Maine Window Tint Laws

Maine Car Window Tint Laws

Darkest legal tint for Cars in Maine

 

  • Windshield: Non-reflective window tint is allowed above the manufacturer’s AS-1 line or top 5 inches
  • Front Side windows: Must allow more than 35% of light in
  • Back Side windows: Must allow more than 35% of light in; no restrictions on vehicles with outside rear view mirrors on each side.
  • Rear window: Must allow more than 35% of light in; no restrictions on vehicles with outside rear view mirrors on each side.

 

Darkest legal tint for SUV and Vans in Maine

 

  • Windshield: Non-reflective tint is allowed above AS-1 line or top 5 inches of the windshield
  • Front Side windows: Must allow more than 35% of light in
  • Back Side windows: Any darkness window tint can be used
  • Rear window: Any darkness window tint can be used

 

Please note: The accuracy, completeness, adequacy or currency of the content is not warranted or guaranteed. We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer or other appropriate professional if you want legal advice.

 
Window Tint Shades Chart – Window Tint Percentage Examples
 

Vehicle window tint is one of the single best ways to make your car, truck, or SUV a safer automobile, and that goes both for you as the driver as well as for the protection of the vehicle itself. By reducing the blinding glare of sunlight by day and headlights by night, window tinting for cars makes you a safer driver, and by reducing the damage caused by the sun’s hot IR light and stopping fading from UV light, car tint protects the cabin of your vehicle against long term degradation.
 
In Maine car window tint laws are generally rather permissive, allowing a private vehicle owner to apply myriad types and shades of window tint to most glass surfaces on the car. But there are some restrictions and window tint violations in Maine can come with harsh penalties, so it’s important you know the tint laws in Maine to stay on the right side of them.
 
Maine window tint laws are different for cars and for trucks, SUVs, and vans, so we will look at passenger cars and larger vehicles separately. But in both categories, one statistic remains of paramount importance: visible light transmission. Usually shortened to the letters VLT, visible light transmission is the measure of just that, how much light a window (a tinted window, e.g.) lets pass through. The darker the tint, the lower the VLT number, so a 25% VLT window is darker than a 35% VLT tinted window which is darker than a 45% VLT tint and so on. Maine window tint laws allow for rather dark window tint on most vehicle windows, but the rules do not allow for any variance below stated minimums (as found in many states) so make sure to have your window tint tested prior to driving your vehicle on public roads, because police can test VLT in real time and issue tickets at any traffic stop.
 

Car Window Tint Laws in Maine

 
In the state of Maine window tint laws for cars dictate that the front windshield can have tinting applied down to the AS-1 line, which is a strip of glass near the top of the windshield demarcated by small lettering and numbers (literally reading “AS-1” or some variation of the alphanumeric like “AS1”) visible at the sides of the glass near the top sides of the windshield. If you can’t locate the AS-1 line, use five inches as a guideline, and only use non-reflective window tint 35% or lighter on the windshield.
 
Note that the same windshield window tint laws apply for cars as for larger vehicles in Maine.
 
All other windows of a car in Maine are subject to the same window tint rules which state that tint no darker than 35% visible light transmission is to be applied to the glass. That goes for front and rear side windows and for the rear window, all of which must be 35% VLT or lighter. This is a tint plenty dark enough to add privacy (and to enhance vehicle styling) and note that even much lighter (and indeed optically clear) window film can block 99% of the sun’s harmful UV rays and can reduce infrared heat, so the tint is fully effective by all performance metrics.
 
Only non-reflective window tints are legal in Maine at present.
 

Maine Window Tint Laws for SUVs, Trucks, and Vans

 
As noted, Maine windshield tint laws for trucks, vans, and SUVs are the same as for cars, with non-reflective 35% VLT tint allowed down to the AS-1 line. But for other windows, the laws differ by placement.
 
Front side windows for SUVs, trucks, and vans in Maine are limited to the same non-reflective 35% VLT or lighter tint as cars, but the rules for rear windows are much more permissive. Rear side windows, meaning any behind the driver and shotgun passenger seat, can be tinted to any darkness you wish including down to full blackout privacy tint such as might see on a limousine or other livery vehicle. This dark tint still cannot be reflective or metallic, but it can create a dark, stylish look and can fully block the view in while dramatically curtailing interior cabin heat and almost completely rejecting UV light as well.
 
The rear window (or rear windshield) can also be tinted to any darkness, again with only non-metallic, non-mirrored tint allowed. This dark tint allowed on most windows of the vehicle are ideal for the family wanting privacy for kids, for livery companies, and for blocking the view of any items in the car from prying eyes while it is parked.
 

Auto Window Tint Law Specifications in Maine

 
Maine first enacted auto window tint laws in 1989, and in the intervening decades the rules have changed several times as they will again as new tinting products and uses come to the fore, so check Maine tint laws periodically to make sure you are following them.
 
Note that if you have any window tint applied to the rear window, then your vehicle must have side view mirrors on both sides of the automobile that are in good working order. And to be clear, reflective tint is proscribed for all windows of all types of vehicle.
 
Maine tint law is quite permissive when it comes to tint color, however: no window tint colors are banned by Maine law as it currently stands, so even red, yellow, and amber tints outlawed in many states are allowed on vehicles registered in Maine.
 
Under Maine law, medical exemptions for window tint are allowed. You can reach out to the office of the Chief of the State Police of Maine to request a medical tint exemption if you feel you need a darker tint than that readily allowed by law to protect yourself from sun damage to the skin, eyes, or for other needs. Make sure you keep proof of a medical window tint exemption in the car with you in case of a challenge by a police officer.
 
While Maine tint law requires window tint manufactures to certify the tint they offer in Maine meets the rules, drivers are not required to use stickers proving the tint is compliant, so double check ahead of application that the installer or vendor of your window film is offering tint approved for use in Maine.
 

Window Tint Violation Penalties in Maine

 
In Maine care window tint violations are assessed a minimum fee of $100 and fines can go up steeply, especially if an authority figure chooses to assess a fine for each illegally tinted window of a vehicle. The cost of a tint ticket in Maine can quickly surpass the price of getting legal window tint installed, so it’s a good idea to avoid illegal tint to begin with.