Window Tinting Limited by Missouri Law

Everyone wants their ride to be as styling as possible, and window tinting is an easy way do it.
Window tinting services are available at most custom detailing shops and do-it-yourselfers can also undertake the project in their home garages.
Done properly, your window tinting will garner the admiration of your friends and neighbors. However, if you go for that movie star black window look, your tinting might also gain the attention of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Under Missouri law, a car owner can tint the windows behind the driver to as dark as they like, but there are restrictions on how dark tinting on other windows can be.
The law allows windows to the immediate left and right of the driver to be tinted to 35 percent, with a margin of error to plus or minus 3 percent. Except the top portion normally tinted by the vehicle manufacturer, window tinting is not allowed at all for windshields.
The Highway Patrol reminds car owners that window tinting is not checked for compliance during the vehicle's annual safety inspection. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure the tinting is in compliance with the law.
The only way to have darker window tinting on a vehicle in Missouri is to obtain a written prescription for it from a physician. With this prescription, the Highway Patrol will issue a permit for darker window tinting.
The permit to have windows tinted beyond the 35 percent limit must be carried at all times. In addition, a sticker will be affixed to the lower left corner of the windshield and the rear window of vehicle.
Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers are authorized to stop vehicles they believe are in violation of the window tinting limit. They are equipped with tint meters that will gauge the percent of tint on questionable vehicle windows.
If the driver's window tinting permits are not in order and it is determined through the use of the tint meter that the windows are too dark, a citation may be issued.
Having window tinting beyond the 35 percent limit is a class C misdemeanor. The crime is punishable with a jail term of up to 15 days, a fine of up to $300 or both.