Alberta Window Tint Laws

Alberta’s tint rules are short and strict. You can’t put any film on the windshield or on the side windows beside and in front of the driver. The rear side windows and the back glass can be as dark as you want, as long as the vehicle has an outside mirror on each side. This page goes through the regulation window by window, explains the medical exemption, and clears up the percentage numbers you’ll see on other websites.

What the regulation says

The rules are in the Vehicle Equipment Regulation, Alta Reg 122/2009, section 70. Section 70(1) reads:

The wording matters. It doesn’t say “too dark.” It says the glass can’t be covered with any material that is transparent, translucent or opaque. Clear film is transparent, so clear film is covered by the rule too. There is no shade of film that makes the windshield or the front side windows legal on a vehicle driven on Alberta roads.

The rear side windows and the back glass are treated differently. You can cover them with film of any darkness, as long as the vehicle has an outside mirror on both the left and right side, which is the requirement in section 74(2). Almost every vehicle sold today has both mirrors, so for most people this condition is already met.

Window by window

On a pickup with a sliding rear window or an SUV with a third row, the same split applies. Everything behind the driver can be tinted. Everything beside or in front of the driver can’t.

There is no legal percentage in Alberta

A lot of websites list a “legal VLT” for Alberta front windows. VLT means visible light transmission, which is the share of light that gets through the glass and film. Those pages are wrong. Section 70 doesn’t mention a percentage anywhere. The front-window rule is a ban on covering the glass, so there is no number to meet.

The confusion usually comes from other places. Most other provinces and most US states do set a percentage for front side windows, and those numbers get copied onto pages about Alberta. You’ll also see people talk about a tint strip across the top of the windshield down to a line marked on the glass. That marking comes from US rules. Alberta has no AS-1 line, and a tint strip across the top of the windshield is still film on the windshield.

If someone tells you a certain front shade is “legal in Alberta,” ask them which section of the regulation says so. They won’t be able to point to one.

What is allowed on the front of the vehicle

The ban is on adding film. Glass that came tinted from the vehicle manufacturer is fine, and so is a replacement windshield or side window that matches the factory glass. Clear, untinted frost shields are also permitted.

Reflective film is a separate rule. Film that reflects headlights or sunlight into other drivers’ eyes isn’t allowed on any window, front or rear. The 3M films we install are non-reflective.

The medical exemption

Alberta has a medical exemption, but it covers a short list of conditions. You can apply only if you have a diagnosed skin cancer (melanoma, basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma) or Bullous Pemphigus. Other conditions that make people sensitive to light, such as photophobia, migraines, cataracts and rosacea, don’t qualify.

Here is how the exemption works:

• You apply to the province with a letter from your doctor that states your condition.
• The permit costs $55.
• If you’re approved, you can put clear UV-blocking film on the front side windows. The combined light transmission of the glass and the film has to be at least 50%.
• You have to carry the permit in the vehicle.

For the application and current details, call Alberta Transportation Vehicle Standards at 780-427-8901. If you have a permit, bring it with you and we’ll install film that fits its conditions.

Penalties

We don’t publish a dollar amount for tint tickets. The amount is set by the province’s penalty schedule and it changes over time, so any number we printed here could be out of date. If you want the current amount, call Vehicle Standards at 780-427-8901.

What doesn’t change is the rule itself. Because the front-window rule is a ban and not a darkness limit, a light film on the front windows breaks the rule just as much as a dark one.

Vehicles from outside Alberta

Each province and state sets its own tint rules. We install front-window film on vehicles registered outside Alberta. Before you book, check what the province or state your vehicle is registered in allows, because that’s up to you.

What we install, and for whom

For a vehicle that’s registered in Alberta and driven on public roads, we recommend tinting the rear side windows and the back glass only. That’s what our “back windows” package covers, and it’s fully legal at any darkness.

We install front-window and windshield film for three kinds of customers:

• Show vehicles and off-road vehicles that aren’t driven on public roads.
• Vehicles registered outside Alberta.
• Drivers who hold an Alberta medical exemption permit.

Some of the packages on our price list include the front windows or the windshield because those customers need them. If you choose one of those packages for an Alberta-registered vehicle that you drive on the road, you take on the legal risk. We’ll always tell you which parts of a package are road-legal before we start.

Choosing a rear shade

Since there’s no darkness limit on the rear windows, the choice comes down to what you want. Dark film gives you more privacy in the back seat and hides what’s in the cargo area. Lighter film keeps it easier to see out the back at night. If your main goal is a cooler cabin, the type of film matters more than the darkness. A 3M Ceramic IR or 3M Crystalline film keeps out more heat than a darker carbon film. Our guide to tint types explains the difference.

This page is general information based on Alta Reg 122/2009 and the Government of Alberta’s tint exemption information. It isn’t legal advice.

Ready to tint your rear windows? See our prices.