Window Tint for Kids: Car Seat Shades, Clear UV Film, and Medical Exemptions for Children

How do I protect my child from the sun in the car?

Start with the simple layers. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises keeping babies under 6 months out of direct sunlight and using shade, and dressing children in loose, tightly woven clothing, a hat with a brim, and sunglasses with at least 99% UV protection. Those same steps work in the car.

Then look at the windows. Ordinary side windows let through more UVA than the windshield, as our guide to UV and car windows explains. A few low-cost changes can make a big difference:

• Seat placement. If your child's seat position allows it, the side away from the afternoon sun on your usual routes gets less direct light.
• Removable shades on the rear side windows.
• Clear UV film on the rear side windows, or on every window that your state allows.
• Sun-safe clothing and a hat, and sunscreen as your pediatrician advises for your child's age.

Car seat shades and removable window shades

Cling and suction-cup shades are popular because they are cheap and easy to move. A few practical points:

• Keep the driver's view clear. Shades belong on rear side windows, not the windshield or the driver's side mirror view.
• Check your state's rules. Some states treat anything on the glass like tint, while others carve out removable shades. Maryland's law, for example, says easily removable shades used to protect a child under 10 are not covered by its tint limit.
• Follow your car seat's manual. Use any canopy or cover only the way the car seat maker allows, and do not add products to the seat itself that the manual does not approve.
• Watch the heat. Shades block some sun, but a parked car can still get hot quickly. Never leave a child alone in a car.

Clear UV film and legal rear tint

Window film can block UV without being dark. Many quality films block most UV even when they look nearly clear, so you can add protection on the front side windows and still meet the limit. The tint meter reads the glass and film together, so ask the installer what each window will read with the film on. Our guide is my window tint legal? walks through how to check.

Behind the driver, many states are more relaxed. Texas and Iowa allow any darkness on the rear side windows, and several states allow darker rear windows if the car has outside mirrors on both sides. Check the rear limits for your state before you pay for anything darker.

Can a child get a medical tint exemption?

In some states, yes. Children with certain conditions, such as xeroderma pigmentosum, albinism or porphyria, can be harmed by sunlight that passes through car windows. Where a state's exemption can be based on a passenger, the car the child regularly rides in may qualify.

Here is how a few states word it, based on our verified state pages:

• [Texas](/states/texas): a defense applies when the driver or a passenger must be shielded from the sun for a medical reason.
• [New Jersey](/states/new-jersey): the owner of a vehicle regularly used to carry a person with a qualifying photosensitivity may apply, though the exemption allows only light film.
• [Ohio](/states/ohio): the rule covers a vehicle registered in the name of the person or the person's parent, legal guardian or spouse.
• [Oregon](/states/oregon): the document can say that the registered owner or another person in their household has the condition.
• [Washington](/states/washington): the law covers a vehicle driven by or carrying a person with written verification from a licensed physician.

Other states tie the exemption to the driver only, and some states have no medical exemption at all. Our guide to exemptions for passengers and family members covers this in more detail.

How the process works for a child

1. 1Check your state. Confirm that your state's exemption can cover a passenger and see whether it requires a state form. Your state page explains the process.
2. 2Gather the medical history. The diagnosis, how sunlight affects your child, any reactions in the car, and the names of treating doctors.
3. 3Complete the evaluation as the parent or guardian. You answer the questions on your child's behalf. A physician reviews the case and decides.
4. 4Complete any state step. Some states need a form, permit or decal in addition to the physician's statement.
5. 5Keep the paperwork in the car the child rides in, along with any state document.

What an exemption will not change

A child's exemption does not make every window legal at any darkness. Many states still restrict the windshield, ban mirrored film, or set a floor for exempt vehicles. Read what a medical tint exemption does not cover before you choose a film.

How ShadedMD can help

In states that offer a medical route, a parent or legal guardian can complete ShadedMD's 5-minute questionnaire for a minor. A physician licensed in your state reviews it, and if the child is approved, a certificate in the child's name is emailed to you. It is one flat $129, with a 30-day money-back guarantee if the physician cannot approve the case. See if your child qualifies. This article is general information, not medical or legal advice.

Frequently asked questions