Tint Laws in The Palmetto State Explored
South Carolina tint laws are regulations that specify which types of window tinting drivers may use on cars and trucks. Failure to follow these rules can result in fines. The rules involve numbers, so knowledge of them is essential. The penalties do not, however, begin until a driver has been pulled over for a traffic violation. This means that last-minute checks are not a bad idea before leaving the house.
Lawmakers in South Carolina enacted tint laws to promote safety and security among the motoring public by ensuring that shades on car windows are not so dark as to pose a danger. The amount of light that is allowed to pass through a window is called the visible light transmission, or VLT. Late in 2015, the S.C. Department of Public Safety Website offered the following breakdown of acceptable VLTs for vehicles registered in the state:
Vehicle Type
Driver’s Side Windows
Passenger Side Windows
Back Seat Side Windows
Back Seat Side Windows
Windshield
Vehicle manufactured after 1993
30 percent
30 percent
26 percent
6 percent
No more than 27 percent
Vehicle manufactured prior to 1993
35 percent
20 percent
20 percent
6 percent
No more than 35 percent
Although some persons prefer to make their own rules about window tinting and use shades that do not meet requirements , it is important to understand the penalties for failing to comply with these laws. For instance, a motorist who is pulled over in his or her vehicle and has front windows that do not allow 30 percent of light to pass is violating tint laws and could be pulled over a second time. Depending upon a law enforcement officer’s discretion, the motorist could be charged with a misdemeanor or issued a warning and waived on his or her way. Penalties vary by violation.
● First permit violation, lasts five years
● $25 for the first offense
● $50 for subsequent violations
● Moving violation
● Fine determined by a judge
● Underage consumption
● Fine determined by a judge
A Department of Motor Vehicles report in October 2015 showed at least 6,317 tinted-window permits were issued from Jan. 2014 to Oct. 2015. The permits allow a driver to use a window tint that does not meet current tint rules. Exceptions apply to medical patients as well.
What is the Deepest Legal Tint?
In South Carolina, S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-5020 governs the legal darkness of window tint. According to this statute, front driver and passenger side windows must allow at least 27% of the light in. Windshields are allowed to have a tint that only allows 3% of the light in. On the rear window and rear driver side, there is no limit imposed on darkness and no law requiring a certain darkness be kept on the vehicle. The emergency medical technician and law enforcement special exception means that even a person with visor tint can be pulled over if the tint allows less than 3% of the light to come through and not be ticketed for it, as long as the window tint better allows the individual to successfully perform their job duties. The front passenger and rear side windows must allow 27% of the light to come into the vehicle in order to be legal.
In short, the front windows of the vehicle must be a legal tint of 27% in order to meet South Carolina window tint laws. The driver is required to obtain a certificate of compliance that proves the tint is legal, as the police are equipped with a tint meter that they can use to measure the exact tint of your vehicle window.
Infringement Penalties
Exceeding the legal tint limit can lead to a few potential consequences, the short game as it were. The most likely scenario is that the vehicle will be pulled over and the person driving the car will be made aware of the law and given a warning. In my experience, most people are happy to comply with the regulations once they are made aware of them. Some times however, officers can issue citations on the spot. The South Carolina code stipulates a fine of $25 for tint violations, although it can be increased under certain circumstances. In some serious cases, officers have been known to remove the tint on the side of the road. Most often however, officers are inclined to issue warnings for first time tint stops.
Beyond the fines or warnings issued on the road, people can also be taken to court for tint violations, although this is exceedingly rare. I’ve only ever seen one case like this make it through the court room. The representative for the State brought no witness to the stand, nor did the citizen. The officer that issued the citation in this case did not bother to show. The case was dropped. Since these cases are citizen rich, all sorts of weird elements can find their way into the court. In the case that I witnessed, another law enforcement officer was used as an expert witness to attest that "the window looked dark" to him.
All in all, while looking for people to pin in the wrong spot, cops concentrate on applying tint laws in a somewhat reasonable manner. They are diligent enough to copy down the last 8 numbers on your VIN, and to check the windows for regulation adherence. For the most part, excess tint leads to warnings and fines, but doesn’t change the fact that the tint is there. The law is in place to keep people safe, and to help police in other respects.
Practical Reasons to Stay within Legal Limits
Driving within the legal tint limits has plenty of advantages. Firstly, it means you will not risk fines, points or other legal repercussions. This is especially true of the front windows, for which acceptable tint levels are particularly stringent. Keep within the law and you can drive happy in a shadowy style without the fear of being pulled over. But even keeping the rear windows opaque is a good idea, as even this is sometimes deemed suspicious. In extreme cases, law enforcement might demand you pull over and lower the window or rear shade. In the unlikely event that your window tint – including on the back and rear – is deemed excessively dark, the police could still demand that you remove it, or write you a ticket.
Driving within the law also means you will be able to rely on the law for protection, should an accident occur . If there is an accident between you and another vehicle, the law may blame the driver of the other car as a result of their failure to see you due to their excessively tinted windows. Also, when you drive within the law, you make it easier for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users to see you on the road. This is especially crucial in nighttime or challenging conditions. Some states have stricter laws than others, but color and shade should be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles. When tint is within the law, your tinted windows should be recorded.
At the end of the day, the choice is yours. But while darkly tinted windscreens and windows create an air of mystery, they carry with them a burden of risk. Since penalties for excess window film are strict, why not comply with the legal limits? Keep your tint safe, and reap the rewards of heightened comfort, daytime privacy, luxury looks, cool attire, and a far more livable climate.
How to Evaluate Your Level of Tint
Understanding the laws on tinted windows in South Carolina is half the battle, the other half is knowing how to check your window tint. Luckily for you, it’s very easy.
You have three simple options:
- A cell phone app
- A tool called a "Tint Meter", or
- Most tint shops are able to measure your tint for no charge.
The phone app is a lot like a laser pointer. You simply shine it through the window and it measures the amount of light coming through. Most of these apps, including the ones discussed below, do not measure reflected light which is what the law requires you to measure, so they are not exact and cannot be used to determine whether your tint is legal. But they will give you a general idea.
iPhone
There is an iPhone app called Tint Meter. It is free, so that is a plus. To get the discount on registration, you should use the refer-a-friend feature. I did not use it, but the full price was only $9.99.
This app is not great. The Tint Meter folks claims this is the one that started them all, and they say theirs is the most accurate.
But to me it seems like a toy. I tried the app, and got different readings all over the place. To me, this is not enough to rely on for an exact measurement.
Android
There is an Android app, called Film Tint Meter, that costs $3.33. This app claims to be a carbon nanotube camera, whatever that means. It gives you a reading to one decimal point, so it tells you whether it is too dark by 5%, 10%, etc.
Again, this is just a phone app. It is nowhere near as accurate as a Tint Meter or a tint shop.
Tint Meter
This tool can be used to measure the transmission of a window and to help you determine whether your window tint is legal, too dark, or removing. A tint meter is required by many tint certification programs, and also by many local governments who regulate tint testing.
The Tint Meter looks much like a large car key. It has a screen on it and has a digital readout of the real measured number. The Tint Meter will show the actual numbers, and upon request it will tell you what the readings mean, whether it is good, too dark, etc.
Tint Shops
Some tint shops are happy to check your tint level for free. They can either use their computer meter or their Tint Meter to take the reading.
Exemptions and Special Provisions
There are few, if any, exceptions to the darkest legal tint limit in South Carolina. However, there are some circumstances and special cases that you should know about. For example, you are exempt from the regulation for those with certain medical conditions. For this, you need to have a doctor’s note that the state can verify before giving you an exemption sticker . Once you receive this sticker, you are required to place it on the windshield corner farthest from your driver’s side, so law enforcement can quickly find it when they check your vehicle.
The vehicles that this exemption applies to include the following: Knowing these special cases and exemptions to the darkest legal tint limit in South Carolina will helps avoid accidents, injury and legal problems.