Some current-source details could not be fully reconciled. Read the limitations below before relying on this summary.
Tennessee’s official enacted text supplies a 35% ordinary window threshold and a separate windshield provision. Because current agency guidance is broader than the enacted windshield language, that issue needs confirmation before installation.
Read the official sources ↓Rules by window
| Window | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Windshield | The enacted text prohibits reducing windshield transmission below 70%, except the manufacturer’s standard installed shade band. Agency medical guidance says it cannot exempt windshield tint; confirm a proposed aftermarket installation with the state. |
| Front side | 35% minimum under the ordinary statutory standard; the vehicle-category exceptions do not exempt front door windows. |
| Rear side | 35% baseline for regulated windows. A narrow exception covers particular panes on models permitted darker glazing by federal regulation; classification and pane coverage must be verified. |
| Rear window | 35% baseline for regulated windows, subject to the same specific federal/model and special-use exceptions. |
Installer records
The 2009 enacted subsection defines a professional installer as someone installing tint in Tennessee for profit, barter, wages or commissions. It requires an adhesive label in the lower-right corner of the driver’s window with the business name and statutory compliance statement, plus a signed receipt to keep with the registration documents. The receipt must identify the installation date, vehicle make, model and paint color, and license plate number and state, and include a statement of compliance at installation. A current official consolidation and prescribed label size/style were not retrieved.
Medical authorization
Submit a doctor’s note, vehicle-registration copy and driver-license number to Driver Improvement using the official instructions. Approval produces a decal and commissioner-signed certificate. Do not install darker tint on the strength of a doctor’s note alone. The agency expressly says it cannot grant a windshield exemption.
Scope of the verified sources
The 2009 enacted text establishes the baseline and listed window exceptions. Signed Public Chapter 583 adds qualifying licensed private-investigator vehicles effective July 1, 2016. A February 2024 legislative fiscal note repeats the 35% and 70% numerical clauses; Public Chapter 602 changes the officer terminology for tint stops. These sources do not supply a complete current consolidation or reconcile the agency’s blanket windshield statement.
Before you rely on this guide
This is general information, not legal advice, a vehicle inspection, or permission to install a particular film. Exceptions and enforcement procedures can depend on your circumstances.
- The current consolidated official Tennessee Code could not be opened through the state-designated Lexis service on October 14, 2026. This guide uses enacted official legislation and agency instructions instead. Those sources do not establish a complete current 2026 version of the statute, so that verification remains incomplete.
- The agency’s blanket windshield statement and the enacted 70% language are not reconciled in this guide. Confirm before adding a windshield strip or full-windshield film.
- No current official general numeric reflectance cap, color ban or tint-specific mirror requirement was verified. Their omission is not an assurance that a product is permitted.
The research date shows when the sources were checked. It is not the date the law took effect, and it does not mean this page is monitored continuously. This research preview still awaits human editorial review; we do not claim attorney review.
Official sources
- Tennessee General Assembly: Public Chapter 286 (2009) ↗
Enacted baseline for VLT, windshield, installer documentation and exceptions.
- Tennessee Safety: window tint exemption instructions ↗
Agency instructions last updated September 25, 2024; checked October 14, 2026. Includes application requirements and a blanket windshield-exemption warning that is not reconciled with the enacted windshield language.
- Tennessee signed Public Chapter 583 (2016) ↗
Signed act retrieved October 14, 2026. Adds vehicles owned or leased by private investigators or investigations companies licensed under title 62, chapter 26 to subsection (a)(6)(A), effective July 1, 2016. It does not amend subsection (a)(6)(B), which preserves the front-door material threshold. This act alone is not a current consolidation.
- Tennessee General Assembly: HB1977 / SB1864 fiscal note, February 22, 2024 ↗
Official legislative analysis expressly repeats §55-9-107(a)(1): 35% standard and 70% windshield floor with the manufacturer-installed shade-band exception. This is corroboration of the existing numerical rule, not a consolidated statute or resolution of conflicting agency wording.
- Tennessee General Assembly: SB1864 / Public Chapter 602 (2024) ↗
Official enacted-status record and signed Public Chapter 602 confirm an effective date of March 27, 2024. The signed act changes officer wording throughout section 55-9-107 to POST-certified law-enforcement officer; it does not establish a new VLT allowance. The signed act was retrieved from the Tennessee Secretary of State on October 14, 2026.
- Tennessee signed Public Chapter 602 (2024) ↗
Signed March 27, 2024; officer terminology amendment, not a new numerical tint permission. Current consolidation remains unverified.