A dark-tinted car window

What’s the law on car tinting in Georgia? Here’s what to know.

Credit: Giorgio Trovato / Unsplash

Tinted windows can help keep your car cool on a hot Georgia day — and that’s not all.

Darkening your car’s windows can reduce glare, limit harmful ultraviolet light and protect your upholstery from fading due to sunlight, according to Kelley Blue Book.

“Tinted car windows also bring an additional layer of privacy and security because it is more difficult to see inside the automobile,” according to the vehicle research company.

The process usually involves a thin film or coating that’s applied to a vehicle’s windows to control the amount of light that’s let in.

State laws regulate the level of darkness on car tint, however, and rules vary from state to state. Here’s what Georgia law says about window tinting:

 

What’s the law on window tinting in Georgia?

Window tint on a front windshield is prohibited in the Peach State, according to Georgia Code 40-8-73.1.

State law allows tinting on the side and door windows behind the driver, as well as the rear windshield, so long as it allows at least 32 percent light transmission.

Window tints also cannot increase reflectance more than 20%, per state law.

There are exceptions, however. Window tint restrictions don’t apply to:

  • Adjustable sun visors
  • Signs or stickers displayed in the lower left and right corners of a front windshield, within a 7-inch or 5-inch square
  • Passenger common carrier placards placed on a front windshield
  • Clear or transparent items displayed in the uppermost six inches of a windshield, so long as they’re not red or amber in color
  • Federal, state, or local certificates or stickers

Rear windshields and side windows on certain vehicles are also exempt from Georgia’s window tint law. They include:

  • Multipurpose passenger vehicles designed to carry up to 10 people
  • School buses
  • Public transit buses
  • Buses owned by religious or nonprofit groups
  • Limousines 
  • Law enforcement vehicles
  • Car windows tinted prior to factory delivery

 

When are darker tints allowed in Georgia?

Window tint exemptions may be made for Georgia drivers with certain medical conditions, according to the state’s Department of Public Safety.

Cataracts, lupus, albinism and other conditions have been associated with light sensitivity that may be eased by a darker window tint.

In Georgia, exemption requests are $10 and require a written letter from an individual’s doctor or optometrist explaining why their medical condition “can only be addressed by a 9% reduction of visible light,” DPS said.

The department added that “conditions that can be addressed through the use of protective eyewear (prescription or non-prescription), or the use of window tint within legal limits that block 99.9% of UV light” aren’t eligible.

Some hereditary conditions are also excluded from the window tint exemption, officials said.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph. 

Tags: Georgia  cars