How do BC and Alberta tint rules compare, pane by pane?
They match on every side window and part ways on the windshield. This is each piece of glass under BC’s MVAR s. 7.05(8) and Alberta’s Vehicle Equipment Regulation, AR 122/2009, s. 70:
| Glass or issue | British Columbia | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| Windshield | A top band of any shade, 75 mm deep at most | No film anywhere on it |
| Driver and front passenger windows | No film | No film |
| Side windows behind the driver | Any darkness | Any darkness |
| Back glass | Any darkness, provided both outside mirrors are fitted | Allowed when both outside mirrors comply with s. 74(2) |
| Reflective film | No figure in the regulation; the 2025 inspection manual rejects “reflective type” tint | Banned if it reflects headlamps or sunlight into another driver’s eyes |
| What the rule forbids | Driving or operating with the film on | Installing or covering the glass, and operating the vehicle |
Alberta’s core sentence is s. 70(1): a person “shall not install, replace or cover the window glazing in a windshield or in a left or right side window of a motor vehicle that is beside or forward of the driver with a transparent, translucent or opaque material.” The first word on that list is “transparent”, so clear film is caught in Alberta just as BC catches it with “any material that reduces the light transmitted”. BC’s own rules, with the inspection item for each pane, are in the BC tint law guide for 2026.
Why is a BC windshield strip a problem in Alberta?
Alberta’s windshield rule has no strip allowance. Section 70(1) names the windshield alongside the front side windows, and nothing in s. 70 sets aside a band at the top the way BC’s 75 mm exception does.
Section 72(3) then says a person “shall not operate a motor vehicle on a highway unless the windshield and window glazing comply with sections 70 and 71.” Neither section has an exception for vehicles registered in another province. So a sun strip that is legal in Langley falls outside Alberta’s wording on an Alberta highway; if you’re moving east, take it off before the car goes for Alberta plates. How deep BC’s strip may run is explained in the answer on windshield tint in BC.
How do tint fines compare in BC and Alberta?
Alberta lists $88 before any surcharge; BC’s $109 already includes its surcharge, and BC can add an order to inspect.
| British Columbia | Alberta | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount on the ticket | $109 ($95 plus the $14 levy), or $84 paid inside 30 days | $88 specified penalty, plus any surcharge that applies |
| Provisions it covers | Every part of s. 7.05(8) | s. 70(1) to (4), (6) and (7), and s. 72(3), $88 each |
Alberta’s amounts are in Part 42 of its Procedures Regulation, before any applicable surcharge. BC’s come from the catch-all row of its fines regulation, because tint has no line of its own. BC can also add a Box 2 Notice & Order. CVSE says the car must then be repaired and pass a full inspection inside 30 days, or the driver faces a $598 fine. Each BC amount is broken down in the fine for illegal tint in BC.
Does Alberta’s medical tint permit count in BC?
No. BC’s regulation and its inspection manual contain no medical exemption, and s. 7.05 has no clause for honouring a permit from another province, so Alberta-approved film on a front door is illegal on the first drive in BC.
Alberta’s program, set out on its exemption page, is narrow even at home. It needs a valid Alberta driver’s licence and a physician’s letter, considers skin cancer and Bullous Pemphigus, may go to a Medical Review Committee, and “may take several weeks”. An approved driver pays $55, carries the permit in the vehicle, and may only fit clear UV film that, together with the glass, lets through at least half the visible light. Requests for passengers “may not be supported”, because a passenger can sit in the back, where tint is allowed.
LLumar’s clear AIR 80 and AIR 90 measure 77% and 84% on 6 mm test glass, according to its performance data sheet, well above Alberta’s 50% floor, yet either one is illegal on a BC front door. BC’s legal options for light-sensitive drivers are in the answer on medical exemptions for tint in BC.
Which inspections apply when you move a car between BC and Alberta?
Each province inspects cars arriving from elsewhere, and BC waives its inspection for many Alberta cars, but no waiver makes front film legal.
| Direction | Inspection before new plates | Tint that’s illegal once you arrive |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta to BC | A BC designated inspection facility (MVAR 25.24 and 25.25), unless CVSE Circular 08-19 exempts the car | Front door film, fails item 13d; windshield film lower than 75 mm, fails item 12e |
| BC to Alberta | An out-of-province inspection by a licensed journeyperson technician | All front door film, and every windshield film including BC’s legal strip |
Alberta’s inspection page says “Vehicles registered outside Alberta must pass an inspection before licence plates are issued”, checked against “the safety and vehicle equipment standards of Alberta”. A car that fails has 10 days to be repaired before a full re-inspection is needed.
Going the other way, CVSE Circular 08-19 exempts a private vehicle whose last registration was in Alberta, in the applicant’s name, if its model year is the current one, the upcoming one or any of the three before, or if it holds an Alberta Out of Province Vehicle Inspection Certificate from the previous 90 days. Alberta lets residents moving to BC ask its Vehicle Inspection Program for that inspection before they leave. An exempt car crosses with its front film intact, and that film is still illegal to drive with in BC. The full sequence is in the out-of-province inspection guide.
Getting an Alberta car’s tint ready for BC
Strip the two front windows back to bare glass and keep whatever is behind the driver. Brookswood Tint lifts front film with steam and takes the glue off completely, a job of one to three hours on most cars. It’s charged by the window, and the removal costs less when the rear is re-tinted at the same appointment. The steps for a car heading to a BC inspection are on tint removal before an out-of-province inspection.
Rear glass, legal at any shade in both provinces, starts at $240 in LLumar ATC for a sedan or pickup; IRX and AIR cost extra, quoted by package, and the lifetime warranty covers both film and labour. Film on the front doors goes on only when a customer asks, after the shop explains that it isn’t road-legal in BC or Alberta. To book, use the tint removal request or ring 604 534 6433, Monday through Saturday.
