Window Tint Laws in Maine
Laws change. Verify current requirements with your local DMV/RMV before choosing or installing film. This is not legal advice.
VLT is visible light transmission: lower percentages mean darker windows. A film's labeled shade is not necessarily the finished glass-plus-film reading. The limits below cover ordinary passenger cars unless stated otherwise.
- Front side windows
- At least 35% net transmission through glass and material; two-way visibility required.
- Rear side windows
- No VLT minimum with two outside rear-view mirrors, one on each side, adjusted for a clear view of the highway behind; otherwise at least 35% net VLT.
- Back window
- No VLT minimum with two outside rear-view mirrors, one on each side, adjusted for a clear view of the highway behind; otherwise at least 35% net VLT.
- Windshield strip
- Tint permitted above the AS-1 line; if no AS-1 line, along the top five inches. Outside that exception, no reduction in transmission beyond original or original replacement windshield.
Vehicle class and conditions
Measurement basis: Combined glass-plus-film visible light transmission, not the film label alone.
SUV, van and multipurpose-vehicle rear sides: No VLT minimum with two outside rear-view mirrors, one on each side, adjusted for a clear view of the highway behind; otherwise at least 35% net VLT.
SUV, van and multipurpose-vehicle back window: No VLT minimum with two outside rear-view mirrors, one on each side, adjusted for a clear view of the highway behind; otherwise at least 35% net VLT.
- Section 1916(2)(A)(3) expressly supplies the windshield strip rule; a separate inspection manual is not needed to substantiate this statutory exception.
- Rear-side/back exception in section 1916(2)(B) applies to both the 35% rule and two-way-glass rule, but not the reflective-material prohibition.
- Reflective material is prohibited outside applicable statutory exceptions. Tint/transmittance certification and State Police medical exemptions have separate requirements.
Sources and verification
Official source: State statute. Reviewed 2026-10-29. Laws and agency guidance can change after this review.
Laws change. Verify current requirements with your local DMV/RMV before choosing or installing film. This is not legal advice.