Guide
Nobody local publishes this, so people guess and end up with a ticket. VLT means visible light transmission — how much light gets through. Lower number, darker glass.
The limits
Front sides: Fla. Stat. § 316.2953. Behind the driver: § 316.2954. A ±3% tolerance applies to every measurement under § 316.2955(2).
The trap
A police meter does not measure the film on its own. It measures the whole window. Your factory glass already blocks some light before any film goes near it — it typically passes about 70 to 80%.
So a film sold as “35%” lands at roughly 0.35 × 0.78 = 27% once it is on the car. Under the limit. On a window a shop told you was fine.
To actually read 28% on the glass, the film itself needs to measure around 36% or higher. We use a 40% film on front windows, which lands in the low thirties on most cars — comfortably legal with the tolerance.
We meter every window after fitting and write the reading on your invoice. Keep it in the glovebox.
Your vehicle class
Florida does not say SUV. It says multipurpose passenger vehicle, which is a federal definition. Plenty of car-shaped crossovers are not one, and getting it wrong means 6% film on a car that legally needs 15%.
You do not have to guess. Open your driver’s door and look at the certification sticker on the jamb. It says PASS CAR, MPV or TRUCK. That word decides your rear limit.
We photograph it on every job before cutting anything.
Myths
This appears on a lot of tint websites. Neither § 316.2953 nor § 316.2954 names a single colour. The statutes set numbers for light transmission and reflectance, and that is all. Any film meeting the numbers is legal.
It is 25% on the front sides and 35% behind the driver. Two different sections, two different numbers.
No. Only a non-reflective strip above the AS-1 line, which is marked on the glass itself near the top.
It does, and it is the installer’s job. § 316.2955 requires a self-destructive vinyl label inside the left door jamb showing the film’s trade name and the installer’s business name. Fitting film without it is a second-degree misdemeanour — and it lands on the installer, not on you.
A medical exemption belongs to a specific vehicle, not a person, and it comes with a certificate that lives in the glovebox. We need to see it before fitting anything darker than the limits above.