Kentucky Window Tint Laws (2026): Legal VLT Limits

Kentucky law requires front side windows to allow at least 35% of visible light through. Windows behind the driver must allow at least 18% VLT, but multipurpose passenger vehicles get a lower floor of 8% VLT on those windows.

What is the legal tint limit in Kentucky?

Kentucky's window tint law is set out in KRS 189.110. The front side windows on every vehicle must transmit at least 35% of visible light. A quick concept worth knowing before you go further: a higher VLT percentage means lighter tint, and a lower VLT percentage means darker tint. So 35% is a moderately dark shade, and anything below that number would be illegal on the front side windows.

Every window behind the driver requires a minimum of 18% VLT under KRS 189.110(4)(a). That is considerably darker than the front, giving drivers meaningful privacy and heat rejection in the rear. The same paragraph drops the floor to 8% VLT, but only on "multipurpose passenger vehicles." KRS 189.010 does not define that term, so it carries its federal meaning: 49 CFR 571.3 defines a multipurpose passenger vehicle as one built on a truck chassis or with special features for occasional off-road operation, which covers most SUVs and vans, and classifies a vehicle designed primarily to carry property as a "truck" instead. Because Kentucky has not defined the term itself, pickup owners should confirm their vehicle's classification before assuming the 8% floor rather than treating it as settled.

A separate rule in KRS 189.110(5) covers mirrors. Any vehicle required to be registered in the Commonwealth whose rear window is made nontransparent must be equipped with side mirrors on both sides. That requirement turns on the rear window alone, not on vehicle class or VLT tier, so a sedan with a nontransparent rear window is covered exactly as an SUV is.

Windshield tint rules in Kentucky

Kentucky permits a strip of sunscreening material at the top of the windshield under KRS 189.110(2)(b), provided the material is transparent and does not encroach on the AS/1 portion of the windshield. The AS-1 line is a marking etched into most windshields near the top; on vehicles that do not have one, the top few inches serve as a practical guide. Kentucky also allows sunscreening material across the windshield's main viewing area below the AS-1 line under KRS 189.110(2)(c), but only if it transmits at least 70% of visible light and is not red or yellow in color.

Reflectivity is capped at 25% on front side windows and 35% on windows behind the driver, per KRS 189.110(3) and (4). The statute's color restriction (material must not be red or yellow) applies specifically to the windshield sunscreening option under KRS 189.110(2)(c); the side-window provisions do not include a color restriction.

Those reflectance caps do not reach the windshield. KRS 189.110(2)(b) requires only that the top strip be transparent, and (2)(c) requires only 70% light transmittance and a color that is not red or yellow, so the statute sets no reflectance limit on the windshield itself.

Medical exemptions

Kentucky drivers with a photosensitive condition such as lupus, albinism, or xeroderma pigmentosum sometimes seek a medical exemption for tint darker than the legal standard, but KRS 189.110 as currently in force does not contain a subsection establishing that process; KRS 189.110(5) is actually the rear-window dual-mirror requirement, not a medical exemption. Confirm current exemption procedures directly with Kentucky State Police before relying on one.

Because the statute creates no exemption, it also sets out no application, no certifying-physician form, and no document to carry in the vehicle. Treat any tint darker than the limits above as enforceable against you unless Kentucky State Police confirm an authority for an exemption that this section does not supply.

How tint is measured and certified

Kentucky law enforcement uses a VLT meter (also called a photometer or tint meter) during traffic stops and vehicle inspections to measure the percentage of visible light passing through a window. The legal tolerance is plus or minus 3%, so a window that reads between 32% and 38% on a meter would pass a 35% standard.

KRS 189.110(6) puts the labeling duty on the installer or seller, not on you. Each installer or seller must give the purchaser a nonremovable vinyl-type label stating that the material complies with the statute, listing the trade name of the film and the installer's or seller's business name, and each installer must affix that label to the inside left door jamb. Factory glazing that complies with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 needs no label at all. The label is still worth keeping intact as evidence of the film's rating, but nothing in the section makes its absence a citable offense against the driver.

When purchasing a vehicle with pre-existing tint, have a tint shop or law enforcement verify the readings before assuming the film is legal. Window film can shift in VLT over time as it ages or bubbles, and film applied out of state may not meet Kentucky's specific limits.

Penalties for illegal tint in Kentucky

Two different penalties apply, and which one you face depends on what you did. If you are simply driving a vehicle whose tint violates KRS 189.110, the penalty comes from KRS 189.990(1)(a), which lists 189.110 by number and sets a fine of not less than $20 and not more than $100 for each offense.

The Class B misdemeanor in KRS 189.110(9) is narrower. By its terms it reaches "a person who applies sunscreening materials in violation of this section," so it falls on whoever applied the film rather than on a motorist who bought the car already tinted. On conviction that carries a fine of up to $250 under KRS 534.040(2)(b) and a term of imprisonment of up to 90 days under KRS 532.090(2). KRS 534.040(1) makes the fine and the jail term non-exclusive, so a court may impose either or both.

KRS 189.110(8) separately bars installing tint below the minimum standards and requires that noncompliant material be removed immediately; the statute does not provide for a fixed correction window like a 10-day fix-it ticket.

Whether an officer gives you an informal opportunity to correct the tint before issuing a citation is a matter of discretion, not a codified option under KRS 189.110. In either case, you will still need to remove or replace the non-compliant film to avoid further enforcement.

A driver who tints their own windows can face both, since they are the operator and the applier. Having a licensed installer provide written documentation of the film's VLT protects you if compliance is ever questioned.

If you want to tint your windows in Kentucky

Start by choosing a VLT that meets the 35% minimum on front side windows. Many drivers select 35% film, which sits right at the legal floor and provides solid heat and glare reduction while staying within the meter tolerance. On the windows behind the driver, any film at 18% VLT or lighter is permitted on any vehicle. The 8% floor is available only on multipurpose passenger vehicles.

Choose a tint installer who knows Kentucky law and will place the required compliance sticker on the left door jamb. Ask for a written receipt or certificate listing the VLT of the film on each window and keep it in your glove box.

If you have a qualifying medical condition, talk to your physician and confirm current exemption procedures with Kentucky State Police before installation, since KRS 189.110 does not itself establish a medical-exemption process for tint darker than 35% on the front. If you are counting on the 8% floor, confirm in writing that your vehicle is a multipurpose passenger vehicle and which windows that covers, since the front side windows still require 35% on every vehicle.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Window tint limits vary by state and change, and enforcement depends on local practice and your specific vehicle. For a definitive answer, check your state DMV or consult a local attorney.

For the full national picture, see our Window Tint Laws by State hub. Kentucky drivers may also want to review Kentucky Windshield Mounting Restrictions for related vehicle equipment rules.

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