Vehicle Window Stickers in New York: Keep It Legal

I'm so proud of my kids and all of their accomplishments. I want to let the world know with two stickers in my rear window that say, "Oswego University Dad and Messiah University Dad."

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You may have some awesome window stickers that you want to put on your car too. To nobody's surprise, New York has some laws about window stickers on your car. You don't want to end up with a ticket or fine, do you? Me neither.

New York Back Window Sticker Laws

Here in the Empire State, the law says you can't put stickers on your front windshield, front side windows, or rear window. UH-OH! There goes the idea of advertising my kid's college.

However, you can go sticker-crazy on your back side windows. So if you have a sticker you want to put on your car, that is where to put it.

But wait, there's more. Even though you can have a super dark tint on your rear window, it's a huge no-no to put anything else over it. No posters, signs, nothing that might make it hard for you to see out the window.

New York is also picky about what hangs from your rear-view mirror. UH-OH again. At the end of the school year, you'll see many graduates hang their tassels (or face masks) from their rearview mirror.

I have a pink ribbon on a cross to honor a friend of Tara's that passed away unexpectedly during the pandemic. New York law says that is not allowed because you can't hang anything that would obstruct your view of the road or traffic behind you.

There are possible penalties and they're not cheap ones. If you get caught with unauthorized stickers, the cops can pull you over and give you a $150 fine. If that's not bad enough, you could even end up spending some time in jail, up to 30 days.

I'll let you decide if it's worth it or not. In the case of my daughter's friend, it would be. Speaking of breaking the law, here are some stickers that real criminals are looking for.