One question I commonly get asked when it comes to tinting is quite simply "what's legal?". So I thought I would share some information regarding window tint laws in Michigan as they vary from state to state. I will also note, while these laws are not as heavily enforced as they once were, they are still laws that you can be stopped and ticketed for.
The above link will take you directly to the states website regarding window tinting. The most important parts of it are copied word for word,
" (1) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle with any of the following:
(a) A sign, poster, nontransparent material, window application, reflective film, or nonreflective film upon or in the front windshield, the side windows immediately adjacent to the driver or front passenger, or the sidewings adjacent to and forward of the driver or front passenger, except that a tinted film may be used along the top edge of the windshield and the side windows or sidewings immediately adjacent to the driver or front passenger if the material does not extend more than 4 inches from the top of the windshield, or lower than the shade band, whichever is closer to the top of the windshield."
In simpler terms, it is not legal to put window tint on the front door windows or the front windshield.
Another part of this law that can sometimes be confused is,
"(b) A rear window or side window to the rear of the driver composed of, covered by, or treated with a material that creates a total solar reflectance of 35% or more in the visible light range, including a silver or gold reflective film."
This would lead you believe that you may only legally have 35% darkness on the window tint in the rear windows. That is incorrect! You are allowed, by law, to have the back windows of a vehicle tinted as dark as you would like. Solar Reflectance (SR) is a completely different measurement then Visible Light Transmission (VLR). VLR is the actual measurement of how dark window tint is. So a 5% VLR would be very dark while a 50% VLR would be very light. SR is a term that measures how reflective a film is, almost like a mirror would be 100% SR and completely clear glass would be closer to a 0% SR. Our window tint is all 8% SR or lower.
As noted earlier, it is still technically illegal for you to have window tint on your front door windows and you do take the risk of being stopped by law enforcement, but it is becoming more and more common as people look for ways to reduce glare, UV exposure, heat and also add some privacy.