Columbus, Ohio · Windshields
Your windshield stays
at 70%. The strip
up top doesn’t.
That’s the whole rule. Half the shops in this city only know the first sentence, so they tell you no and you drive off. The second sentence is where the work is — and we had it backwards in our own notes until we sat down with the code.
The windshield, per Ohio Administrative Code 4501-41-03
| Where | Minimum light through | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Windshield | 70%± 3 | Cannot be red or yellow. |
| Windshield top strip | Unregulated | A strip along the top is not regulated at all, as long as it stops at the AS-1 line or five inches down — whichever is closer to the top. Yes, you can have a visor strip. |
Two rules, one piece of glass. The bottom of your windshield is the most regulated window on the car. The top of it is the least regulated window on the car. Nobody explains that, so people assume the whole windshield is off limits and never ask.
Where the strip stops
Ohio doesn’t regulate material along the top of the windshield, as long as it doesn’t come down past the AS-1 line or five inches from the top — whichever of those two is closer to the top.
Read that last part twice, because it’s the part everyone flips. It is not whichever line gives you more glass. It’s whichever line sits higher. If your AS-1 mark is three inches down, three inches is your line and the five-inch allowance buys you nothing. If your AS-1 mark is seven inches down, five inches is your line.
AS-1 is etched into the glass itself, usually up in a corner, next to a little mark. Go look at your car right now — it’s there on most of them. Where that mark falls is a decision your manufacturer made, not us, and every windshield sits different. So we measure yours before anything gets cut. If the glass doesn’t give us a mark to work from, we work off the five inches and we measure that too.
Inside that strip there is no darkness number. None. That’s what unregulated means. A visor strip is legal in Ohio, you don’t need anyone’s permission for it, and it kills the sun that sits right on the horizon at 6pm on 270 westbound when your visor is already down and useless.
The part nobody sells you
A clear ceramic windshield is legal, and it’s the biggest heat job on the car.
70% ceramic passes Ohio’s windshield test. It’s not dark — you will not be able to tell it’s on there, and that’s the point. Heat rejection is infrared, not darkness. Dark and cool are two different things.
It’s the biggest piece of glass you own and it points at the sun all day.
That’s the whole argument. Your side windows are what everyone tints and your windshield is what actually cooks you. Strip up top, clear ceramic across the rest — that’s the setup, it’s all legal, and almost nobody in Columbus offers it because explaining it takes longer than saying no.
What we will not put on your windshield
- Never
Red or yellow film. Ohio names those two colours specifically, on the windshield and on the front doors.
- Never
Reflective or mirrored film. Not the chrome-look strip, not the cheap mirror stuff someone will sell you online. Any window, no exceptions.
- Always
A label with the maker’s name and the light-transmission percentage, lower left, read from outside. It goes on every car we do. It’s the thing a trooper looks for.
While you’re here
The wedge below is your side glass, not your windshield — the windshield doesn’t move on this scale, it’s 70% and that’s that. But your front doors have to stay at 50% too, and most people find that out from a trooper. Drag it.
Ceramic Grade A
Same price at 5% as at 35%. Darkness is free.
Starting price for a regular-size vehicle. Larger vehicles are quoted. All around means every window except the windshield.
What it costs
Ceramic Grade A starts at $299 all around on a regular-size vehicle; larger vehicles are quoted. All around means every window except the windshield.
The windshield is priced separately. It depends on whether you want the strip alone, the full clear ceramic, or both, and on the shape of the glass. Call for a figure on your vehicle and we will confirm it before you drive over.
Source: Ohio Administrative Code 4501-41-03. Last checked July 2026. This is what the code says, not legal advice — if you’re arguing a ticket, talk to a lawyer.