What the numbers mean, what Alabama allows, and how to land on a shade you will not regret the first time you reverse out of a driveway at night.
The basics
VLT is how much light gets through the glass. 35% means roughly a third of the light comes in. The lower the number, the darker the film, so 5% is nearly blacked out and 70% is almost clear.
Barely looks tinted through to light. Bought for heat and UV, and for someone who drives a lot after dark.
The usual pick in Alabama. Sits above the legal floor on every window and still gives you a real difference in the cabin.
Dark through to limo. Fine behind the driver on a truck or SUV, never on the front windows of any vehicle.
The law
Alabama sets a minimum amount of light that has to get through, under the state tint law in Title 32, Chapter 5C, with a measurement tolerance of about three points.
| Window | Passenger car | Truck, SUV or van |
|---|---|---|
| Front side windows | 32% or lighter | 32% or lighter |
| Back side windows | 32% or lighter | Ask us |
| Rear window | 32% or lighter | Ask us |
| Windshield | Top 6 inches, non-reflective | Top 6 inches, non-reflective |
| Reflectivity | 20% maximum | 20% maximum |
On a passenger car every window has to let at least 32% through, so limo tint is not an option. Behind the driver on a truck or SUV the guidance differs depending who you ask, which is why we go by your vehicle rather than a rule of thumb. Alabama also requires a compliance label on tinted vehicles and offers a medical exemption through ALEA. Treat this as a starting point rather than legal advice.
Choosing
If you are out after dark a lot, a shade you loved in the showroom can be hard work reversing out of a dark driveway.
Privacy glass in the back is already dark, so matching it usually takes a lighter film than people expect, and the meter reads the combination.
Rejection is about what the film is made of, not how dark it looks, so a lighter film can be the cooler one.
Going under the limit up front is the easiest stop in the world for an officer with a meter.
Bring the vehicle by and we will hold samples against your windows in daylight. It looks different on the car than it does in a brochure.