Five States Changed Their Tint Laws — and Most Tint Charts Haven't Noticed

Window tint charts are everywhere online, and most of them are copies of copies. That's fine until a legislature actually changes something — which has now happened five times since early 2025. We verified each change against the enrolled bills and current statute text. If you're tinting in one of these states, the chart you Googled is probably wrong.

Delaware: 70% → 50% front (August 17, 2026)

The newest change on this list is just days old. SB 255, signed August 17, 2026, drops Delaware's front side window minimum from effectively 70% to 50% VLT. Rear windows remain unrestricted. If a shop or a chart tells you 70%, they're quoting the old law. (The correct statute, for the record, is 21 Del. C. § 4313.)

Iowa: 70% → 50% front (July 1, 2026)

HF 766 lowered Iowa's front side minimum to 50% VLT effective July 1, 2026. The windshield stays at 70% above the AS-1 line, and windows behind the driver remain unrestricted.

Louisiana: 40% → 25% front (August 1, 2025)

Act 143 of 2025 dropped Louisiana's front side minimum from 40% to 25% VLT — a big practical difference. Rear sides stay at 25% and the back window at 12% for cars; trucks, vans, and SUVs remain exempt behind the driver.

Hawaii: a full rewrite (May 2025)

Act 129 (HB 226) rewrote Hawaii's tint law top to bottom: front side windows now need 35% VLT (±6% tolerance), and windows behind the driver are exempt on every vehicle type — sedans included — as long as you have exterior mirrors on both sides. The act also banned mirrored and colored finishes, requires occupants to lower tinted windows during traffic stops, and raised fines to $300–550 for owners and up to $1,200 for installers.

North Dakota: 50% → 35% front (2025)

HB 1340 lowered North Dakota's front side minimum to 35% VLT. North Dakota also remains the only state that allows the entire windshield tinted at 70% or lighter.

Honorable mention: Virginia's enforcement change

Virginia's limits didn't change (50% front / 35% rear for cars), but as of 2026, tint is secondary enforcement — an officer can't stop you solely for suspected tint. You can still be cited once stopped for something else.

Why stale charts are worse than no chart

Three of these five changes made the law more permissive. Someone following an old chart in Delaware or Iowa is leaving legal darkness on the table; someone following an old Hawaii chart thinks their rear windows are limited when they aren't. And in the states that got stricter historically, stale charts get people tickets.

Every tint number on this site was re-verified against primary sources — statute text and enrolled bills, not other charts — in August 2026, and each page shows its verification date.

Want your state's exact numbers, tolerances, exemptions, and the statute citation to keep in your glovebox? Get the full report for your state — $5.