Virginia Law

A. Motor vehicles may be inspected without windshields, side glasses, or any kind of glazing except that any motor vehicle other than a motorcycle that was manufactured, assembled, or reconstructed after July 1, 1970, must be equipped with a windshield. If glass or other glazing is installed, it must be inspected. If no windshield is installed, see 19VAC30-70-50 C for location of the sticker.

B. Inspect for and reject if:

1. Any motor vehicle manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1936, or any bus or school bus manufactured or assembled after January 1, 1935, is not equipped throughout with safety glass, or other safety glazing material. (This requirement includes slide-in campers used on pickups or trucks, caps, or covers used on pickup trucks, motor homes, and vans.)

2. Any safety glass or glazing used in a motor vehicle is not of an approved type and properly identified (refer to approved equipment section). (Replacement safety glass installed in any part of a vehicle other than the windshield need not bear a trademark or name, provided the glass consists of two or more sheets of glass separated by a glazing material, and provided the glass is cut from a piece of approved safety glass, and provided the edge of the glass can be observed.)

3. Any glass at any location where glass is used is cracked or broken so that it is likely to cut or injure a person in the vehicle.

4. Windshield has any cloudiness more than three inches above the bottom, one inch inward from the outer borders, one inch down from the top, or one inch inward from the center strip. The bottom of the windshield shall be defined as the point where the top of the dash contacts the windshield.

5. Any distortion or obstruction that interferes with a driver's vision; any alteration has been made to a vehicle that obstructs the driver's clear view through the windshield. This may include large objects hanging from the inside mirror or mounted to the windshield, cell phone mounts, GPS devices, CB radios or tachometers mounted on the dash or windshield, hood scoops, and other ornamentation on or in front of the hood that is not transparent.

a. Any hood scoop installed on any motor vehicle manufactured for the year 1990 or earlier model year cannot exceed 2-1/4 inches high at its highest point measured from the junction of the dashboard and the windshield.

b. Any hood scoop installed on any motor vehicle manufactured for the year 1991 or subsequent model year cannot exceed 1-1/8 inches high at its highest point measured from the junction of the dashboard and the windshield.

NOTE: Antennas, transponders, and similar devices must not be mounted more than 152 mm (six inches) below the upper edge of the windshield. These devices must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers, and outside the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals.

NOTE: Vehicles 10,001 pounds (GVWR) or more, submitted for inspection, with a navigational device, video event recording device, or a crash avoidance camera mounted on the interior of the windshield, when the entire device is mounted not more than four inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers or not more than seven inches above the lower edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, shall be issued an approval sticker if no other violations are detected.

6. Windshield glass, on the driver's side, has any scratch more than 1/4 inch in width and six inches long within the area covered by the windshield wiper blade, excluding the three inches above the bottom of the windshield. A windshield wiper that remains parked within the driver's side windshield wiper area shall be rejected.

EXCEPTION: Do not reject safety grooves designed to clean wiper blades if the grooves do not extend upward from the bottom of the windshield more than six inches at the highest point.

7. There is a pit, chip, or star crack larger than 3/4 inch in diameter at any location in the windshield above the topmost portion of the steering wheel except the two-inch border at each side.

8. At any location above the topmost portion of the steering wheel excluding a two-inch border at the top and one-inch border at the sides there is:

a. Any crack over 1/4 inch in width.

b. Any crack 1/4 inch or less in width intersected by another crack.

c. Any damage area 3/4 inch or less in diameter if within three inches of any other damage area.

9. Any sticker is on the windshield other than an official one required by law, or permitted by the superintendent. Authorization is hereby granted for stickers or decals, to include those required by any county, town, or city, measuring not more than 2-1/2 inches in width and four inches in length to be placed in the blind spot behind the rear view mirror. The normal location for any required county, town, or city sticker or decal is adjacent to the right side of official inspection sticker when viewed from inside the vehicle. The top edge of the sticker is to be approximately four inches from the bottom of the windshield. The left side edge adjacent to the official inspection sticker shall not be more than 1/4-inch from the right edge of the official inspection sticker when viewed from inside the vehicle. Valid Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) inspection decals, or similar commercial vehicle inspection decal issued by local law enforcement, may be placed at the bottom right corner of the windshield when viewed from inside the vehicle. The top edge of such decals are to be approximately four inches from the bottom of the windshield when viewed from inside the vehicle and are to be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers.

Any sticker or decal required by the laws of any other state or the District of Columbia and displayed upon the windshield of a vehicle submitted for inspection in this state is permitted by the superintendent, provided the vehicle is currently registered in that jurisdiction and the sticker is displayed in a manner designated by the issuing authority and has not expired. This includes vehicles with dual registration, i.e., Virginia and the District of Columbia.

NOTE: Toll transponder devices may be affixed to the inside center of the windshield at the roof line just above the rear view mirror. If space does not allow, then it may be affixed to the immediate right of the mirror at the roof line.

NOTE: A licensed motor vehicle dealer may apply one transponder sticker no larger than one inch by four inches and one barcode sticker no larger than three inches by four inches to the driver's side edge of a vehicle's windshield to be removed upon the sale or lease of the vehicle provided that it does not extend below the AS-1 line. In the absence of an AS-1 line, the sticker cannot extend more than three inches downward from the top of the windshield.

NOTE: Any vehicle displaying an expired sticker or decal on its windshield at the time of inspection, excluding a rejection sticker, shall not be issued an approval sticker unless the owner or operator authorizes its removal. A rejection sticker will be issued versus an involuntary removal.

10. Sunshading material attached to the windshield extends more than three inches downward from the top of the windshield, unless authorized by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and indicated on the vehicle registration.

NOTE: Sunshading material on the windshield displaying words, lettering, numbers or pictures that do not extend below the AS-1 line are permitted.

NOTE: Vehicles with logos made into the glass at the factory that meet federal standards will pass state inspection.

11. Any sunscreening material is scratched, distorted, wrinkled or obscures or distorts clear vision through the glazing.

12. Front side windows have cloudiness above three inches from the bottom of the glass, or other defects that affect the driver's vision or one or more cracks which permit one part of the glass to be moved in relation to another part. Wind silencers, breezes or other ventilator adaptors are not made of clear transparent material.

13. Glass in the left front door cannot be lowered so a hand signal can be given. (This does not apply to vehicle equipped with approved turn signals which were not designed or manufactured for left front glass to be lowered.) If either front door has the glass removed and material inserted in place of the glass which could obstruct the driver's vision.

Exception: Sunscreening material is permissible if the vehicle is equipped with a mirror on each side.

14. Any sticker or other obstruction is on either front side window, rear side windows, or rear windows. (The price label, fuel economy label and the buyer's guide required by federal statute and regulations to be affixed to new or used vehicles by the manufacturer shall normally be affixed to one of the rear side windows.) If a vehicle only has two door windows, the labels may be affixed to one of these windows. If a vehicle does not have any door or side windows, the labels may be temporarily affixed to the right side of the windshield until the vehicle is sold to the first purchaser.

NOTE: A single sticker no larger than 20 square inches in area, if such sticker is totally contained within the lower five inches of the glass in the rear window or a single sticker or decal no larger than 10 square inches located in an area not more than three inches above the bottom and not more than eight inches from the rearmost edge of either front side window, is permissible and should not be rejected.

Do not reject a tractor truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more equipped with one optically grooved clear plastic wide angle lens affixed to the right front side window. Such wide angle lens shall not extend upward from the bottom of the window opening more than six inches or backward from the front of the window opening more than eight inches.

15. Rear window is clouded or distorted so that the driver does not have a view 200 feet to the rear.

EXCEPTIONS: The following are permissible if the vehicle is equipped with a mirror on each side:

a. There is attached to one rear window of such motor vehicle one optically grooved clear plastic right angle rear view lens, not exceeding 18 inches in diameter in the case of a circular lens or not exceeding 11 inches by 14 inches in the case of a rectangular lens, which enables the operator of the motor vehicle to view below the line of sight as viewed through the rear window.

b. There is affixed to the rear side windows, rear window or windows of such motor vehicle any sticker or stickers, regardless of size.

c. There is affixed to the rear side windows, rear window or windows of such motor vehicle a single layer of sunshading material.

d. Rear side windows, rear window or windows is clouded or distorted.