What window tint is legal in New Jersey?

In New Jersey, tint film is not allowed on the windshield or the two front side windows, and there’s no percentage that makes it legal. The rear side windows and back glass have no state limit at all, and the only way to tint the fronts is a medical exemption certificate from the Motor Vehicle Commission.

We get asked about the tint rules almost every week, usually by someone who just moved here from New York or Pennsylvania and can’t understand why their car suddenly isn’t legal. New Jersey is stricter than most of its neighbors about the front of the car, and looser than people expect about the back.

Here’s how it actually works, and what we can and can’t do for you in the studio.

The short version

Windshield: no tint film, other than a strip at the top above the AS-1 line.
Front side windows: no tint film.
Rear side windows and back glass: no state limit on how dark you go.
The one exception: a medical exemption certificate from the Motor Vehicle Commission, applied for before anything gets installed.

That’s the whole thing. Everything below is the detail behind it.

Why the front of your car is off limits

New Jersey’s rule comes out of the safety glazing statute, and the practical effect is simple: aftermarket film doesn’t go on the windshield or the two front windows. There’s no legal percentage you can install to. There’s no “35% is fine here” the way there is in a lot of states. Zero.

This catches people out constantly. New York allows 70% on the fronts. Pennsylvania allows 70%. Connecticut allows 35%. Drive across a bridge and the same car goes from legal to not.

If you bought a car with the fronts already tinted, that film came from somewhere, and it’s your problem now, not the previous owner’s. We take old film off all the time, and it’s usually a same day job.

Behind the driver, you’re free

The rear side windows and the back glass aren’t held to a light transmission number in New Jersey. This is why you see so many cars around Bergen County with a blacked out back half and clear fronts. It looks deliberate because it is.

A few things worth thinking about before you go as dark as the film goes:

Backing out of a spot at night gets genuinely harder at the darkest shades. Your reverse camera helps, your mirrors don’t.
If you carry kids or dogs, the heat rejection matters more than the shade, and those are two different specs.
Factory privacy glass on SUVs is already dark. Adding film on top of it goes darker than most people picture.

We hold the film up against the glass before we cut anything so you can see the actual result on your car, in daylight, instead of picking a number off a chart.

The medical exemption, if you need one

If you have a condition involving light sensitivity of the eyes or skin, the MVC can issue a medical exemption certificate that allows sun-screening on the windshield and front side windows.

The order of operations matters, and people get it wrong:

Request the application from the MVC sun-screening office.
Your ophthalmologist or physician completes their section and provides a prescription.
Submit it and wait for approval.
Only then get the film installed, by an installer on the MVC’s approved list.
Keep the authorization document in the car. It runs 48 months, then renews.

Installing first and applying later doesn’t work. The certificate is issued for a specific vehicle by plate and VIN, and it’s void if you sell the car or end the lease, which also means the film has to come off before you hand it back.

Ceramic versus dyed, which is a separate question

Darkness and heat rejection aren’t the same thing, and this is where most of the money gets wasted.

Dyed film shades the glass. That’s it. It fades, it goes purple after a couple of summers in the sun, and the cabin still gets hot because infrared passes straight through. Ceramic film uses a metal-free layer that rejects infrared heat, so a lighter ceramic shade will often keep the car cooler than a much darker dyed film. Metal-free also means it doesn’t interfere with your phone signal, GPS, or the tolling transponder on the windshield.

Since New Jersey caps how dark your fronts can be at nothing at all, the heat rejection spec is doing all the work on the rest of the car. That’s the number to ask about. Ceramic is what we install for exactly that reason, and the details are on our window tinting page.

What we do when a car comes in

Everything gets cut before it touches the glass, so no blade goes near your seals or the defroster lines in the back window. Old film comes off in the same visit if there is any. The car goes into the indoor studio rather than a lot, because dust in the film is permanent and there’s no fixing it afterwards.

Most cars are in and out the same day. If you’re also having paint protection film or a wrap done, we do the tint in the same booking so the car only comes in once.

Common questions

Can I tint my front windows in New Jersey at 70%?

No. Unlike New York and Pennsylvania, New Jersey doesn’t set a legal percentage for front side windows, it prohibits aftermarket film there entirely. The only route is a medical exemption certificate.

How dark can my back windows be?

As dark as you want. New Jersey doesn’t apply a light transmission limit to the rear side windows or the back glass.

What happens if I get pulled over with tinted front windows?

It’s a moving violation and you’ll likely be ordered to remove the film and show proof it’s gone. It also comes up at inspection. If you’re carrying illegal tint now, taking it off costs a lot less than the ticket plus the removal you’ll end up doing anyway.

My car came from the factory with dark rear windows. Is that legal?

Yes. Factory privacy glass is tinted during manufacturing rather than filmed afterwards, and rear glass isn’t restricted here anyway.

Can you remove old purple film?

Yes, and we’d rather do it than film over it. Old adhesive left under new film shows through within a season. Removal and reinstall happen in the same visit.

Does tint interfere with my E-ZPass or phone signal?

Ceramic film doesn’t, because there’s no metal in it. Older metallic films did, which is where the reputation comes from.

How long does tinting take?

Most cars are same day. Add time if old film has to come off first, or if the car is also in for wrap or PPF work.

Where do I check the current rules myself?

The Motor Vehicle Commission publishes the sun-screening rules and the medical exemption process on its own site. Rules do get amended, so if you’re reading this a few years from now, confirm before you book.

Getting a number for your car

Tint pricing comes down to how many windows, whether there’s old film to strip, and which film you land on. Send us the year and model and we’ll come back with a number the same day. If you want to see ceramic against dyed on real glass first, come by the studio in Hackensack and we’ll show you both.

Get a tint quote