TN Law changed as of Jul 1, 2009

I just found this through Film Magazine. Tennessee just changed their tint law where it now to a certain extent applies to out of state motorists. If you are driving from a different state into TN, the TN law requires you to comply with the law in your home state with one caveat, the front windows cannot be no darker than 35%.

TCA 55-9-107 (a)(6)(A)(iii) requires your vehicle to meet your state's specification and TCA 55-9-107 (a)(6)(B) adds in that no motor vehicle front door windows are exempt from the 35% standard.

One state for example is New Mexico which allows for 20% including the front door windows. A person from driving through TN with his legl 20% windows including front sides is subject to being ticketed due to his front door windows.

Seems like the trend with tint laws now is they are changed and non-residents are now included in being cited along with residents. When GA changed their law, it was talked about that out of state drivers have to comply. Same happened with the MO tint law. So a person from NM travels from there to Florida with his 20% windows. He makes a stop in Denver, CO to pick up family then heads to FL. He doesn't have to worrky about a tint ticket in CO, KS, IL or KY but the rest, he is subect to a ticket. The route would be CO, KS, MO, IL, KY, TN, GA, and FL.

So states that now include non-residents in enforcement are CA, UT, VA, TN, GA, IN, IL, WI, WA, OR, NY, VT by looking at tint statutes. Most states law enforcement usually don't waste their time with out of state motorists on tint. Personal experience, I traveled in all those states and only been hassled in UT for tint.

It is from HB1187, cut and pasted below:


HOUSE BILL 1187
By Matlock


AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55,
Chapter 9, Part 1, relative to motor vehicle window
tinting.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-9-107, is amended by deleting
subsection (a) in its entirety and by substituting instead the following language:
(a)
(1) It is unlawful for any person to operate, upon a public highway, street or road,
any motor vehicle, in which any window that has a visible light transmittance equal to,
but not less than, that specified in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205,
has been altered, treated or replaced by the affixing, application or installation of any
material that:
(A) Has a visible light transmittance of less than thirty-five percent (35%);
or
(B) With the exception of the manufacturer's standard installed shade
band, reduces the visible light transmittance in the windshield below seventy
percent (70%).
(2) Any person who installs window tinting materials in this state for profit, barter,
or wages or commissions is defined as a “professional installer” for the purposes of this
section, and it is unlawful for a professional installer to apply tinting materials to any
motor vehicle so as to cause such motor vehicle to be in violation of this section.
(3) All professional installers of window tinting materials shall supply and shall
affix to the lower right corner of the driver's window an adhesive label, the size and style
of which shall be determined by the commissioner of safety, which includes:
(A) The installer's business name; and
(B) The legend “Complies with Tennessee Code Annotated, § 55-9-107.”
(4) All professional installers of window tinting materials shall supply each
customer with a signed receipt for each motor vehicle to which tinting materials have
been applied that includes:
(A) Date of installation;
(B) Make, model, paint color and license plate number and state;
© The legend “Complies with Tennessee Code Annotated, § 55-9-107,
at date of installation”; and
(D) The legend “This receipt shall be kept with motor vehicle registration
documents.”
(5) The owner of any vehicle in question has the burden of proof that the motor
vehicle is in compliance with this section.
(6)
(A) The restrictions of this subsection (a) do not apply to any of the
following motor vehicles:
(i) Any motor vehicle model permitted by federal regulations to be
equipped with certain windows tinted so as not to conform to the
specifications of subdivision (a)(1)(A) with respect to those certain
windows;
(ii) Any motor vehicle bearing commercial license plates, or
government service license plates that are used for law enforcement
purposes, for those windows rearward of the front doors; and
(iii) Any motor vehicle that is registered in another state and meets
the requirements of the state of registration.
(B) This subdivision (a)(6) shall not be construed in any way to exempt
the front door windows of any motor vehicle of any kind from the specifications of
subdivision (a)(1)(A).
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009, the public welfare requiring it.

don't see how that would ever stand in court......

sort of like you can't have a purple car somewhere but you can in your state..... can you change the color?

no police, even state police, can enforce another starts laws. thats the ending argument in court right there.

troopers here will ticket you if you're illegal. they don't care what state you're from. "you're in this state, you follow this state's laws."

I would guess the intent at some point was to keep folks living near a state line Ex: Texarkana, from having their car registed in Texas but using the car mostly in Arkansas.

===

Seems to me the states are looking for other ways to make money$$$$...

If everyone goes to CA standard it would be 30% or less.. if your legal..

Thats just crazy, doesn't surprise me though

Bingo thats what I was thinking
...

I remember the dumbasses around here that thought when georgia (i'm in GA) took out their tint laws.. they thought that it would be a good idea to get really dark windows because it was legal.. I tried to warn them they were bringing it back in, but noone listens all they hear is what they want to hear. I still have tards thinking that there is no tint law here in georgia, but as we all know there is.. and they can get you out of state guys now... we have two big military bases within say 75 miles (moody and albany mclb) .. alot of those guys were from out of state and it became a problem because officers could not ticket them because they had another state registration.
My real only complaint with the law is that I think the fronts (and cars) should be allowed at %20... but of course people would then want to go one step lower .

Here in GA its %32 all on a car
no limit on rear of trucks & SUV's two fronts have to be %35
6 " Sun strip

Police cars and limos are allowed to be as dark as they want..
Commercial vehicles (tractor trailers etc) %72

I know this is an older topic, but, they also changed the law in '07 to allow " govt. service vehicles " to be tinted darker.

My question about TN`s law is this. Our law states "(a)
(1) It is unlawful for any person to operate, upon a public highway, street or road,
any motor vehicle, in which any window that has a visible light transmittance equal to,
but not less than, that specified in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205,
has been altered, treated or replaced by the affixing, application or installation of any
material that:
(A) Has a visible light transmittance of less than thirty-five percent (35%)"

by that, I cannot install any FILM with a VLT of less than 35%. But, everywhere you look up state laws, TN is listed as a Net Value state. We all know if you install 35% on the glass, its gonna meter lower than that. Our law doesn`t state it can`t meter lower than 35%, only that I can`t install anything lower than 35%.

I`ve been at this for a long time ( since 1990 when it changed from 20% to 35%), and I have never found someone to explain this to me. Matter of fact, I have gone to court with several customers who have received tint tickets from a meter, and have beaten the tickets by pleading
this same point with the Judges. Anybody got an thoughts on this, especially you TN guys ?

Was just searching for info like this! I was wondering if a vehicle that is registered in one state could be ticketed for tint in another state (registered in GA but in RI or MA for example). I'd like they'd let it slide for out of state drivers unless they really wanted to generate some revenue.