California Window Tint Rules (2026)

This page summarizes the parts of the California Vehicle Code that deal with material on vehicle windows, quotes the official text where it can, and links to it. It isn’t advice about any specific vehicle, and the official text, not this summary, is what counts. We last checked the official text on October 26, 2026.

At a glance

Window or topic	What the Vehicle Code text says	Section
All windows	A person shall not drive with material on the windshield or side or rear windows, except as the section lists	26708(a)
Front side windows	Only “clear, colorless, and transparent material,” with listed conditions	26708(d)
Side windows behind the driver	Listed among the exceptions: “Side windows that are to the rear of the driver.”	26708(b)(4)
Rear window	Listed among the exceptions only with outside mirrors on both sides that show at least 200 feet to the rear	26708(b)(8)
Top of the windshield	Transparent material at the “topmost portion,” with conditions	26708(c)
Color	No “red, blue, or amber translucent aftermarket material”	26701(d)
Physician’s or optometrist’s letter	Removable sun screening devices on the front-seat side windows	26708(b)(10), 26708.2
Dermatologist’s certificate	Clear, colorless, transparent material, with conditions	26708(e)

Front side windows (driver and front passenger)

Section 26708(d) covers “clear, colorless, and transparent material” on the front side windows. Its conditions include:

• The material has “a minimum visible light transmittance of 88 percent.”
• The window with the material applied meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205, “including the specified minimum light transmittance of 70 percent.”
• The material is designed to help the glass block ultraviolet A rays.
• The driver keeps a certificate in the vehicle, signed by the installing company, that names the installer and the material’s manufacturer.
• Material that tears or bubbles “shall be removed or replaced.”

Section 26708.5(a) says no person shall apply material that alters the color or reduces the light transmittance of the windows “except as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 26708.”

Side windows behind the driver

Section 26708(b) lists things the section “does not apply to,” including “Side windows that are to the rear of the driver” (26708(b)(4)).

Rear window

Section 26708(b)(8) lists the rear window “if the motor vehicle is equipped with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides” that show the driver at least 200 feet to the rear.

Windshield

Section 26708(c) covers transparent material on the “topmost portion of the windshield.” Its conditions include a bottom edge at least 29 inches above the undepressed driver’s seat (measured as the section describes) and material that “is not red or amber in color.”

Color

Section 26701(d): “No person shall sell, offer for sale, or operate any motor vehicle equipped with red, blue, or amber translucent aftermarket material” in partitions, windows, windshields, or wind deflectors.

Medical and visual conditions

• Section 26708(b)(10) covers sun screening devices meeting section 26708.2 on the side windows next to the front seat, when the driver or a front passenger has a letter from a licensed physician and surgeon (medical condition) or a licensed optometrist (visual condition). These devices “shall not be used during darkness.”
• Section 26708.2 says the devices must allow “ready removal from the window area,” such as a frame or a flexible roller shade, and transparent devices must be green, gray, or neutral smoke with luminous transmittance “not less than 35 percent.”
• Section 26708(e) covers clear, colorless, transparent material on the windshield, side, or rear windows, with conditions that include a certificate from a licensed dermatologist.

Read the official text

• Vehicle Code section 26708 (amended by SB 506, effective January 1, 2026)
• Vehicle Code Chapter 4, sections 26700–26712, including 26701, 26708.2, and 26708.5

Laws change. For questions about your own vehicle, read the current official text or contact the California Highway Patrol.

Talk to us about film options

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