§PlainStatute

Tools · Window Tint

Hawaii Window Tint Checker (2026)

The legal tint limit for every window position in Hawaii (35% on the front sides), checked against your own film's VLT, with the medical exemption and what a ticket costs.

Draft entry: figures pending statute verificationStatute §291-21.5; Act 129Source capitol.hawaii.gov

Hawaii window tint checker

Window tint · Hawaii

VLT (visible light transmission) is the share of light the film lets through; a lower number is darker. It is printed on the film packaging or your installation receipt. Leave it blank to just read the limits.

Draft entry: figures pending source verification. Confirm with the official source before relying on this result.
Hawaii legal tint limit, window by window
Front side windows
35% VLT min
At least 35% light transmission, with a ±6% variance.
Back side windows
Any darkness
Any darkness. Act 129 (2025) removed the side windows to the rear of the driver from the sunscreening requirement for all vehicle classes, including sedans.
Rear window
Any darkness
Any darkness after Act 129 (2025); dual outside rear-view mirrors are required when the rear window is tinted.
Windshield
AS-1 / top 4 in; full film ≥70%
Non-reflective, transparent tint only in the strip above the AS-1 line, or the top 4 inches if the windshield has no AS-1 line; a full-windshield film is allowed only if it stays at 70% or lighter.
Medical exemption
Hawaii provides no medical exemption for window tint. HRS §291-21.5 sets no physician-certification path or alternative VLT standard, and Act 129 did not add one.
Penalty
Act 129 (2025) raised the fines. Vehicle owners face roughly $300 to $550 per violation, and installers face roughly $700 to $1,200, with the installer required to correct the work or reimburse the owner.
Tint-meter tolerance
±6% variance built into the light-transmission specification

Enter your film's VLT above to check it against each Hawaii window limit, or read the limits as they stand.

After Act 129 (2025) the rear side windows and rear window may be any darkness on a sedan just as on an SUV or van, so long as the vehicle carries dual outside mirrors. The 35% (±6%) floor applies only to the front side windows.

Film is sold by its own VLT, but police measure the installed darkness: the film combined with your factory glass, which reads darker than the film alone. These are the Hawaii figures stated as information, not a determination about any stop or ticket.

Informational only, not legal advice. Reflectivity limits, color bans, and vehicle-class exceptions can change the answer for a specific car. See the full rules, the exemption steps, and the citations on the Hawaii window tint reference, cited to Haw. Rev. Stat. §291-21.5; Act 129 (2025).

How the Hawaii tint rules work

Hawaii rewrote its tint rules in 2025 for the first time since 1983. Act 129 kept the front side windows at 35% (±6%) but pulled the glass behind the driver out of the sunscreening rules entirely, so a sedan can now run the same dark rear side and rear windows an SUV or van always could, provided it has dual outside mirrors. The windshield still takes only a top strip above the AS-1 line, or the top four inches, and there is still no medical exemption anywhere in the statute.

This checker applies the Hawaii figures to the VLT you enter. It is informational only and not legal advice: reflectivity limits, color bans, and vehicle-class exceptions can change the answer for a specific car. For the full rules, the shades table, and the citations, see the Hawaii window tint reference, cited to Haw. Rev. Stat. §291-21.5; Act 129 (2025).

Window tint checkers for other states

Same tool, each with its own per-window limits.