforcement officers have one in their cars. Some tint shops have a meter on hand and can meter your windows for you. They’ll even demonstrate how to use it.
If you’re having a tough time getting a straight answer from your law enforcement officer, it makes sense to ask them if they will meter your tint. If you come back into the legal limit, you can present that information to them. But if they refuse, they haven’t committed any crime. It’s just your word against theirs that the tint meter reading is too dark. Checking yourself means the tint shop metered your windows while they were being tinted. The tint meter reading didn’t come from your car, so it won’t match what the officer got on the scene exactly. So why is that important? Because if the tint shop metered your tint – the same measurement process the police officer will use — it shows that Tint Law compliance is part of the value of that company’s work. They take pride in their work and they want your business next time you need tint. If the tint shop’s reading of your tint is too dark, you can ask them to replace the tint. Just like with any other product or service, your tint shop should stand behind their work. Even if your tint is legal, you may still get a ticket. When that happens, try to take the fine to court. If you go to court, the judge will use the tint meter reading from your court case, not from the one your tint shop used. But a judge doesn’t want to be the one who gets busted for making an error. They just want the conflict to go away. So if you walk in with tint info from the tint shop like a receipt, that judge is going to side with the tint shop and drop the ticket. If you’ve gotten a ticket, the court date on it is most likely marked "preliminary hearing," a term a judge uses when you’ve gotten a ticket for window tint violation. If there isn’t proof that you have illegal tint, the judge won’t pursue the prosecution or raise your fine. If you had illegal tint, you would have a ticket for having illegal tint, not one for a preliminary hearing.

Tennessee Window Tint FAQs

Q: Can I have darker window tint if my vehicle is older than a certain model year?
A: Tennessee window tint law doesn’t make any exceptions for older vehicles. Whether your car is a classical or a family sedan, you have to follow the 35% VLT standard for front windows, and a 6 inch band at the top of the windshield.
Q: How do I install my window tint to be considered "as applied"?
A: Basically, as applied means that the tint must be applied as far up as it’s legal on every window in the vehicle, meaning that if the tint is not applied all the way up to the highest position that you are allowed, it cannot be considered legal. If the tint has a speckled top that’s more protective for some types of vehicles, it must be applied at the speckled line or slightly above .
Q: Are non-reflective tint bands allowed at the top of the windshield?
A: Yes! Tennessee has no problem with non-reflective tint bands, but they cannot block more than 6 inches of your windshield even with the band.
Q: I have a Medical Exemption – how do I avoid my tint being pulled over?
A: At the time of your initial application, you should contact an experienced window tinting shop and discuss how to get the proper tint exemption sticker that you need to show to law enforcement officers.
Q: Is there a limit to using window tinting film to cover the entire glass?
A: Absolutely not. You can use tinted window film on vehicles in Tennessee. Just budget for a little extra cost coming from the amount of film that you’ll need to purchase.