Minnesota’s 2026 tint amendment expressly included optometrists

Minnesota signed Chapter 89 on May 12, 2026, expressly adding optometrists to the medical-documentation provisions for window glazing. The act applies retroactively from July 1, 2025, to prescriptions issued on or after that date.

The amendment inserted optometrist references alongside physicians in the medical-need statement, expiration and specified family or personal-care arrangements. It did not replace the documentation conditions with an unrestricted permission to install dark film.

The amended section requires a statement of the minimum light transmission needed. It also requires the prescription to distinguish temporary from permanent need. The usual expiration period is no more than two years, unless the provider indicates that the driver’s condition is permanent and an expiration date is inappropriate.

That permanent-condition provision was part of Chapter 5 in 2025. Reading the two acts together separates the earlier duration change from the later optometrist clarification. A customer’s provider and the contents and date of the paperwork all matter; a general claim of medical need is not the complete statutory test.