Window Tint Guide: Understand
The SC Tint Certificate of Compliance Sticker: What It Must Say
Look closely at the lower corner of a legally tinted window in South Carolina and you will find a small label sealed under the film. That is the certificate of compliance, and the tint law requires one on every window that carries aftermarket film, whether a professional installed it or the owner did.
It is easy to overlook, but it does real work. It records what film went on, who put it there and when. This guide covers what the statute and the state regulation require, how to tell a proper certificate from a missing or meaningless one, and what the penalties are for skipping it.
The short answer
South Carolina requires a certificate of compliance on the inside, lower right-hand corner of every window with aftermarket film. It must show the film's light transmission percentage, the installer's name, address and phone number, and the date of installation. A state regulation adds that it is no larger than 2 inches square and sits between the film and the glass. Installers who skip it face a minimum $1,000 fine per offense.
Key points
- Subsection (E) of S.C. Code § 56-5-5015 requires a certificate on each window with after-factory film, at all times, whether a consumer or a professional installed it.
- The certificate must show the film's light transmission percentage, the installer's name, address and phone number, and the installation date.
- Regulation 38-621 limits it to 2 inches square and places it between the film and the glass, in the lower left corner as seen from outside.
- Film manufacturers must supply certificates; professional tinters, or retailers selling film to do-it-yourselfers, furnish them.
- A professional tinter who skips the certificate faces a fine of at least $1,000 or up to 30 days, or both, per offense.
The rule
What Subsection (E) Requires
Subsection (E) of the tint law says each vehicle equipped with an after-factory sunscreening device, whether installed by a consumer or professional window tinter, at all times must bear a certificate of compliance. The certificate must be of a size and form prescribed by the Department of Public Safety.
It must be attached on the inside, lower right-hand corner of each window containing aftermarket film. That means every filmed window gets its own certificate: both front doors, the rear doors, quarter windows, the back glass and a windshield strip if there is one. One sticker for the whole car does not satisfy the text.
The words at all times matter. The certificate is not a receipt you keep in the glove box; it stays on the glass for as long as the film is there.
Contents
The Three Things the Certificate Must Show
- Light transmission percentagesubsection (E)(1)
- The percentage of light transmission allowed by the film. This is the film's own rating, not a meter reading of the finished window, which will be darker because the glass absorbs some light too.
- Installer identitysubsection (E)(2)
- The installer's name, address and telephone number. The regulation allows the certificate to identify the retailer instead when a consumer buys film from a store and installs it.
- Date of installationsubsection (E)(3)
- The date the film went on. It ties the film to a specific job and helps show when a window was last done.
Placement
Size and Placement Under Regulation 38-621
The statute leaves the size and form of the certificate to the Department of Public Safety, and the department's regulation, S.C. Code Regs. 38-621, fills in the details. The installer, whether a consumer or a professional window tinter, must apply a certificate of compliance not exceeding 2 inches square between the film and the glass.
The regulation places it on the lower left corner of each glazing surface as viewed from the outside of the vehicle. That is the same corner the statute describes as the lower right-hand corner from the inside. In practice, that puts it at the lower front corner of a driver's-side window and the lower rear corner of a passenger-side window.
Because it sits between the film and the glass, the certificate cannot be peeled off and moved to another car without removing the film. The regulation's title calls it a non-transferrable approval certificate. If the film comes off, the certificate comes off with it.
Who supplies it
Manufacturers, Tinters and Retailers
Subsection (F) puts the first duty on film makers: the manufacturer of film sold for use in South Carolina must provide the certificate of compliance and instructions for affixing it, and the film must come with installation instructions.
Regulation 38-621 says the sticker must be furnished by the professional window tinter, or by the retail store selling film to a consumer who will install it or have someone other than a professional tinter install it. Do-it-yourself film is not exempt; the certificate requirement applies to consumer installs too.
Subsection (G) adds two prohibitions. No person may offer for sale or for use any film for motor vehicles that does not comply with the section, and no person may install film on vehicles titled for use on public roads without 'permanently affixing' the certificate.
Penalties
What Skipping the Sticker Can Cost
The statute sets two penalty tiers for violating subsections (E) or (G). A professional window tinter, defined as a person who installs film for profit, is guilty of a misdemeanor triable in magistrate's court and must be fined not less than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 days, or both, for each offense. A consumer is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined not less than $200 or imprisoned not more than 30 days for each offense.
Those are minimum fines, and they apply per offense. For a tint shop, skipping certificates is not a paperwork shortcut; it is a risk measured in thousands of dollars.
Separately, subsection (K) makes it a misdemeanor for a person to own or operate a vehicle in violation of the section, with a fine of not more than $200 or up to 30 days. In a 2012 opinion on tint meters, the Attorney General's office pointed to the certificate requirement as further support for a tint charge, so a missing sticker can come up alongside a meter reading.
Check yours
How to Check a Certificate on Your Car
Look at every filmed window
Check the lower corner of each tinted window from outside. Each one should have its own small label under the film.
Read the three items
Confirm it shows a light transmission percentage, an installer or retailer name with address and phone number, and an installation date.
Compare the percentage with the law
The number is the film's rating. On regulated windows, film rated near 27 percent will read darker once combined with the glass, so it may not pass.
Keep the paperwork too
Ask the installer for an invoice that names the film and the windows done. It backs up the certificates if a question ever comes up.
Used cars
If Your Car Has Tint but No Certificates
Buying a used car with film and no certificates is common. The requirement attaches to the vehicle, and subsection (K) applies to whoever owns or operates it, so the gap becomes the new owner's problem.
A certificate cannot honestly be added after the fact by someone who did not install the film, because it has to name the installer and the date and sits between the film and the glass. In practice, the clean fix is usually to have the old film removed and new, compliant film installed with certificates. If you are unsure how to handle a specific car, ask SCDPS or a lawyer; this is not legal advice.
| Requirement | Where it comes from | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate on every filmed window, at all times | S.C. Code § 56-5-5015(E) | Each tinted window needs its own label |
| Film %, installer name, address, phone, install date | § 56-5-5015(E)(1) to (3) | Read the label; all three items should be there |
| No larger than 2 inches square, between film and glass | S.C. Code Regs. 38-621 | It cannot be moved to another car |
| Lower right inside, lower left from outside | § 56-5-5015(E) and Regs. 38-621 | Check the bottom corner of each window |
| Manufacturer supplies; tinter or retailer furnishes | § 56-5-5015(F) and Regs. 38-621 | Do-it-yourself film is covered too |
| Fines of at least $1,000 (tinter) or $200 (consumer) per offense | § 56-5-5015(G) | Ask any shop how it labels windows |
Plain-language summary as published in October 2026. Not legal advice.
Want every window labeled correctly?
Each window we tint gets the South Carolina certificate of compliance required by law, after we check the legal shade for your vehicle. Book online or request a quote.
Common questions
Does the windshield strip need its own certificate?
Yes. Subsection (E) requires a certificate on the inside, lower right-hand corner of each window containing an after-factory film, and the windshield is a window. If a visor strip runs along the top of the windshield, that glass needs its own certificate just like each tinted side window and the back glass.
I tinted my own windows. Do I still need certificates?
Yes. The statute says the certificate requirement applies whether the film was installed by a consumer or a professional tinter, and Regulation 38-621 says the retail store selling the film to a consumer must furnish the sticker. A consumer who violates the certificate rule faces a fine of at least $200 or up to 30 days per offense.
Can a shop move my certificate to my new car?
No. Regulation 38-621 places the certificate between the film and the glass and describes it as non-transferrable. It also has to show the installation date and the installer for the film on that window. A new car with new film needs new certificates from whoever installs that film.
Does a certificate prove my tint is legal?
Not by itself. The certificate shows the film's own light transmission percentage, the installer and the date. Legality on regulated windows depends on the combined reading of film and glass, which will be darker than the film's rating. A certificate showing very dark film on a front side window is a sign the window may fail.
Sources
- S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-5015, South Carolina Legislature (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t56c005.php), accessed October 2026
- S.C. Code Regs. 38-621, Installer to Apply Non-Transferrable Approval Certificate, Chapter 38 Department of Public Safety, South Carolina Legislature (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/Chapter%2038.pdf), accessed October 2026
- Opinion to Chief Robert H. Wunderlich on the use of battery-operated tint meters, March 1, 2012, Office of the South Carolina Attorney General (https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/wunderlich-r-h-os-9401-3-1-12-use-of-battery-operated-tint-meters.pdf), accessed October 2026
Prices on this page are The Auto Show’s published starting prices. Film ratings and warranty terms come from the manufacturer. This guide explains South Carolina law in plain words; it is not legal advice.