Are Tinted Motorcycle Visors Legal in the US? State Guide

Last checked: 15 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Written by the ClearLine team.

Are tinted motorcycle visors legal in the US? There is no single national answer, because no federal law sets how dark a motorcycle visor or face shield may be. Eye protection is state law, and the states disagree. We read the statute or administrative code for every state and DC, and this guide reports what each one actually says, with the citation, so you can check your own state rather than trust a summary.

The short answer: federal law is silent on visor tint. Of the 46 jurisdictions we could verify, 8 restrict tinted eye protection at night or in low light: Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. None of the 46 bans tint in daylight outright. Most are simply silent, and silence is not a permit.

• No federal rule: FMVSS 218 covers helmets only and never mentions visors or tint.
• Night restrictions: 8 verified states, each with its own wording.
• Numbers in law, per the state statutes and regulations cited below: only South Dakota (35%), Washington (85% for clear) and Louisiana (85% clear, 20% to 85% tinted).
• Five states (CT, GA, IA, MS, TN) could not be confirmed from the primary source statute text.

Are tinted motorcycle visors legal in the US? What federal law covers

The federal motorcycle helmet standard is FMVSS No. 218, published at 49 CFR 571.218 on the eCFR. Its scope clause says it “establishes minimum performance requirements for helmets designed for use by motorcyclists and other motor vehicle users.” A full-text search of the section finds no use of the words shield, visor, tint or transmittance.

The only vision rule in FMVSS 218 is about the helmet itself: it must leave at least 105 degrees of peripheral vision clearance on each side. Nothing in it tells you how much light a visor must let through. So the federal standard simply does not reach the question most riders are asking.

NHTSA was asked to change that. In its 2011 final rule, published in the Federal Register at 76 FR 28132, commenters recommended “adoption of face shield tests, based on VESC-8 specifications.” NHTSA replied that it was “not making any of the substantive changes that these commenters requested at this time.” That is still where federal law sits.

What the DOT sticker does and does not mean

The DOT label on a helmet is the maker’s own certification. FMVSS 218 says the label constitutes “the manufacturer’s certification that the helmet conforms to the applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards”, and federal law (49 USC 30115) places that duty on the manufacturer. DOT does not test and approve each helmet before sale.

Because the standard covers the helmet and not the shield, a DOT sticker tells you nothing about a visor’s tint. A “DOT approved visor” is not a category that federal law creates. Treat any listing that claims one with caution.

Is eye protection required where you ride?

Before tint even comes up, the first question is whether your state requires eye protection at all. The states fall into three groups, plus five we could not confirm from the statute text.

• Required, with no windshield exception (11): Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia.
• Required unless the bike has a windshield, or only for some riders (22): Alaska, Arizona, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana (under 18 only), Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina (under 21 only), South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.
• Not required (13): Alabama, California, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Wyoming.
• Not confirmed from statute text (5): Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee.

Where a windshield counts, some states set a height. Alaska’s rule and Wisconsin both use 15 inches above the handlebars, Kansas uses at least 10 inches, and Illinois requires the shield to sit above the rider’s eyes. Others, such as New Jersey, New Mexico, South Carolina and DC, require an approved windscreen type.

Ohio’s administrative code goes the other way and lists a qualifying windscreen as an eye protective device. Colorado accepts a helmet with built-in eye protection but does not accept a windshield. Read your own state’s row in the table below before relying on a windscreen.

States that restrict tinted visors at night

These are the eight states where we found verified wording that limits tinted eye protection after dark or in poor light. Each one words the rule differently, so the exact text matters. If you ride at night in any of them, a clear replacement visor is the straightforward option.

Florida

Florida requires eye protection for operators, and its rule 15B-1.007 of the Florida Administrative Code says: “Any tinted device should not impair the wearer’s ability to see color and shall not be used at night.” Florida’s definition of eyeglasses also accepts sunglasses. The requirement itself sits in Florida Statutes § 316.211.

Hawaii

Hawaii’s administrative rules (HAR 19-124) require lenses and shields to be “transparent.” They also bar any device that is “smoked, shaded, or tinted” for sun shading from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. The eye protection requirement applies when the bike has no windshield (HRS 286-81).

Louisiana

Louisiana is the most detailed state on paper. Its statute (Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:190.1) and administrative code (LAC 55:III.1119 to 1128) say: “Eye protective devices used at night shall not be tinted.” The code, per LAC 55:III.1119, defines a clear device as one transmitting at least 85% of light, and a tinted device as less than 85% but at least 20%. Tinted devices must be marked “day use only”.

Maryland

Maryland’s regulations (COMAR 11.13.05) say that while vehicles must display lights, “only nontinted (clear) materials shall be used in face shields, goggles, and spectacles.” The statute, Maryland Transportation Article § 21-1306, requires eye protection for operators unless the bike has a windscreen. The regulation’s wording on passengers is broader than the statute’s, and the statute generally controls.

South Dakota

South Dakota’s law is the only one with a single darkness threshold tied to night riding. SDCL 32-20-4.1 says no person may operate a motorcycle “during the time period when headlights must be lighted while wearing an eye protective device that is tinted or shaded to reduce the light transmittance of the device to a level below thirty-five percent.” A violation is a petty offense.

Vermont

Vermont’s statute (title 23, §§ 1256 and 1257) requires “colorless” lenses from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. The same applies whenever visibility is insufficient. Eye protection is required when the bike has no windshield or screen.

Washington

Washington’s rule, WAC 204-10-026, says: “If the EPD is tinted it must not be used at any time from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.” It also bars tint whenever poor light means people and vehicles are not clearly discernible at 500 feet. A clear device must, per the rule, transmit at least 85% of light, and the statute behind the rule is RCW 46.37.530.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Statutes § 347.485, as quoted in the official WisDOT Motorcyclists’ Handbook, says “eye protection worn during hours of darkness may not be tinted or darkened.” Prescription photosensitive corrective lenses are allowed at night. We read this wording through the official handbook because the statute site would not load, so re-check it before relying on it.

The only numbers in US law: 35%, 85% and 20%

VLT, or visible light transmission, is the share of visible light a lens lets through. A higher number means a lighter lens, so a visor at 85% is close to clear and one at 20% is very dark. You will see percentages quoted across forums as if they were national rules, and they are not. Every figure below comes from the state statute or regulation named in the section above.

No other state we verified writes a percentage into its eye protection law. A figure from one state does not apply anywhere else, and none of these is a US-wide floor. For a plain guide to how tints differ in practice, see our visor tint options explained.

“Transparent face shield”: what the wording says

Several states require a “transparent” face shield without defining the word: Arizona, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio, plus Illinois for its “transparent shield” option. None of the texts we read says that transparent means untinted. A lightly tinted shield is still something you can see through, but no definition settles the point either way.

We report the wording only and do not interpret it. If you ride in one of these states and want certainty, ask the state’s highway safety office or a local attorney how the word is applied.

Markings some states require

A few states care about what is printed on the lens or the packaging, not only about how dark it is. VESC-8 is a 1980 interstate-compact standard for motorcyclists’ eye protection. The commission behind it no longer exists, but the standard survives because some states wrote it into their rules.

• Kentucky: eye protection must meet VESC-8, with lenses marked “VESC-8” or “V-8” (601 KAR 14:010).
• Washington: the same “V-8” mark, and tinted devices must carry the packaging line “This tinted eye protective device is for daytime use only.”
• Louisiana: tinted devices must be marked “day use only”.
• New York and New Jersey: reference ANSI Z87.1, an occupational eye protection standard; Oklahoma uses it for goggles and eyewear.
• South Carolina, Alaska and West Virginia: reference ANSI Z2.1, an older predecessor standard.
• Wyoming: bars anyone from selling an “eye protection device for motorists” unless the state superintendent has approved it (Wyoming Statutes § 31-5-934).

ClearLine does not test or certify markings on individual visors, and no product we sell is approved, certified or marked for any US state. If your state requires a mark, check the lens you are buying for it.

Mirrored, iridium and photochromic visors

We found no US statute or regulation that names mirrored or iridium finishes. Where a state restricts them, it does so through general tint or light-transmission wording, usually tied to night riding, or through the undefined “transparent” requirement. So the question for any reflective finish is the same as for any tint: does your state restrict tinted eye protection at the time you are riding?

Photochromic visors are not named in any statute we read either. In the night-rule states, what counts is whether the device is tinted, or below a stated light transmission. Whether a given light-adaptive visor counts as clear in its lightest state depends on the product, and we have no test data for it.

If you are weighing up finishes, our photochromic visors and iridium visors pages list what fits your helmet. We present reflective finishes as track and off-road choices, and our guide to photochromic visors at night explains how they behave after dark. State the law, check it, and decide for yourself.

State-by-state table

“Silent” means the provisions we read contain no tint, darkness or light-transmission wording. It does not mean tint is permitted, because general equipment rules, local ordinances and officer discretion may still apply. All sources were read on 15 October 2026.

Northeast

South and DC

Midwest

West

Sources and how we checked

Every verified row comes from a primary source read on 15 October 2026: the state statute, the administrative code, or an official DMV, state police or highway safety publication. For a few states the official site would not load, so we read the same text through a public mirror (Arkansas, California, Indiana, New Mexico) or Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (administrative codes for Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and New York).

Five states stay unverified because we could not read the statute itself. Several state administrative codes were not checked and could hold tint rules we did not see. Laws change, so re-check your own state before you rely on any row, and we will re-verify the night-rule states before each update.

Riding in Great Britain instead? The rules there are different and are covered in our separate guide to tinted visors in Great Britain, alongside the Highway Code’s rules for motorcyclists.

Visors and inserts mentioned in this guide

• AGV K6 Replacement Visor — Iridium, Smoke, Clear Tints
• replacement visors for the AGV K6
• Clear visors for night riding
• Photochromic visors
• Iridium and mirrored visors
• Find the visor that fits your helmet

Frequently asked questions

Are tinted motorcycle visors legal in the US?

There is no single US answer, because no federal law sets visor tint and rider eye protection is state law. Of the 46 jurisdictions we verified, 8 restrict tinted eye protection at night or in low light: Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Most of the rest are silent on tint, and silence is not a permit, so check your own state.

Is there a federal DOT rule on visor tint?

No. FMVSS 218 covers helmets only, and its text never mentions shields, visors, tint or light transmission. NHTSA declined requests to add VESC-8 face shield tests in 2011.

Does the DOT sticker on my helmet mean my visor is approved?

No. The DOT label is the helmet maker’s own certification that the helmet meets FMVSS 218. The standard has no visor or tint requirements, so the sticker says nothing about the shield.

Can I ride at night with a tinted visor?

Not in the 8 night-rule states: Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin each restrict tinted eye protection after dark in their own wording. Elsewhere, the laws we read are silent. Some official rider manuals advise against tinted eye protection at night, but that advice is not law.

How dark is too dark? Is there a VLT percentage?

Only three states put a number in the law, according to the statutes and regulations we read. South Dakota bans a device below 35% light transmission while headlights are required, Washington defines clear as at least 85%, and Louisiana defines clear as at least 85% and tinted as 20% up to 85%. None of these is a national rule.

Are mirrored or iridium visors banned anywhere in the US?

We found no US statute or regulation that names mirrored or iridium finishes. Where a state restricts them, it does so through general tint or light-transmission rules, usually at night, or through a requirement that a shield be transparent.

Do visors need special markings in some states?

Yes, in a few. Kentucky and Washington require a VESC-8 or V-8 mark, Washington and Louisiana require tinted devices to carry a day-use marking, and New York and New Jersey reference ANSI Z87.1. Check the lens for any mark your state requires.