Is 5% tint behind the driver legal in BC?
Yes. MVAR s. 7.05(8) allows light-reducing material on “a side window that is behind the driver” without any condition, and on the back window of a vehicle that has a mirror outside on each side. Neither allowance mentions a percentage, so the darkest film on the market is in the same legal position as the lightest.
Police describe it the same way. Mission RCMP’s traffic FAQ sets out BC’s limits window by window and, for the side windows behind the driver, says simply: “Tinting is allowed.”
| Window | 5% film in BC |
|---|---|
| Rear doors | Legal |
| Rear quarter and extended side windows | Legal |
| Back glass, hatch or truck slider | Legal if a mirror is fitted outside on each side |
| Driver and front passenger windows | Illegal at 5% and at every other shade |
| Windshield | Top 75 mm only |
What could still get 5% rear tint a ticket?
Something other than the darkness. A roadside stop over tint rests on s. 7.05(8), and with rear film there are only a few ways to break it, plus one general vision rule:
- A missing outside mirror. Film on the back glass needs a mirror on each side. Lose one and the back-window film no longer qualifies; the side mirror rule covers the details.
- Film that creeps forward. BC treats every side pane in front of the driver’s seat back as front glass, including a small fixed pane in the front door.
- Front film on the same car. A stop for front film is still a stop for tint; the rear shade doesn’t help or hurt.
- Glass in poor condition. Section 7.05(1) is a separate offence: driving with a window in a condition that impairs “the vision of the driver”. It’s aimed at the state of the glass, such as damage or clouding.
Under the fines regulation, the ticket for a tint offence is $109 whichever window it’s for, reduced to $84 when paid within 30 days. The full list of what can follow a stop is on BC’s illegal tint fines.
Can police meter 5% rear tint in BC?
They can take a reading, but it doesn’t decide anything behind the driver, because BC has no number to compare it with. That’s the difference from Washington, where a reading below 24% on a car’s rear side glass is itself the offence.
The reading would also come out below the name on the film. On LLumar’s performance data sheet, where every shade is tested on clear 6 mm glass, ATC 05 transmits 5% of visible light and IRX 05 transmits 6%. Fitted over factory privacy glass, the combined figure drops further. In BC none of those numbers changes the legal answer for rear glass. How the readings are taken is explained in how tint percentage is measured.
Does 5% rear tint fail a BC inspection?
No, not for its shade. In the 2025 Vehicle Inspection Manual, the side window tint item, 13d, applies only to glass forward of the driver’s seat back, so rear doors and quarter windows have no tint item at all. The rear window item, 14c, checks four things, none of them darkness:
- outside mirrors on both sides
- no reflective-type tint
- tint allowed under ANSI/SAE Z26.1
- no material impairment of the driver’s normal vision
The manual ties “materially impaired” to section 29 of the Schedule to Division 7. The defects that section lists are cracks, chips, clouding and breakage, and the one aimed at the rear is glass “broken or clouded” so badly the driver can’t see clearly 60 m behind. That describes damaged glass, not a tidy 5% film with both mirrors in place.
Will 5% rear tint get you stopped outside BC?
It can in Washington, depending on what you drive. RCW 46.37.430 requires 24% or more on a passenger car’s side and rear windows, so 5% on a sedan is too dark there. Washington’s truck and multipurpose-vehicle class, which can take in pickups, SUVs and vans depending on how the maker certified them, may go below 24% behind the driver, with reflectance of 35% or less and mirrors on both sides. Alberta’s rule, like BC’s, sets no limit behind the driver. The cross-border detail is on BC vs Washington tint laws.
Living with 5% on the rear, and booking it
Expect a darker view when you reverse at night and through the inside mirror; the trade-offs are covered on night driving with dark tint. For daytime privacy, 5% is the darkest shade on the shop’s menu.
| Film | Visible light | Total solar energy rejected | Glare reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATC 05, dyed | 5% | 44% | 94% |
| IRX 05, nano-ceramic | 6% | 62% | 94% |
ATC 05 comes at the starting prices: a sports coupe from $220, a sedan or a pickup from $240, and a full-size SUV or wagon from $260. IRX 05 costs more, priced per package. Expect the car back the same day in most cases, and the film and the labour are both warrantied for life. Shade-by-shade detail is on 5% window tint, and front door film, which isn’t road-legal in BC at 5% or any other shade, is only installed on request after the shop explains the risks. Ask for a rear-glass price on the quote request page, or ring 604 534 6433.
