Vehicle Mod Law Changes

August 17, 2026

Delaware darkens its front-window tint limit: 70% → 50% VLT

Front side windows may now be tinted to 50% VLT (previously 70%). Rear side and back windows remain unrestricted.

21 Del. C. § 4313

July 1, 2026

Iowa darkens its front-window tint limit: 70% → 50% VLT

Front side windows may now be tinted to 50% VLT (previously 70%). Rear side and back windows remain unrestricted.

Iowa Code § 321.438

July 1, 2026

Georgia rewrites its tint limits: front 32% → 28%, rear 32% → 15%

HB 1161 lowered the front side-window minimum to 28% VLT and cut the rear side windows and rear windshield to 15% (±3% tolerance, 20% reflectance cap unchanged). The rear-window exemption for multipurpose vehicles, buses, and limousines survives.

O.C.G.A. § 40-8-73.1 (HB 1161, 2026)

July 1, 2026

Virginia legalizes clear film on windshields

SB 506 (2026, c. 894) added one thing: clear film may be applied to a windshield if it is maintained to FMVSS 205. The 50% VLT front side limit is unchanged — and no, tint enforcement did not change in 2026; that happened in 2021 (below).

Va. Code § 46.2-1052(F) (2026, c. 894)

July 1, 2026

Kansas bans plate covers — clear ones included

SB 403 rewrote the plate-display law: any covering material affecting the plate's visibility or reflectivity is prohibited, and a frame that hides the number, state name, or decal is a violation too. Frame violations draw warning citations through December 31, 2026; full enforcement starts January 1, 2027.

K.S.A. 8-15,110 (SB 403, 2026)

July 1, 2026

Virginia pilots exhaust noise cameras

New § 46.2-1051.1 lets localities in four planning districts (Northern Virginia and the Richmond corridor) run automated noise-camera systems against exhaust over 95 dB, with civil penalties up to $100 and no license points. The pilot expires July 1, 2028; the first cameras are expected in Fairfax County in early 2027.

Va. Code § 46.2-1051.1 (2026, c. 56)

July 1, 2026

Virginia makes suspension-height tickets fixable

SB 426 added a proof-of-compliance dismissal to the bumper-height law: bring the vehicle into compliance by your court date and the court may dismiss the summons — Virginia suspension violations now work like fix-it tickets.

Va. Code § 46.2-1063 (2026, c. 497)

October 1, 2025

Florida makes plate obstruction a criminal misdemeanor

Knowingly applying material that interferes with the legibility, angular visibility, or detectability of any feature of the plate became a second-degree criminal misdemeanor — previously a noncriminal infraction. The display statute (§ 316.605) itself stays noncriminal, and plate-flipper devices are criminalized separately (§ 320.262).

Fla. Stat. § 320.061 (ch. 2025-36)

Six states, 2021–2025

The 'Carolina squat' is banned in six states

Nose-up stance setups are illegal in North Carolina (Dec. 2021), Virginia (Mar. 2022), South Carolina (Nov. 2023), Mississippi and Tennessee (both July 2024), and Arkansas (Aug. 2025). Most states use a fender test — front fender 4 or more inches above the rear — while Virginia and Arkansas measure bumpers. South Carolina also bans lifting or lowering a leveled car more than 6 inches, with pickups exempt from that rule but not the fender rule.

e.g., S.C. Code § 56-5-4445; Tenn. Pub. Ch. 541 (2024); Ark. Act 492 (2025)

August 1, 2025

Louisiana darkens its tint limits: front 40% → 25%

Front side windows may now be tinted to 25% VLT (previously 40%). Rear side windows: 25%; back window: 12%. Windows behind the driver are exempt on trucks, buses, motor homes, and multipurpose passenger vehicles.

La. R.S. 32:361.1 (Acts 2025, No. 143)

May 29, 2025

Hawaii rewrites its tint law (Act 129)

Act 129 rewrote the tint statute: front side windows at 35% VLT minimum; windows behind the driver may be any darkness on most vehicle types, provided the vehicle has rearview mirrors on both sides. Mirrored or highly reflective finishes showing red, yellow, amber, or blue are banned on all windows, and fines went up sharply.

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 291-21.5 (Act 129, 2025)

2025

North Dakota darkens its front-window tint limit: 50% → 35% VLT

Front side windows may now be tinted to 35% VLT (previously 50%). Rear windows of any darkness require exterior mirrors on both sides.

N.D.C.C. § 39-21-39

January 1, 2025

Texas ends annual safety inspections for noncommercial vehicles

The annual inspection requirement is gone for noncommercial vehicles. Equipment laws still apply and are enforced at the roadside — the rules didn't change, only the inspection lane did.

September 17, 2024

New Hampshire names aftermarket LED light bars in statute

A new subsection targets the product directly: aftermarket LED light bars, flood-style pods, and roof or roll-bar mounted lights may not be illuminated on a public way. Off is enough — no cover is required.

RSA 266:37(IV)

September 12, 2024

New Hampshire expands medical tint permits

The 2024 change (c. 48) was about medical permits, not general legalization — it expanded the waiver path that allows darker-than-70% front tint for documented medical reasons.

RSA 266:58-a (2024, c. 48)

July 1, 2024

Vermont rewrites its accent-lighting law

Act 165 rewrote 23 V.S.A. § 1251: no blue light of any kind without a permit, no emergency-style warning lamps, and no flashing in any color other than amber — flashing amber on ordinary vehicles is now expressly tolerated. Red or blue displays without a permit fail inspection.

23 V.S.A. §§ 1251, 1254 (2023 Act 165)

May 2022

Utah darkens its front-window tint limit: 43% → 35% VLT

Front side windows may now be tinted to 35% VLT (previously 43%).

Utah Code § 41-6a-1635

October 9, 2021

New Hampshire legalizes front-window tint at 70% VLT

HB 224 (2021, c. 185) removed the ban on aftermarket tint beside the driver and set a 70% VLT floor. MPV and pickup windows behind the driver follow the federal standard. Many charts still date this to 2024 — the 2024 act was the medical-permit change above.

RSA 266:58-a (2021, c. 185)

March 1, 2021

Virginia makes tint a secondary offense

Police may not stop a vehicle solely for suspected window tint, and evidence from such a stop is inadmissible. This dates to the 2020 special session — not, as often repeated, to 2026.

Va. Code § 46.2-1052(P) (2020 Sp. Sess. I, cc. 45, 51)

January 1, 2027

California exhaust tickets start blocking registration

AB 2496's dormant provisions go operative: an exhaust citation requires a certificate of compliance, and without one within three months the DMV must refuse to renew the vehicle's registration. The pay-the-fine-and-stay-loud path ends.

Cal. Veh. Code §§ 27151.1, 40610 (AB 2496, 2022)

January 1, 2027

Hawaii bans ALL license plate covers — even clear ones

Act 12 of 2026 (signed May 14, 2026) bans every plate cover and shield regardless of transparency or intent, at no less than $1,000 per offense with each day a separate offense — and a covered plate can't pass inspection. It replaces 2025's intent-based ban (Act 124). The act is silent on frames; the separate unobscured-display rule is what keeps a non-covering frame lawful.

Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 286-73, 286-26 (Act 12, 2026)

January 1, 2027

Louisiana rewrites its plate-obscuring ban

Act 322 of 2026 (HB 846) rewrites R.S. 32:53(A)(3): any covering, film, coating, spray, frame, or bracket that impairs the visibility, legibility, or reflectivity of any plate feature from any angle is prohibited, with fines up to $75 for a first offense and $250 after that.

La. R.S. 32:53(A)(3) (Act 322 of 2026)

October 1, 2026

Florida narrows its plate-obstruction crime — frames expressly legal

SB 488 rewrites § 320.061: only the plate number and the registration decal are protected, and a frame or decorative border is expressly not an offense when both stay visible. The word 'Florida' and other design elements drop out of the protected list.

Fla. Stat. § 320.061 (SB 488, ch. 2026-39)

Passed both chambers June 2, 2026 — awaiting the Governor

New York A5306 would drop tint limits from 70% to 50%

A5306/S9226 passed both chambers and would lower the minimum for all side windows and the rear window from 70% to 50% VLT with a ±7% testing tolerance, effective 60 days after signing. As of our last check it had not been delivered to the Governor — New York's 70% limit is still the law.

Last checked September 23, 2026

New Jersey A4673 — a bill, not a law

A4673 would ban tint on the windshield (except above the AS-1 line) and the front side windows, and add a tint check to inspection. Introduced March 10, 2026 and still sitting in the Assembly Transportation Committee at our last check. Until something is signed and effective, New Jersey's rules on our pages stand.

Passed the Senate June 30, 2026 — pending in the Assembly

New Jersey S4265 targets plate covers and flipper devices

S4265 passed the Senate 40-0 and would create an obstructed-plate offense and ban selling or possessing plate-obscuring gear — flipper holders, reflective sprays, tinted covers — with fines up to $500, then $750, and points after a third offense. Still pending in the Assembly; not law.

Died May 29, 2026

Vermont's exhaust bill S.66 died in committee

If a chart tells you Vermont changed its exhaust law in 2026, it's wrong — S.66 passed the Senate (watered down to an outreach campaign along the way), then died in the House Transportation Committee when the session adjourned on May 29, 2026. Vermont's exhaust rules are unchanged.

Died at the 2026 sine die

Missouri did NOT go single-plate

Bill-summary sites circulate HB 2425 as if Missouri dropped its front-plate requirement in August 2026. The bill died in committee, and the DOR's official 2026 law-change list has no plate change — Missouri still requires a front plate.

Died May 14, 2026

South Carolina's 20% tint bill died in committee

H3151 would have cut the side and rear window minimum from 27% to 20% VLT. It never left committee and died when the session adjourned sine die — South Carolina's 27% rule stands.

Died April 2026

Alabama's squat-truck ban never passed

Headlines still quote HB 35's October 1, 2026 effective date — but the 'Alabama Squat Truck Law' died in the Senate when the session ended, never having passed both chambers. Alabama has no squat ban.

Died March 13, 2026

Florida's loud-exhaust package collapsed

Despite 'lawmakers OK exhaust ban' headlines, HB 543 passed each chamber in different forms and died in messages over an amendment dispute on March 13, 2026. Florida's exhaust rules are unchanged for 2026.

Killed March 12, 2026

New Hampshire's 35% tint bill died

HB 1178 would have dropped the front side-window minimum from 70% to 35%. The House killed it as Inexpedient to Legislate on March 12, 2026 — 70% is still the rule, and 35% is available only with a medical permit.