California certainly has no shortage of sunshine. If you are a car owner, sunny days can, unfortunately, mean vision-impairing glare, exposure to harmful UV rays, and beached car interiors. For these reasons alone, many car owners opt to have their car windows professionally tinted. Window tinting can dramatically enhance your driving experience.
But here’s the catch: not all tinting is legal. Tinting your car’s windows—especially the windshield—can obstruct the driver’s vision (increasing the risk of collisions). Since tinting reduces the amount of visible light that comes through your car’s windows, you may not be able to see in circumstances where there is less visible light available in the surroundings (for example, when you are driving in the dark or when the car is surrounded by fog). In order to keep California’s roads safe, regulations have been placed on how much tinting is legal. Below is more information about window tinting laws in California; read on to learn more about how you can safely (and legally) window tinting:
How Do I Know How Much Tint Is Legal?
In short, the degree of legal tint varies by the type of window. That means that there are varying limits for your front windshield, passenger windows, and back windshield. The back windshield and rear passenger side windows essentially have no tinting restrictions, but the front passengers’ windows must allow a minimum of 70% of visible light through. This allows the driver to see enough on the road and in the periphery to make informed judgements. The other relevant requirement is that the car must have two un-tinted side-view mirrors (without cracks or dents) that provide 200 feet of visibility behind the car. An exception to the 70% rule is that the top few inches of the windshield may have a darker tint; also called an “eyebrow strip,” tinting this strip blocks the sun’s glare but leaves the rest of the windshield clear for optimal viewing.
What About Colors Or Reflective Tints?
The general rule in California is that a tinted window can’t be any more reflective than a normal window. This basically rules out any tints that have mirrored or metallic finishes. Colors are prohibited, too—red, amber, and blue tints that are legal in some states are simply not legal in California. There are no general exceptions to these laws, either.
Where Can I Get My Windows Tinted?
If you are interested in window tinting, it’s important that the process is completed by professionals. This is significant, because you may be asked to prove that you have a tint film made by a manufacturer that was certified by the state of California. Additionally, as the owner of a car with tinted windows, you are required to carry a certificate with you that is signed by the professional tinting company. This certificate lists the manufacturer’s title and address, as well as the percentage of visible light that comes through each window’s tint. If you are serious about automotive window tinting, contact your local professional auto glass or tint shop for a consultation.
