Massachusetts Window Tint: 35% Light Transmittance, 6-Inch Windshield Strip

Section 9D bans two different things from being affixed to a car's glass. The first is a sign, poster or sticker on the windshield, the front or rear side windows or the rear window placed so as to obstruct, impede or distort the operator's vision. The second is nontransparent or sunscreen material, window application, reflective film or nonreflective film that makes any of those same glass areas nontransparent or obscured, viewed from inside or outside. Eight exceptions follow, and it is exception (4) that carries the only percentage in the section: film with a total visible light reflectance of not more than 35 per cent, or a visible light transmittance of not less than 35 per cent, on the front side windows, the rear side windows, or the rear window where the vehicle has two outside mirrors, one on each side, adjusted to give a clear view behind.

The windshield is treated separately and far more tightly. Exception (5) permits only transparent material limited to the uppermost 6 inches along the top, and only where that strip does not encroach on the driver's direct forward viewing area as defined in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. No percentage applies there, because nothing tinted is permitted below the strip at all.

The other carve-outs matter to particular drivers. Exception (1) leaves factory glazing alone where it meets 49 C.F.R. 571.205 as authorised by 15 U.S.C. 1407. Exception (2) permits draperies, louvers or other special window treatments on the rear window or a rear side window where the car has two outside mirrors. Exception (3) covers law enforcement agencies, watch guard or patrol agencies licensed under G.L. c. 147, section 25, and college, university and hospital police appointed under G.L. c. 22C, section 63, when running K-9 teams. Exception (6) exempts any vehicle registered in another state, territory, country or province outright, so a New Hampshire or Rhode Island plate is not measured here. Exception (7) reaches private passenger vehicles registered for public livery and hired for that purpose, but expressly not taxicabs. Exception (8) is the medical route: a licensed physician determines the treatment necessary for a light or photosensitive owner or operator, the written application goes to the medical advisory board established under section 8C supported by a written attestation from a physician licensed in the Commonwealth, and on approval the Registrar issues a noticeable sticker for the window next to the operator and keeps a record of every sticker issued.

Measurement is not done by eye. Section 9D directs the Registrar, acting under section 31, to set standards for measuring reflectance and transmittance and to provide for testing of any glazing alleged to be in violation. A statement from the Registrar attesting compliance is prima facie evidence of compliance in any prosecution, which is the practical way a driver clears a ticket.

The annual safety inspection carries a window-tinting item, but it is not the statute's test. Under 540 CMR 4.04(8)(g) for ordinary vehicles and 540 CMR 4.05(14)(m)2.h. for heavier ones, the inspector accepts aftermarket tinting only where it does not change transparency beyond the standards in 49 C.F.R. Part 571.205, allows the windshield to be tinted only down to the AS-1 line in the uppermost six inches, requires two outside rear-view mirrors where the rear window is tinted, and flatly prohibits advertising wrap or vehicle wrap material on any window. The 35 per cent figure appears nowhere in the regulation. The regulation is the narrower of the two instruments on the side windows, and its exemption list also cites G.L. c. 147, section 20 and c. 122, section 63 where the statute cites c. 147, section 25 and c. 22C, section 63. Both are in force, so a car can satisfy section 9D and still be rejected at inspection.

A violation of any provision of section 9D is punishable by a fine of not more than $250. On a third or subsequent conviction the Registrar of Motor Vehicles shall suspend the operator's licence for a period not to exceed 90 days, which the Registry applies rather than the sentencing court. The section also reaches the trade: no person may manufacture, sell, offer for sale or trade, equip or operate a vehicle in violation, though the section expressly does not prohibit the manufacture or sale of reflective or nonreflective film in the Commonwealth, so a shop may lawfully stock film it may not lawfully install.

04(8)(g) check at its annual safety inspection is rejected at the lane and must be corrected and re-presented, which is an enforcement route that does not require a police stop at all. A driver ticketed on the road can obtain a Registrar statement of compliance under section 9D, which the statute makes prima facie evidence of compliance in the prosecution.