Arizona Window Tint Laws: What Is Legal on Each Window in 2026

Arizona allows 33% tint on front side windows and any darkness on the rear side windows and back glass. The rule is Arizona Revised Statutes 28-959.01, and it gives the front windows a tolerance of plus or minus 3%, so a tint meter reading of 30% still passes. The windshield can carry film on the topmost portion only.

That is the short version every tint chart repeats. The statute itself is more specific in three places that decide whether a Phoenix tint job passes a meter, and this guide goes through them window by window.

Arizona Legal Tint Limits by Window

Arizona sets a different rule for each piece of glass, and all of them come from one statute. The table gives the limit and the subsection of ARS 28-959.01 it comes from, so you can check each line against the source.

One more line applies to the back glass. Subsection (A)(10) ties a covered rear window to outside mirrors on both the left and right sides that show the driver at least 200 feet of road behind the vehicle. Every modern car and truck has them, but it matters on older vehicles and anything with a missing passenger mirror.

What the Statute Says That Tint Charts Leave Out

Most tint charts shorten Arizona's rule to "more than 33% on the front" and "above the AS-1 line on the windshield." The wording in the statute is different, and the differences matter at the meter.

• The front limit is a range, not a hard line. Subsection (A)(1) reads "thirty-three percent plus or minus three percent." A front window that meters 30% is inside the rule. One that meters 29% is not.
• The reading includes the glass. The statute defines light transmission as the light passing through "the product or material including the glazing." The film and the factory glass are measured together.
• The windshield rule is a measurement. The statute does not mention the AS-1 line. It allows transparent material on the topmost portion of the windshield when the bottom edge sits at least 29 inches above the driver's seat, measured with the seat in its rearmost and lowest position.
• The red and amber ban is written into the windshield rule. Subsection (A)(11)(b) says the windshield material cannot be red or amber.
• Installers have a disclosure duty. Subsection (F) requires anyone who sells or installs film to state conspicuously that tint on the driver or passenger side window may be illegal in some other states. A front tint that is legal in Phoenix can be a problem on a road trip.

Why a "35%" Film Can Meter Below the Legal Limit

A film rated 35% can put a front window below Arizona's 30% floor, because the rating describes the film alone and the law measures film plus glass. Factory door glass is not perfectly clear, and the two values multiply.

The table below is arithmetic, not readings from specific vehicles. Multiply the film rating by how much light your glass passes on its own to get the net reading a tint meter will show.

Green is at or above the 30% floor (33% minus the 3% tolerance). Red is below it. Glass transmission varies by vehicle, so a meter reading on your own glass is the only way to know.

Is 20% or 5% Tint Legal in Arizona?

Twenty percent and 5% tint are legal in Arizona on the rear side windows and the back glass, and not legal on the front side windows. A lower percentage means a darker film, so 20% is darker than 35% and 5% is the darkest film commonly sold.

This is why most Phoenix tint jobs pair a legal front with a darker rear. The front doors stay inside the 33% rule and the back half of the cabin gets the privacy and glare control.

How to Stay Legal and Still Keep the Cabin Cool in Phoenix

The film type, not the darkness, is what keeps a legal front window cool. Dyed film blocks light by being dark, so at a legal 33% it does little about heat. Ceramic IR film rejects infrared heat at any darkness, which is why it is the film that works on front doors limited by law.

• Front doors: a ceramic film that meters inside the legal range on your glass.
• Rear doors and back glass: as dark as you want for privacy, in the same ceramic film so the heat rejection matches.
• Windshield: a top strip within the statute's measurement, never red or amber.

Our comparison of ceramic tint vs. regular tint in Phoenix heat covers how the films differ, and the Phoenix window tint cost guide has our starting prices by vehicle and film type. Every tint install at Impeccable Detail carries a lifetime warranty against discolor, peeling, bubbling and cracking.

Medical Exemptions for Darker Tint in Arizona

Arizona grants a tint exemption to people who need to be shielded from direct sun for medical reasons. Subsection (G) of the statute allows it, and the Arizona Department of Transportation handles the application.

• The form: Application for Window Tint Medical Exemption, Form 40-1511, certified by a medical provider.
• Where it goes: ADOT forwards the application to its Medical Review Program.
• What it covers: vehicles you own and other vehicles in which you are a regular passenger, according to ADOT's window tinting exemption page.

Get the exemption approved before the darker film goes on the front windows, and keep the paperwork with the vehicle.

What Happens If Your Tint Is Too Dark

A tint violation in Arizona is a civil traffic violation, not a crime. ARS 28-959.01 sits in Title 28, Chapter 3, and ARS 28-121(B) classifies violations in that chapter as civil traffic violations unless the statute says otherwise. Front tint that looks too dark is also a reason an officer can pull you over.

We do not quote a fine amount here. The statute does not set one, the figures published online disagree with each other, and the total depends on the court that hears the citation. The cost that is predictable is the second install: stripping dark film from the front doors and replacing it with a legal one.

Arizona Tint Law FAQ