Texas vs Washington: Local Ordinance Comparison (2026)

Tiny Homes

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to federal HUD standards and sealed and licensed statewide by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Placement stays local.

Washington allows tiny houses on permanent foundations under IRC Appendix Q (adopted in the state building code) for dwellings 400 square feet or less. RCW 35.21.686 governs tiny houses with wheels and tiny house communities.

Beekeeping

Texas keeps beekeeping light-touch: registration with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service is voluntary, not required to own hives. Beekeepers may register annually with the chief apiary inspector, and that registration expires each August 31.

Washington RCW 15.60 requires all beekeepers with one or more hives to register their apiaries annually with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, supporting disease tracking and pollinator health statewide.

Breed Restrictions

Texas Health & Safety Code 822.047 prohibits any Texas city or county from regulating dogs based on breed. Local breed bans against pit bulls, Rottweilers, or other breeds are unenforceable in every Texas municipality.

Washington RCW 16.08 governs dangerous and potentially dangerous dogs through behavior-based standards rather than breed identity, requiring registration, secure confinement, and liability insurance for declared dangerous dogs across all jurisdictions.

Exotic Pets

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 822 Subchapter E governs ownership of dangerous wild animals: lions, tigers, bears, primates, and more. Owners must register with their county or city animal-registration agency and meet liability and caging standards.

Washington RCW 16.30 prohibits private possession, breeding, and importation of dangerous wild animals including big cats, bears, wolves, and primates, applying uniformly statewide with limited grandfather and accreditation exceptions.

Pet Limits

Texas has no standalone hoarding statute; officers use Health & Safety Code Chapter 821 to seize animals deprived of necessary food, care, or shelter, and a court can divest the owner of every animal.

Washington RCW 16.52 criminalizes animal cruelty and neglect statewide, providing the legal foundation for animal hoarding prosecutions when owners fail to provide necessary food, water, shelter, and veterinary care to multiple animals.

Wildlife Feeding

Texas lets hunters bait and feed game animals, including deer, on private property statewide. Baiting is unlawful on most public land, for wild turkey in the East Zone, and for all migratory game birds, and is barred inside CWD zones.

Washington bans intentionally feeding or attracting large wild carnivores, bears, cougars and wolves, to any land or building, and treats a first intentional violation as a misdemeanor under RCW 77.15.792.

Dispensary Zoning

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 487 limits cannabis dispensing to state-licensed Compassionate Use Program providers: expanded to as many as 15 organizations by HB 46 (2025). There are no recreational dispensaries anywhere in Texas, and cities cannot license additional ones.

Washington's Liquor and Cannabis Board licenses cannabis retailers and imposes statewide 1,000-foot buffers from schools and other sensitive uses, which local governments may reduce but not eliminate.

Minimum Wage Preemption

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 expressly preempts municipal and county minimum wage ordinances. The state minimum wage equals the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, and political subdivisions cannot require private employers to pay more, except for their own contracts.

Washington RCW 49.46 sets a statewide minimum wage adjusted annually for inflation; as of 2026 it is $17.13 per hour. Washington does not preempt local minimum wages, so several cities set higher rates.

Paid Leave Preemption

Texas appellate courts have struck down municipal paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio as preempted under the Texas Minimum Wage Act. HB 2127 (2023) further codifies preemption by barring local regulation of employment benefits and leave policies.

Washington RCW 49.46.200 mandates paid sick leave for nearly all employees, and RCW 50A.04 provides paid family and medical leave funded by payroll premiums.

Coastal Development

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work. Gulf-coast counties issue those permits under General Land Office rules.

Washington's Shoreline Management Act (RCW 90.58) requires Shoreline Substantial Development Permits for most construction within 200 feet of marine and freshwater shorelines statewide.

Erosion Control

Any Texas construction that disturbs one acre or more must get TCEQ Construction General Permit (TXR150000) coverage and develop a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan with erosion and sediment controls before ground is broken.

Washington makes it unlawful under RCW 90.48.080 to discharge sediment or other polluting matter into state waters, and the Department of Ecology requires an NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permit with an erosion-control SWPPP for sites disturbing one or more acres.

Flood Zones

Texas Water Code Section 16.3145 orders the governing body of every Texas city and county to adopt the floodplain-management ordinances or orders needed to qualify for the National Flood Insurance Program.

Washington requires all communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program to adopt floodplain ordinances meeting state minimum standards under RCW 86.16.

Stormwater Management

Texas Water Code Section 26.040 lets the TCEQ issue general permits for storm water discharges. Regulated small municipal separate storm sewer systems obtain coverage under TPDES general permit TXR040000, renewed every five years, and must run a written stormwater management program.

Washington Department of Ecology administers federally-required NPDES stormwater permits statewide, setting minimum standards for municipal, construction, and industrial stormwater that all jurisdictions must implement.

Neighbor Fence Rules

Under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 143, Subchapter F, you cannot tear out a fence you jointly own with a neighbor, or one attached to a neighbor's fence, without mutual consent. To detach an attached fence you must first give six months' written notice of the separation.

Washington's partition fence law requires adjoining landowners using a boundary fence for livestock to share construction and maintenance costs equitably under RCW 16.60.

Fireworks

Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2154 governs fireworks sales and use, while Local Government Code Chapter 352 limits how counties can restrict consumer fireworks during drought. The State Fire Marshal licenses retailers across Texas.

Consumer fireworks are legal statewide under RCW 70.77 on specified dates, but sky rockets, missiles, firecrackers, and bottle rockets are banned. Cities and counties may restrict or ban fireworks entirely but cannot expand state-allowed dates or types.

Concealed Carry

Texas authorizes License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry concealed handguns statewide under Government Code Chapter 411. Since 2021, permitless constitutional carry under HB 1927 also allows most adults 21 and older to carry without a license, with municipalities preempted from added restrictions.

Washington issues concealed pistol licenses under RCW 9.41.070 on a shall-issue basis to qualified applicants, with statewide preemption preventing local concealed carry rules.

Firearms in Vehicles

Texas Penal Code 46.02(a-1) lets any non-prohibited adult carry a handgun inside a personally-owned or leased motor vehicle or watercraft without a License to Carry. Since HB 1927 (2021), the handgun may even sit in plain view if holstered and the carrier is 21 or older or licensed.

Washington RCW 9.41.050 governs carrying firearms in vehicles statewide, requiring a concealed pistol license to carry a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle.

Local Firearms Preemption

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances regulating the transfer, ownership, possession, transport, or discharge of firearms beyond narrow exceptions for discharge in densely populated areas.

Washington RCW 9.41.290 broadly preempts local firearm regulation, reserving authority over firearm laws to the state legislature with very limited exceptions.

Open Carry

Texas authorizes open carry of holstered handguns statewide for adults 21 and older under Penal Code 46.02 and HB 910 (2015). Long guns may be openly carried subject to disorderly conduct limits. Municipalities cannot impose additional open carry restrictions.

Washington allows open carry of firearms by qualified adults without a permit, with limited statutory restrictions and broad preemption barring most local open carry rules.

Food Truck Permits

Under Texas Health & Safety Code Section 437.0045, a county, city, or public health district may require a food truck permit only if the Department of State Health Services would require the same permit within its own jurisdiction. Uniform state rules govern mobile food units.

Washington WAC 246-215 enforced under RCW 43.20 establishes the statewide retail food code requiring mobile food units including food trucks to obtain permits from local health jurisdictions and meet uniform sanitation standards.

Charitable Bingo and Raffles

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on September 1, 2025. Eligible applicants are religious societies, fraternal and veterans organizations, volunteer fire departments, EMS providers, and qualifying nonprofits that have existed in Texas for at least three years. Running unlicensed bingo is a third-degree felony.

Washington exempts bona fide charitable and nonprofit organizations from Gambling Commission licensing when raffle, bingo, or amusement-game revenue stays under $5,000 a year. Members-only raffles under RCW 9.46.0315 face no event cap, while public bingo, raffle, or amusement-game events under RCW 9.46.0321 are limited to two per calendar year, twelve consecutive days each, with the same $5,000 combined ceiling. Cross either threshold and a WSGC license becomes mandatory.

Social Gambling Rules

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place, where nobody profits beyond personal winnings and every player faces the same odds, cannot be prosecuted. Friendly poker nights and betting pools qualify; casino nights and rake-taking games don't.

Washington law defines a "player" under RCW 9.46.0265 as someone who gambles on equal terms with no profit beyond personal winnings. A private card game among friends is legal without a state gambling license as long as the host takes no fee, rake, or cut: merely inviting players, hosting at home, or supplying cards doesn't turn a friendly game into unlicensed gambling.

Sports Betting Law

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code § 47.02(a)(1), a Class C misdemeanor. Running or profiting from the action, a bookie, a betting site, an office pool that takes a cut, escalates to a Class A misdemeanor under §§ 47.03 and 47.04.

Sports betting is legal in Washington only at tribal casinos operating under a class III gaming compact amended to include it, as RCW 9.46.0364 authorizes following ESHB 2638 (2020 c 127). There is no commercial sportsbook license available to anyone else, and even in-casino mobile wagering works only while the bettor is physically on tribal gaming premises, per RCW 9.46.0368.

Assessment & Dues

Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, unpaid assessments become a lien (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0094), but a Texas HOA may not foreclose that lien without first obtaining a court order (§ 209.0092). Owners can demand an alternative payment plan of at least three months under § 209.0062 before collection proceeds.

Washington has two regimes. Communities created on or after July 1, 2018 fall under WUCIOA (RCW 64.90), whose lien carries a 6-month super-priority over first mortgages and can be foreclosed like a mortgage. Older associations use the Homeowners' Associations Act (RCW 64.38), whose lien may be foreclosed only after strict notice and dollar thresholds.

CC&R Enforcement

A Texas HOA enforces its recorded restrictive covenants (Tex. Prop. Code Ch. 202), but Chapter 209 controls the procedure: § 209.006 requires certified-mail notice and a cure opportunity before most enforcement, and § 209.007 gives the owner a hearing. Section 202.003 directs that covenants 'shall be liberally construed' to give effect to their purpose.

Washington HOAs may adopt and enforce rules and architectural standards and enforce the recorded declaration. Under WUCIOA, RCW 64.90.405 authorizes rule adoption and enforcement, while RCW 64.90.510 fixes outer limits the rules cannot cross (flags, solar, signs). Older HOAs draw the same rulemaking power from RCW 64.38.020.

Drought Landscaping Rights

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown lawn during a municipal or utility watering restriction. The protection reaches nearly every Texas HOA, with one narrow carve-out: associations governing at least 4,000 commercial, multifamily, or open-space acres inside a municipality over 175,000 people that sits in a county anchored by a city over one million residents fall outside Section 202.007 entirely.

This right applies only within Washington homeowners' associations governed by the Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW: communities formed before July 1, 2018, excluding condominiums. Under RCW 64.38.057, governing documents cannot prohibit drought resistant landscaping, pollinator habitat including code-compliant beehives, or wildfire ignition resistant landscaping. Associations may set only reasonable placement and aesthetic rules that stop short of making these practices unreasonably costly or infeasible, and cannot fine owners for reduced lawn watering during a Department of Ecology drought order.

Flag Display Rights

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can regulate flagpole size, materials, and lighting, but it cannot block at least one flagpole per property: a freestanding pole up to 20 feet in the front yard, or one attached to the house itself, owner's choice.

Washington's older Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 64.38 RCW, applies to HOAs formed before July 1, 2018 that have not opted into the newer Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act; RCW 64.38.033 bars those associations from banning outdoor U.S. flag display or blocking a flagpole installed for it. RCW 64.90.510 sets a parallel rule for WUCIOA communities. Associations may still adopt reasonable placement, manner, and flagpole-size rules under either chapter.

HOA Fines & Enforcement

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a required process: certified-mail notice describing the violation, a cure deadline, and the owner's right to a board hearing within 30 days of that notice. A fine cannot be assessed if the owner cures in time, and boards must publish a written fine schedule since 2024.

Both Washington regimes let HOAs impose reasonable fines, but only after notice and an opportunity to be heard and only under a fine schedule already adopted by the board and furnished to owners. WUCIOA communities use RCW 64.90.405; older associations use RCW 64.38.020. Neither statute sets a dollar cap on fines.

Cottage Food Operations

Texas does not license cottage food at all. Health and Safety Code Section 437.0191(a) declares that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment, and Section 437.0192(a) forbids any local government authority, including a local health department, from regulating production or requiring a license, permit or fee. The ceiling is $150,000 in annual gross income from cottage food sales, a figure the Department of State Health Services adjusts each year for inflation using the CPI-U. Texas defines the category by a list of six excluded foods rather than by a shelf-stable test, so since September 1, 2025 an operation may even sell refrigerated foods if it registers with the department under Section 437.01953.

Washington runs a cottage food permit through the state Department of Agriculture, not through the local health district. Under RCW 69.22.030 the permit is issued for two years and costs a $125 basic hygiene inspection fee plus a $75 public health review fee and a $30 processing fee. RCW 69.22.050(1)(a) caps annual gross sales at $35,000, measured per domestic residence and not per person, and WAC 16-149-040(1) repeats that figure in the rule WSDA filed on December 11, 2023. You may sell only shelf-stable items on your permit, only directly to the eater, and never by mail, shipping, consignment, wholesale or out of state.

Home Daycare

Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 42 governs licensing and registration of home-based child care statewide through HHSC. Registered family homes serve up to 6 children under 14, must follow state minimum standards, and cannot be banned solely by zoning.

Washington licenses family home child care providers through DCYF and preempts local zoning that would treat licensed home daycares as commercial uses requiring special permits.

Golf Carts & Low-Speed Vehicles

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic, on a road posted at 35 mph or less during daytime within five miles of where the cart is normally parked while travelling to or from a golf course, and anywhere a city has opted in under Transportation Code Section 551.404. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is forbidden to register a golf cart for highway use no matter how it has been modified, so street-legal carts carry a separate golf cart license plate costing up to $10 that never expires. Neighborhood electric vehicles are treated more generously and may use roads posted up to 45 mph.

Washington splits small street-legal vehicles into three statutory classes by top speed, and the rules for each are different. A golf cart tops out at 20 mph and may use public streets only inside a golf cart zone a city or county has created by ordinance under RCW 46.08.175, on roads posted 25 mph or less. A neighborhood electric vehicle runs above 20 up to 25 mph and may use roads posted 35 mph or less statewide under RCW 46.61.725 without any local ordinance. A medium-speed electric vehicle, a class few states have, runs above 25 up to 35 mph, needs a roll cage or crush-proof body, and gets the same road access under RCW 46.61.723. NEVs and MSEVs must be registered, plated, insured and driven on a valid license; golf carts need none of those.

Towing & Impound Rights

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court for the county the vehicle was towed from, and the court must hold that hearing within 21 days. If the judge finds no probable cause, the towing company pays the removal and storage bill. Deliberate violations carry a $1,000 penalty plus triple the fees charged.

Washington caps what a private-property tow can cost. Under RCW 46.55.118, a class A, D or E tow truck operator's filed hourly towing rate cannot exceed 135 percent of the State Patrol's negotiated class A rate, daily storage cannot exceed 135 percent of the negotiated storage rate, and the after-hours release fee cannot exceed 100 percent of the negotiated fee. Every registered operator is bound, with a letter of appointment or not.

Eviction Notice & Process

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction) suit, unless the lease sets a different period. After the notice expires the landlord files in justice court; only a court-ordered writ of possession can remove the tenant.

For nonpayment of rent, a Washington landlord must serve a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice in the form set by RCW 59.18.057 before filing an unlawful detainer under RCW 59.12.030. Lease-violation terminations require a 10-day cure notice, and waste, nuisance, or unlawful activity requires only 3 days. Most evictions also require just cause under RCW 59.18.650.

Late Fees & Grace Periods

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is deemed reasonable at up to 12% of rent for a structure with four or fewer units, or 10% for larger structures.

Under RCW 59.18.170, a Washington landlord may not charge any late fee on rent paid within five days of its due date; a fee may begin only once rent is more than five days past due. The statute sets no specific dollar cap, though some cities and counties impose stricter local limits.

Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is given. Shorter rent-paying periods need notice equal to that period. A written lease may set a different period, and fixed terms simply expire.

Under RCW 59.18.200, a Washington tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 20 days' written notice. A landlord, however, cannot end a periodic tenancy at will: RCW 59.18.650 requires 'just cause,' and most landlord-driven reasons (owner move-in, sale, demolition) demand 60 to 120 days' written notice.

Rent Control

Texas law forbids cities from adopting rent control. A municipality may not establish rent control unless its governing body finds a housing emergency caused by a disaster and the governor approves the ordinance. There is no statewide rent cap, and in practice no Texas city has rent control. Landlords set increases freely.

Washington bars cities from passing local rent control under RCW 35.21.830, and that preemption still stands. But in 2025 the state enacted its first statewide rent-increase cap. Under HB 1217, a landlord may not raise rent in any 12-month period by more than 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less, and may not raise it at all in the first year.

Repairs & Habitability

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052 a landlord must make a diligent effort to repair conditions that materially affect an ordinary tenant's health or safety after proper notice. Section 92.056 sets the notice process and a rebuttable presumption that seven days is reasonable; § 92.0561 lets a tenant repair and deduct, capped at one month's rent or $500.

RCW 59.18.060 requires Washington landlords to keep rentals 'fit for human habitation': structurally sound, weathertight, with working plumbing, heat, hot water, electrical systems, pest control, and reasonable locks. After written notice, RCW 59.18.070 sets repair deadlines: 24 hours for lost heat, water, or electricity, 72 hours for major fixtures, 10 days otherwise.

Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with a registered deed plus paid taxes (§ 16.025), 10 years for bare possession capped at 160 acres (§ 16.026), and 25 years under a recorded instrument (§ 16.028).

Washington's general adverse possession period is 10 years under RCW 4.16.020, requiring possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous. A shorter 7-year period applies under RCW 7.28.070 when the occupant holds under good-faith color of title and pays all taxes legally assessed on the land for those seven years.

Agricultural Zoning Protection

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 212 and Agriculture Code Chapter 251 limit municipal authority to zone or regulate land qualified for agricultural use appraisal. Counties have no general zoning authority, and cities face restrictions on annexing or imposing land use rules on established farms.

Washington's Growth Management Act under RCW 36.70A.170 requires counties and cities to designate and protect agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance through zoning.

Taxes & Fees

Texas imposes a 6 percent state hotel occupancy tax on short-term rentals, including houses, condos, and Airbnb or VRBO stays, whenever a room costs 15 dollars or more per day.

Washington imposes statewide sales tax and lodging taxes on short-term rental stays under 30 days. Operators must register with the Department of Revenue, collect applicable taxes, and remit them regardless of local jurisdiction.

Plastic Bag Rules

The Texas Supreme Court in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) held that Health and Safety Code Section 361.0961 preempts municipal plastic bag bans. Cities and counties cannot prohibit or restrict retail use of plastic checkout bags as containers or packages.

Washington RCW 70A.530 bans single-use plastic carryout bags statewide and requires retailers to charge a pass-through fee for compliant paper or reusable bags.

HOA Restrictions

Section 202.010 of the Texas Property Code voids any homeowners association rule that bans or restricts installing a solar energy device, a term that under Tax Code Section 171.107 expressly includes solar roof tiles. An HOA may not withhold approval once a homeowner meets the law's placement and design conditions, though a narrow list of restrictions, including roofline height, roof-slope conformity and required hardware tones, remains enforceable.

Washington RCW 64.38.055 voids homeowner association rules prohibiting solar panel installation, allowing only reasonable placement rules. RCW 64.90.510 gives the same protection to condominium and WUCIOA communities. The RCW 64.38.055 protection expires January 1, 2028.

Fencing & Safety Requirements

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 757 establishes minimum pool yard enclosure requirements statewide, including a 48-inch fence height, self-closing self-latching gates, and limits on climbable surfaces. The rules apply to multi-unit residential pools across all Texas cities.

Washington WAC 246-260 regulates public spas and hot tubs at hotels, apartments, gyms, and HOAs, requiring permits, water testing, temperature limits, and posted bather safety warnings under RCW 70.90 statewide.

Tobacco Age Restrictions

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 sets the minimum age for purchasing or possessing tobacco and e-cigarette products at 21 statewide, aligned with federal Tobacco 21. Active military members 18 and older are exempt. The standard applies uniformly across all Texas municipalities.

Washington RCW 26.28.080 sets the minimum age for purchasing tobacco and vapor products at 21, aligning with federal Tobacco 21 standards statewide.

Studded Tire & Chain Rules

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block, stud, flange, cleat, spike or other non-rubber protuberance projecting beyond the tread unless the protuberance does not injure the highway, or is a tire chain of reasonable proportion used as required for safety because of a condition that might cause the vehicle to skid. There is no permitted date range, no stud material or projection limit, no permit scheme and no restriction that varies by county. The practical test is highway damage, and tire chains get their own express safety allowance.

Washington allows metal studded tires only in the winter half of the year. RCW 46.37.420(2) makes it unlawful to use metal studs imbedded within the tire between April 1st and November 1st, so the legal season runs from November 1 through March 31, and the state Department of Transportation may extend it. Studs sold in Washington must be lightweight studs meeting the gram limits in RCW 46.04.272, and no metal studs at all may be installed on a vehicle of 10,000 pounds gross weight or more. A separate chain control regime run by WSDOT and the State Patrol can require tire chains on the mountain passes even during studded tire season, and ignoring a posted chain requirement is a $500 infraction.

Window Tint Limits

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets no darkness limit at all on side windows behind the driver. Windshield film may not reach below the AS-1 line or more than five inches down from the top, whichever is closer to the top, and it may not be red, blue or amber. The rules sit in Transportation Code Section 547.613, which bans tint outright and then legalizes it through a list of exceptions. Since the safety inspection ended for non-commercial vehicles on January 1, 2025, tint is caught at the roadside rather than once a year.

Washington lets you tint every window except the windshield down to 24 percent light transmission, with outward reflectance capped at 35 percent, but RCW 46.37.430(5)(a) measures that as net film screening, meaning the aftermarket film plus whatever tint the manufacturer already built into the glass. Only one sheet of film per window is allowed, and mirror finish, red, gold, yellow and black films are banned outright. The windshield takes only a transparent strip along the top edge that stops at the AS-1 line or six inches down, whichever comes first. Because Washington runs no periodic safety inspection for private cars, the rule is enforced entirely at the roadside, and the shop that installed the film faces a criminal charge while the driver faces an infraction.