Delaware enacts 50% front-side tint provision

Delaware has enacted a new front-side window tint provision, with a 50% visible-light-transmission threshold for the tint or other material applied to those windows. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 255 was signed and took effect on August 17, 2026, according to the General Assembly’s legislative record.

The final substitute differs from the original proposal, which contemplated 35%. The legislature’s synopsis describes the previous front-side requirement as 70%, with a medical exception. These are distinct stages of the legislation; the enacted substitute uses 50%.

The current Delaware Code applies the new provision to the side windows immediately beside the driver and the forward side wings. It separately permits material with light transmission of 0% or greater on side windows behind the driver and the rear window. The windshield provision still concerns transparent material along its top edge that does not intrude into the AS-1 area. Medical and specified vehicle exceptions also remain in the section.

There is an important wording distinction for anyone comparing product specifications. The statute describes the light transmission of the applied material. The state’s posted tint regulation, by contrast, still describes a 70% requirement for film and vehicle glass together.

The sources reviewed do not explain how inspection practice has reconciled that older regulation with the new statute. This report therefore does not treat a film labeled 50% as a guarantee that a particular installed window meets every applicable requirement.