Does a tint ticket raise your ICBC premiums?
Not through any program ICBC describes. ICBC bills two driver premiums separately from Autoplan, and a tint ticket fits neither. The Driver Penalty Point premium is billed when you’ve built up points on your record, and the tint rule carries none: section 7.05 is missing from the penalty point schedule attached to Division 28 of the regulations.
The Driver Risk Premium has a closed list of triggers. ICBC names driving-related Criminal Code convictions, 10-point Motor Vehicle Act convictions, excessive speeding, two or more roadside suspensions or prohibitions, and two or more electronic-device convictions in three years. An equipment ticket for window film isn’t among them.
| ICBC premium | What triggers it | A tint ticket? |
|---|---|---|
| Driver Penalty Point premium | Points on your driving record | No points attached |
| Driver Risk Premium | The serious offences ICBC lists | Not listed |
| Optional premiums (Collision, Extended Third Party Liability) | Serious convictions, or two or more minor ones, from June 10, 2019 on | Vehicle-standards offences exempt under the 2019 rules |
What do ICBC’s optional insurance rules say about equipment tickets?
They leave them out, at least as ICBC set the rules in 2019. That year ICBC began charging more for Collision and Extended Third Party Liability coverage to drivers with frequent or serious driving convictions. Its fact sheet says minor convictions count only when there are two or more in the scan period.
The accompanying backgrounder then draws the line that matters for tint: “Offences involving vehicle standards or non-driving based behaviours will be exempt.” Film on a front window breaks s. 7.05(8), which sits in Division 7 of the regulations, “Other Equipment”: an offence about how the vehicle is equipped, not how it’s driven. ICBC’s document doesn’t name tint, and it dates from 2019, so confirm with an Autoplan broker if a ticket is on your record at renewal.
How does a Notice & Order bring tint to ICBC’s attention?
Through the vehicle’s own record on ICBC’s database. When police find illegal film they can issue a Notice & Order instead of, or as well as, a ticket. CVSE’s information sheet says Box 1 and Box 2 orders are recorded on ICBC’s Vehicle Information Database.
That entry is what touches insurance. CVSE warns that an order left open can block ICBC licensing and insurance, which can derail a sale, and a Box 1 order grounds the vehicle until it passes inspection. Clearing it means removing the film and passing a complete inspection at a designated facility; the steps are on tint removal for a Notice & Order.
Does tint matter when you register a car with ICBC?
Only for a car coming from outside BC, and only because of the inspection that comes first. MVAR 25.24 and 25.25 say a vehicle once registered elsewhere, up to 3,500 kg net, can’t be registered until a designated inspection facility passes it. ICBC’s import page lists the passed inspection report among the documents to bring to the broker.
That inspection rejects film on side glass anywhere ahead of the driver’s seat back, and on the windshield below its top 75 mm, so the car can’t be registered or insured here until the film is off. Recent private cars arriving from Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba in your own name can skip it; who qualifies is set out in whether an Alberta car needs a BC inspection.
Will illegal tint affect an ICBC claim?
We can’t tell you, and neither can ICBC’s public pages: none we could find mention window film. That cuts both ways. There’s no published rule that front film voids a claim, and no published promise that film on a damaged window is paid for.
What you can control is the paperwork. Keep the invoice that names the film, the shade and the windows, and if glass is damaged, ask the adjuster directly how the film on that pane will be handled before the glass is replaced.
What does illegal tint actually cost, then?
The costs come from the ticket and the orders, not from insurance. A tint ticket costs $109, dropping to $84 when paid within 30 days. A Notice & Order adds film removal and a complete inspection, and a missed 30-day deadline brings a $598 ticket. The breakdown, with sources, is on the fine for illegal tint in BC.
Keeping your car clear of tint orders
Keep film on the glass BC allows: any shade behind the driver, the back window with both outside mirrors, and the top 75 mm of the windshield. If the car already has film on the front doors, the shop can strip just those two windows with steam, a job that usually takes 1 to 3 hours and is charged by the window, less if you re-tint. Front film is something the shop fits only when asked, after explaining that no shade of it is road-legal in BC and what a ticket or order would mean.
Book through the tint removal request, read about the removal service, or call 604 534 6433.