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Here's a quick reference chart that shows the various arguments about whether tint below 70% is legal in Pennsylvania.
It's up to you to decide whether we are ruled by Statutes, Codes, Federal Safety Standards, and State Inspection Regulations, on the one hand, or by Safety Bulletins, Newspaper Articles, and New Table Xs on the other.
YESThese are the LAWs that say such tinting is legal. |
NOThese are the apparent 'authorities' cited by some PA Police that tint less than 70% is illegal. |
| TITLE 75 of PA STATUTES - 4524 (e)(1) - This is the LAW passed by our legislators and it does NOT prohibit tint unless it "does not permit a person to see or view the inside of the vehicle through the windshield, side wing or side window of the vehicle." | SAFETY BULLETIN - This was sent to Inspection Stations years ago. It has lots of capital letters and asterisks and makes safety recommendations. |
| PA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TITLE 67 - CHAPTER 175.67 (d)(4) - These rules and regulations were written to clarify the laws. The PA Code only prohibits tint "unless otherwise permitted by FMVSS No. 205." | OCT 1996 - Another SAFETY BULLETIN for Inspections Stations to share with their customers. It includes a new TABLE X. |
| A Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, FMVSS No. 205 clearly permits tint below 70%. Read it! After all, most States require conformance with FMVSS205, but still permit tinting as low as 25%. | The neat New
TABLE X included with the above Safety Bulletin. Don't get it confused
with the original Table X that is part of the Inspection Requirements. In either case The PA CODE (see d 4) specifically excludes any tint "permitted by FMVSS No. 205" from the requirements of Table X. |
| PA INSPECTION REGULATIONS - PA Inspection Regulation do not prohibit tint below 70%. Inspection Station cannot reject a vehicle with legal tint. | The PA Bulletin is a legal newspaper. Here they discuss various recent changes to the PA CODE, none of which prohibit tint permitted by FMVSS205. |
| Most of the other States explicitly allow transmittances as low as 25%, yet still require conformance with FMVSS205. Certainly they aren't ALL wrong in their interpretation of FMVSS205. | Who needs all the laws and regulations on the left anyway? Some officers just "enforce Table X," although it's not clear which Table X they're refering to. |
"... the Department's interpretation that FMVSS 205...only allows window tinting that permits 70% or more light to transmit through the window."
Definition of "Material which does not permit a person to see or view the inside of the vehicle"
One cannot mistakingly apply the definition of the CODE to the STATUTE and come to the false conclusion that that tinting below 70% is prohibited. The CODE makes an explicit exception for tinting "permitted by FMVSS205."
| PA STATUTE
OR LAW TITLE 75 - CH 4524 (e)(1) |
PA
ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TITLE 67 - CH 175.67 (d)(4) |
|---|---|
| Definitions for this Statute - Here there is NO definition for "material which does not permit a person to see or view the inside." | Definitions for this CODE - As stated expicitly, these definitions ONLY APPLY when used in this chapter, NOT to the actual Statute. |
| Therefore it means exactly what it says! "material which does not permit a person to see or view the inside." | The Code does appear to prohibit, according to it's own definition, material less than 70%, but it makes an explicit exception; "unless otherwise permitted by FMVSS205." |
| The PA Statute only prohibits tint which "does not permit a person to see or view the inside..." | Because FMVSS205 does not prohibit tint less than 70%, the CODE does not either. |
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