2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter IX - Miscellaneous Rules and Provisions (§§ 5281 — 5305) › § 5285 - Use of one-way glass and tinted glass windshields and windows

The use of one-way glass for the windshield and glass windows of vehicles or motor vehicles, as well as any other tint that prevents vision through the windshield of vehicles or motor vehicles, is hereby prohibited. The altering thereof by applying tints and any other material or product used as a solar filter on the windshield and windows of motor vehicles to produce a percentage of transmission of visible light of less than thirty-five percent (35%) is likewise prohibited. Official vehicles of the Government duly authorized by the Secretary, as well as ambulances, bullet-proof vehicles for the transportation of securities, official vehicles of domestic violence victims shelters that are necessary to discharge their functions of protecting and rendering services to domestic violence victims and which are registered for such purposes in the Department; vehicles specially designed and devoted exclusively to the transportation of tourists, and those vehicles factory-equipped with tinted rear windshields or windows and that produce a percentage of light transmission that is less than that indicated in this section are exempt from the application of the provisions in this section. Upon evaluation of the corresponding request, the vehicles or motor vehicles that the Secretary certifies to such effects for security reasons or that are contracted by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to render security services shall also be exempt from these provisions. Rear windshields or windows are understood to be all those located in the vehicle or motor vehicle behind the drivers’ seat.
Also exempt from these provisions are vehicles certified by the Secretary to such effects for medical reasons, upon evaluation of the corresponding request. Provided, however, That the spouse and children affected by a medical condition, even when they are not the owners in record, may request said exemption upon evaluation of the corresponding application.
Any person who requests to be exempt from the provisions of this section for legitimate medical reasons must include, with the application, a certificate of the physician, surgeon, or optometrist duly licensed to practice medicine in Puerto Rico in which said practitioner attests that, according to the petitioner’s medical record, he/she requires the use of tints or any other material or product on the glass of the vehicle used by him/her as a protection against sunlight. This certificate must be made on the form authorized by the Secretary for such purpose.
The Secretary may require an evaluation of said request by the Medical Advisory Board, and may establish the conditions and limitations he/she deems pertinent on the certificates and permits issued to such effects which, in his/her judgment, are necessary to comply with the purposes of this section.
The authorization issued to a person, as provided in this section, must remain at all times in the motor vehicle or be carried by the person on whose behalf it is issued. It shall be the responsibility of the person on whose behalf the certificate is issued to remove the tint or any other authorized material or product from the vehicle when he/she transfers, assigns, sells, or otherwise disposes of the vehicle, and shall be required to provide evidence of the removal thereof to the Traffic Division of the Police Department in his/her jurisdiction to show that this provision has been complied with.
The Secretary shall determine and promulgate by regulations to such effect all that pertains to the issuance, handling, and collection of fees, features, use, renewal, and canceling of certificates and permits authorized herein, which must be renewed annually. Those patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus, malignant melanoma, and multiple sclerosis shall be exempt from this provision and shall renew their permits and certificates every six (6) years.
Every driver who operates a vehicle or motor vehicle in violation of this section shall incur an administrative fault and shall be sanctioned with a fine of fifty dollars ($50). The person who commits the violation shall be granted a term which shall not exceed twenty-four (24) hours to appear at the designated police station to show that the deficiency has been corrected. If the person who committed the violation fails to appear within the established time frame, said person shall be sanctioned with an additional fifty-dollar ($50) fine. When the person who committed the violation appears within the term granted herein and shows that the tints or other material or products installed in violation of the provisions of this section have been removed, the fine imposed according to the provisions of this section shall be filed. Likewise, the inspection permit established in § 5352 of this title shall be denied to any applicant whose vehicle fails to comply with the provisions of this section.
Removal and transfer of the seal of approval for transmission of visible light is prohibited herein, as well as alteration of the circumstances that allow the Puerto Rico Police to grant the seal of approval of visible light transmission. Any person who violates the provisions of this paragraph shall incur a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be sanctioned with a penalty of five hundred dollars ($500).
The Secretary shall establish through regulations the procedure to be followed in order to determine if a vehicle or motor vehicle complies with the provisions of this section.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 10.05; June 3, 2004, No. 132, § 10; May 23, 2008, No. 71, § 1; Mar. 12, 2010, No. 25, § 1; Apr. 27, 2012, No. 69, § 1; Oct. 1, 2015, No. 161, § 1.