Kansas Window Tint Laws: What Is Actually Legal
Kansas tint limits by vehicle type, what the AS-1 line means, and why SUVs get to go darker than sedans. Written by a Manhattan KS tint shop.
Almost every week someone comes into the shop having read three different things online about what is legal in Kansas. Usually one of those things was written for a different state. Here is how it actually works, and the one rule that surprises most people.
The short version
Kansas measures tint by visible light transmission, or VLT: the percentage of light the film lets through the glass. A lower number is darker. 35% VLT lets about a third of the light through. 5% is what most people call limo tint.
The legal limit depends on what you drive and which window you are talking about.
Sedans
On a passenger car, Kansas holds every window to the same standard:
| Window | Limit |
|---|---|
| Front side windows | 35% VLT or lighter |
| Rear side windows | 35% VLT or lighter |
| Rear windshield | 35% VLT or lighter |
So on a Camry or a Civic, 35% is as dark as you can legally go, front to back.
SUVs, vans, and trucks
This is the rule almost nobody knows, and it is the reason two customers get different answers to the same question.
On a multi-purpose vehicle, which covers SUVs, vans, and most trucks, only the front side windows are held to 35%. Behind the front seats there is no limit:
| Window | Limit |
|---|---|
| Front side windows | 35% VLT or lighter |
| Rear side windows | Any darkness |
| Rear windshield | Any darkness |
If you drive a Tahoe, a Silverado, or a Pilot, you can legally run 20%, 15%, or even 5% on everything behind the front doors. Plenty of people go dark in the back for privacy and heat, and keep the fronts at the legal 35%. It looks intentional and it is completely legal.
The windshield and the AS-1 line
Kansas allows non-reflective film on the windshield above the AS-1 line. That is not a measurement you guess at. It is a small marking etched into the glass by the manufacturer, usually a few inches down from the top, often labeled “AS-1” near the edge.
You will see other states described in inches, which is where a lot of the online confusion comes from. Kansas goes by the line on your glass, and where that line falls varies from vehicle to vehicle.
Two rules people miss
Dual side mirrors are required if your back window is tinted. Nearly every modern vehicle already has them, but if you are driving something older with a single mirror, this one matters.
Kansas does not issue medical exemptions. Some states let you apply for a waiver to run darker film for a medical condition. Kansas does not. If someone tells you they can get you a medical pass for 20% fronts in Kansas, they are wrong.
Film also cannot be red, amber, or yellow, and cannot have a metallic or mirrored look on the front or rear side windows.
Is 20% or 35% darker?
20% is darker. Lower number, less light through the glass, darker window. It comes up constantly because the numbers feel backwards until you know they describe light transmission rather than darkness.
For reference: 50% is a light, mostly-invisible tint that still cuts heat. 35% is the Kansas legal limit for front windows and reads as a clear, factory-looking tint. 20% is noticeably dark and reads as privacy glass. 5% is limo tint, and you cannot see in at all.
What happens if your tint is too dark
Illegal tint is a non-moving violation in Kansas, and the fine varies by county once court costs are added. The ticket is usually not the expensive part.
The expensive part is what comes after: you can be required to remove the film and show proof that the vehicle now complies. That means paying to strip the illegal tint, then paying again to have legal film installed. You have now bought the same window three times.
This is why we install to the legal limit by default. If a shop offers to put 20% on your front windows in Kansas, they are handing you a problem that costs more to fix than the job was worth.
How we handle it
When you book, tell us what you drive and we will tell you exactly how dark you can legally go on each window. On an SUV that usually means legal 35% up front and whatever you want in the back, which gets you the look most people are actually after without any risk.
If you already have film that is too dark, we do removals and can re-tint the same day in most cases.
This is a plain-language summary of Kansas tint law as we apply it every day in the shop, not legal advice. The governing statute is K.S.A. 8-1749a. Enforcement details can vary by jurisdiction.