4 min read
The most common question in the shop is some version of "how dark should I go." The honest answer is that darkness and heat are two different things, and Georgia law decides part of it for you.
Darkness is not heat rejection
Tint percentage is VLT, the share of visible light the film lets through. A lower number is darker. Heat, though, mostly arrives as infrared, which you cannot see. A cheap 5 percent dyed film can look pitch black and still let most of the heat through, while a 70 percent ceramic film can look nearly clear and block far more infrared. If staying cool is the goal, the film type matters more than the shade.
What is legal in Georgia
Georgia changed its tint law on July 1, 2026. For passenger cars, the front door windows must now let 28 percent or more of light through, and the rear door windows and back glass must let 15 percent or more through, each with a 3 point tolerance. Nothing can be more than 20 percent reflective, and the windshield only allows a transparent strip on the top six inches. Trucks, SUVs, and vans built as multipurpose vehicles are exempt on the rear glass. A medical exemption through the Georgia Department of Public Safety is possible with a physician or optometrist's attestation. The full breakdown is on our Georgia tint law page.
Our most popular combinations
For a sedan that stays legal everywhere, 35 percent ceramic on all the side and rear glass is still the classic look, and it meters comfortably inside the new 28 percent front limit on most factory glass. The 2026 law opened up the back of a sedan, so the combination we now fit most is 35 percent on the front doors with 20 percent on the rear doors and back glass. That reads as one dark shade from the outside and meters legal on every window. Drivers with a truck or SUV often run 35 percent on the fronts to match a darker factory rear. For heat without the dark look, a 70 percent clear ceramic on the fronts does more for cabin temperature than any dark dyed shade.
If you want it darker than the law
Be honest with yourself about the trade. A front door below 28 percent is a misdemeanor for the driver and for the shop that installed it, which is why we will not do it without a Georgia DPS medical exemption on file. It also makes night driving harder. If privacy is the goal, keep the fronts legal and spend the budget on ceramic film and the rear glass, where Georgia now allows 15 percent on any passenger car and anything you like on a multipurpose vehicle.
The shade visualizer
The home page has a visualizer with every shade we install, from 70 percent down to 5 percent, so you can see the look before you book. If you still cannot decide, book an appointment and we will hold the actual film against your window.