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A South Dakota Window Tint Recommendation is a signed statement from a licensed physician documenting that you have a medical condition that makes sunlight or UV exposure difficult to tolerate. It has no legal effect: the tint on your vehicle must still meet the limits in SDCL 32-15-2.4 and 32-15-2.5. The recommendation process involves two parts:
Some people ask whether a South Dakota Window Tint Recommendation lets them tint their windows as dark as they want. The answer is no. South Dakota law does not provide a medical exemption from its window tint limits, so your windows must still meet the limits below, and tint that does not meet them can result in a citation.
It’s important for all South Dakota drivers to understand the state’s window tint laws, even if you plan on obtaining a Window Tint Recommendation. South Dakota has specific regulations that determine how dark your vehicle windows can legally be tinted. These laws are designed to balance driver visibility and roadway safety while still allowing drivers to reduce heat, glare, and UV exposure.
These limits apply to every vehicle in South Dakota, including vehicles driven by people with medical conditions. A Window Tint Recommendation does not change the legal limits or prevent a citation. ForeverTint connects you with a licensed physician who decides whether you qualify for a recommendation that documents your medical need for additional protection from sunlight and glare.
Traditionally, getting a physician’s window tint recommendation meant making an in-person doctor’s appointment. ForeverTint moves the physician review online:
*If the physician determines you do not qualify, you receive a full refund.
An independent licensed physician decides whether your condition qualifies. Conditions a physician may consider include:
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which ultraviolet light can trigger skin rashes, joint pain, and fatigue. Physicians commonly advise people with lupus to limit UV exposure, including the UVA light that passes through car side windows.
Porphyrias are a group of disorders in which certain compounds build up in the body and react to light, causing blistering, burning pain, and skin damage after sun exposure. Avoiding sunlight is a central part of managing the cutaneous forms.
Xeroderma pigmentosum is a rare genetic disorder that prevents the body from repairing DNA damage caused by ultraviolet light. People with XP burn after minimal sun exposure and face a greatly increased risk of skin cancers and eye damage.
People with albinism produce little or no melanin, the pigment that helps protect skin and eyes from ultraviolet light. They are highly prone to sunburn and skin damage and often experience significant light sensitivity and glare.
Photosensitivity dermatitis is an abnormal skin reaction to sunlight that can cause redness, itching, swelling, and rash on exposed skin. It can be linked to an underlying condition or to medications, and limiting UV exposure helps prevent flare-ups.
A personal history of melanoma or other skin cancers means ongoing UV exposure is a serious concern. Dermatologists routinely advise these patients to reduce sun exposure wherever possible, including time spent driving.
Some eye conditions, such as uveitis, certain retinal disorders, and sensitivity following eye surgery, cause pain or impaired vision in bright light. A licensed physician or optometrist can assess whether reducing light exposure while driving is medically necessary.
Cockayne syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes extreme sensitivity to sunlight, along with other developmental and health effects. Strict sun protection is part of everyday care.
Bloom syndrome is a rare inherited disorder that causes sun-sensitive skin, often with a facial rash after sun exposure, and an increased lifetime risk of cancer. Limiting UV exposure is a standard precaution.
Vitiligo causes patches of skin to lose their pigment, leaving those areas without natural protection from ultraviolet light. Depigmented skin burns easily, so physicians often recommend extra sun protection.
Some autoimmune conditions, such as dermatomyositis, cause skin and muscle symptoms that worsen with sun exposure. Certain medications used to treat autoimmune disease can also increase sensitivity to light.
Healing burns, skin grafts, and scar tissue are more vulnerable to sun damage, and UV exposure can cause scars to darken. Physicians typically advise protecting these areas from direct sunlight.
Other diagnosed conditions, including sun sensitivity caused by medications, can make sun exposure a health concern. Describe your condition during intake, and an independent licensed physician will review your medical history and decide whether darker tint is medically necessary for you.
South Dakota law sets no requirements for a medical tint recommendation, because the state has no medical exemption. A ForeverTint recommendation is written and signed by a licensed physician and includes:
A Window Tint Recommendation does not make darker tint legal in South Dakota. If your tint does not meet the limits in SDCL 32-15-2.4 and 32-15-2.5, you can be cited even if you carry the recommendation. Some drivers keep a copy in the vehicle to explain their medical need if asked, but an officer is not required to take it into account.
SDCL 32-15-2.4: “No motor vehicle required to be registered in this state and which is operated on the highways of this state may be equipped with one-way glass or any adhesive film or other glaze or application on or in the front windshield, side wing vents, or side windows on either side forward of or adjacent to the operator’s seat, which reduces the light transmittance of such windows to the combined level below thirty-five percent, with an enforcement tolerance of nine percent. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.”
SDCL 32-15-2.5: “No motor vehicle required to be registered in this state and which is operated on the highways of this state may be equipped with one-way glass, adhesive film, or other glaze in the rear windows behind the operators seat that reduces light transmission below twenty percent, with an enforcement tolerance of nine percent. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.”
SDCL 32-15-2.9: “No sunscreening devices may be placed on or affixed to a windshield so as to obstruct or reduce the driver’s clear view through the windshield. No film may be extended downward beyond the AS-1 line or more than the lowest point of the sun visor of the motor vehicle.”
South Dakota’s window tint statutes contain no medical exemption.
South Dakota law (SDCL 32-15-2.4 and 32-15-2.5) requires front side windows to let in at least 35% of light and windows behind the driver’s seat at least 20%, and windshield film may not extend below the AS-1 line. South Dakota law does not provide a medical exemption from its window tint limits. A physician recommendation documents a medical need but does not change the legal limits or prevent a citation.
ForeverTint connects you with an independent licensed physician who reviews your medical history by chart review or, occasionally, a brief phone call, so there is no in-person appointment. If the physician determines you qualify, you receive a signed Window Tint Recommendation documenting your medical need. Because South Dakota has no medical exemption, the recommendation does not change the legal limits or prevent a citation.
No. South Dakota has no DMV or Department of Public Safety program, application, permit, or decal for medical window tint, because state law does not provide a medical exemption. A physician recommendation is documentation only and does not change the legal limits.
If your tint does not meet South Dakota’s limits, you can be cited whether or not you carry a Window Tint Recommendation, because the recommendation is not a legal exemption. A violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Some drivers keep a copy in the vehicle to explain their medical need if asked, but an officer is not required to take it into account.
South Dakota law does not list qualifying conditions because it has no medical tint exemption. Conditions a physician may consider for a recommendation include lupus, porphyria, xeroderma pigmentosum, albinism, photosensitivity dermatitis, melanoma and other skin cancers, and light-sensitive eye conditions. An independent licensed physician decides whether your condition qualifies.
Select “Purchase Your Recommendation,” and an independent licensed physician reviews your medical history by chart review or, occasionally, a brief phone call. If you qualify, your signed Window Tint Recommendation is delivered digitally within 72 hours. If the physician determines you do not qualify, you receive a full refund.
No. South Dakota law does not provide a medical exemption, so front side windows must still let in at least 35% of light and side and rear windows behind the driver at least 20%. A recommendation does not change these limits or prevent a citation.
Having a medical recommendation from a doctor for darker window tint does not guarantee you will not get a ticket. An officer can still give you a ticket at their own discretion.