Can back windows be tinted darker?

Yes, back windows can be tinted darker. Within New South Wales, legally on a passenger vehicle, all windows behind the front driver and passenger doors can be tinted darker to the darkest legal limit of 20% VLT.

The front two windows need to be tinted slightly lighter to the darkest legal limit of 35% VLT. VLT or visible light transmittance is the percentage of filtered light that still passes through the window after it has been tinted. Essentially the smaller the number, the darker the tint.

Commercial vehicles that don’t have rear passenger seats still have the front window legal limit of 35% VLT however, all windows behind those front two have no legal limit and can be completely blacked out if privacy and security of stock and equipment in the back is the main objective.

Many states have laws that specify the types of film and tint that can be used on back windows. Most require a certain reflective value so that these windows are not completely blacked out and must be able to pass visibility from the outside. Be sure to check your local state’s regulations before having any window tinting done.

Within New South Wales, for passenger vehicles, the darkest legal tint for back windows is 20% visible light transmittance (VLT). On a commercial vehicle, if you don’t have rear passenger seats, all windows behind the front driver and passenger window can be completely blacked out, there is no legal limit.

Darker tints with lower VLT can make nighttime driving more difficult as they reduce the amount of light entering the vehicle, making it harder to see. It is important to consider this before tinting your windows, as you don’t want to compromise your safety while on the roads.

It is always a good idea to have your car windows tinted professionally as they will use window films and tints that meet the legal requirements of your state. This will help ensure that you drive safely and legally on the roads.

The darkness of a tint is not the only thing that can affect visibility through it. The quality of the tint used is of utmost importance. Budget tints, with their cheaper materials, exhibit a level of distortion when looking through them, both during the day and at nighttime. This can naturally affect your vision when looking out of your rear windows to check your blind spot before merging, amongst other things. If you would like to see a sample of the clear vision that is experienced from premium dark tints, please come in and see us at our Castle Hill showroom.

Some people feel that you can achieve a very dark tint by double-layering two window tints over the top of each other. There are a number of issues with this type of approach such as the fact that it is illegal to dual-tint car windows within Australia.