I was asked this week about Michigan window tint laws because the reader has a sensitivity to sunlight. The reader asked if there is a state form that must be filled out by a physician in order to apply tint to the front side windows to protect their eyes.

Michigan law prohibits window tint on the windshield and the front seat side windows with the exception in MCL 257.709(3)(e). It states, “A special window treatment or application determined necessary by a physician or optometrist, for the protection of a person who is light sensitive or photosensitive, if the owner or operator of a motor vehicle has in possession a letter signed by a physician or optometrist, indicating that the special window treatment or application is a medical necessity. However, the special window treatment or application shall not interfere with or obstruct the driver’s clear vision of the highway or an intersecting highway.”

So there is not a medical necessity form that the state requires. To legally operate a vehicle with front side tinted windows, you need a physician’s letter. Be mindful that if you have a signed letter from a physician, it then should be listed as a restriction on your license with the Secretary of State which requires that you always drive a vehicle with tinted windows. Also, a doctor’s letter only authorizes the patient to operate a vehicle with tinted windows and it could be illegal for anyone else without a physician’s letter to operate the vehicle with tinted windows.

If you do not fall into the category of having a physician’s letter, the law that covers window tinting/applications is MCL 257.709. The use of tinting is limited to the rear side windows and the rear window only. It also allows for the top four inches of the windshield and front side windows to have tint. With the limited exception for medical necessity with a doctor’s prescription, it allows for tinting to be applied to the front windows as well. Michigan does not have a specification for the darkness of the window application, but does prohibit applications with a solar reflectivity greater than 35 percent. This means that the rear windows and the top four inches of the front windows can be as dark as the driver prefers, but cannot be more than 35 percent reflective.

Ashley Simpson is a Community Service Trooper for the MSP Alpena Post. If you have a question for Trooper Simpson, you can email her at asktroopersimpson@gmail.com.