§PlainStatute

Tools · Window Tint

New Mexico Window Tint Checker (2026)

The legal tint limit for every window position in New Mexico (20% 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 §66-3-846.1Source codes.findlaw.com

New Mexico window tint checker

Window tint · New Mexico

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.
New Mexico legal tint limit, window by window
Front side windows
20% VLT min
At least 20% light transmittance; the side wings and side windows to the immediate right and left of the driver must also be nonreflective.
Back side windows
20% min
At least 20% light transmittance and nonreflective; allowed only with one right and one left outside rear-view mirror.
Rear window
20% min
At least 20% light transmittance and nonreflective; allowed only with one right and one left outside rear-view mirror.
Windshield
AS-1 / top 5 in strip
Sun-screening material must be nonreflective, must not be red, yellow, or amber, and may be used only along the top of the windshield, not extending below the AS-1 line or more than five inches from the top, whichever is closer to the top.
Medical exemption
A person with a physical condition certified by a licensed physician or optometrist may be exempted from the sun-screening standards where the certification states that non-compliant material is required.
Penalty
A violation of §66-3-846.1 is a penalty assessment misdemeanor. The fine is set on the penalty assessment schedule rather than stated as a dollar figure in this section.
Tint-meter tolerance
Not specified in statute. NMSA §66-3-846.1 states no metering tolerance.

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

Tint on the side windows behind the driver and on the rearmost window is allowed only on a vehicle equipped with one right and one left outside rear-view mirror (§66-3-846.1).

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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico window tint reference, cited to NMSA 1978, §66-3-846.1.

How the New Mexico tint rules work

New Mexico keeps it simple: one number, 20%, applies to the front side windows, the back side windows, and the rear glass alike, and every panel of film has to be nonreflective. The windshield takes only a strip along the top, down to the AS-1 line or five inches, whichever is closer, and it cannot be red, yellow, or amber. Tint anything behind the driver and the car needs a mirror on each side.

This checker applies the New Mexico 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 New Mexico window tint reference, cited to NMSA 1978, §66-3-846.1.

Window tint checkers for other states

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