Windshield Mounting Restrictions by State (2026 Guide)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 17, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 7, 2026. · 2 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Windshield mounting rules vary by state across the United States. Many states prohibit any device that obstructs the driver's clear view, while others allow small GPS or navigation devices only in specific corner zones or behind the rearview mirror. Dashboard and vent-clip mounts are the safest legal option in every state.
Windshield mounting laws determine what devices, stickers, and materials you can legally attach to your vehicle's windshield. Every state has regulations, but they vary dramatically in what they allow, where devices can be placed, and how strictly the rules are enforced.
This guide links to detailed state-by-state pages covering the specific statutes, placement zones, penalties, exemptions, and how each state's hands-free driving law interacts with windshield mounting restrictions.
Windshield Mounting Laws by State
Select your state for a complete guide to windshield mounting rules, GPS and phone mount legality, dashcam placement, tinting restrictions, and penalties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I mount my phone on my windshield?
It depends on the state. California allows GPS devices and dashcams in designated 5-inch or 7-inch corner zones (CVC 26708(b)(12)-(13)). Arizona has similarly sized 5-inch and 7-inch corner zones, but ARS 28-959.01(A)(5) reserves them for signs and stickers, not electronic devices. A GPS, phone, or dashcam placed there instead falls under the safety-monitoring-equipment exemption near the rearview mirror, or is safest on the dashboard. D.C. effectively prohibits all windshield mounts. Pennsylvania lists no device exemption, but 75 Pa.C.S. 4524 reaches only material that materially obstructs, obscures or impairs the driver's clear view, so placement is what decides it. Dashboard and vent mounts are the safest legal option in every state.
Are dashcams legal on windshields?
Dashcams are legal in all 50 states, but where you can mount them varies. Most states allow dashcams behind the rearview mirror or in the lower corners if they do not obstruct the driver's view. A few states, Pennsylvania among them, name no device exemption at all, so a dashcam there is judged only by whether it materially obstructs the driver's view.
What is the safest place to mount a GPS or phone?
A dashboard mount or vent-clip mount is the safest legal option in every state. These comply with both windshield obstruction laws and hands-free driving requirements without attaching anything to the windshield glass.
Which states are the most restrictive?
D.C., New Jersey, Rhode Island, and North Dakota are among the most restrictive. D.C. has a blanket ban on all windshield-mounted objects. Rhode Island and New Jersey require 70% light transmittance with no device exemptions. Pennsylvania names only inspection certificates and other officially required stickers as exempt, but 75 Pa.C.S. 4524 prohibits only material that materially obstructs, obscures or impairs the driver's view, so a small non-obstructing mount is not banned outright.
Which states are the most permissive?
Ohio explicitly allows GPS devices and electronic equipment on windshields. California has the most detailed framework with specific 5-inch and 7-inch mounting zones. Georgia's law explicitly permits device mounts. Florida exempts GPS devices and toll transponders by name.
Updates
Corrected the Pennsylvania summary: 75 Pa.C.S. 4524 bans windshield material only where it materially obstructs the driver view, so the page no longer describes Pennsylvania as banning all windshield mounts, and the California citation now points to the mounting statute rather than the safety-glazing one.
Corrected the FAQ's claim that Arizona allows phone and GPS mounts in its 5-inch/7-inch windshield corner zones (those zones are reserved for signs and stickers under Arizona law) and fixed the penalty-range figure, which had misattributed a $1,000 business-installer fine in Texas to ordinary drivers and understated Delaware's actual fine.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
State-by-state comparison
Each state guide below is paired with the governing statute our editors adjudicated for it, held in our own legal record and verified against the official source.
Each statute shown is the same adjudicated anchor its state guide renders, independently verified against primary sources. A dash means not yet adjudicated in our record — never that no law exists.
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 346: Rules Of The Road
§ 346.88Obstruction of operator’s view or driving mechanism.In forcecited in 4 of our articles
(1) No person shall drive a vehicle when it is so loaded or when there are in the front seat such number of persons, or any persons so situated, as to obstruct the view of the operator to the front or to the sides or as to interfere with the operator having free use of both hands and feet to the operating mechanisms or controls of the vehicle. (2) No passenger in a vehicle shall ride in such a position as to interfere with the operator’s view ahead or to the sides or to interfere with the operator’s control of the operating mechanism of the vehicle. (3) (a) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster or other nontransparent material upon the front windshield, front side wings, side windows in the driver’s compartment or rear window of such vehicle other than a certificate or other sticker issued by order of a governmental agency. Such permitted sticker shall not cover more than 15 square inches of glass surface and shall be placed in the lower left-hand corner of the windshield; the left corner being on the driver’s left when seated behind the wheel.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-08 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov
Cited in 1 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2015
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- State v. Richard E. Houghton, Jr. (Wisconsin Supreme Court 2015, 364 Wis. 2d 234)“…pull Houghton over for a violation of Wis. Stat. § 346.88(3)(b) (2011-12),3 "Obstruction of opera…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Wisconsin Dashcam Laws: Mounting Rules, Audio Recording, and Evidence (2026), Dashboard Camera Legality and Privacy Laws: Is It Illegal to Use Dashcams in North America?, Wisconsin Windshield Mounting Laws
California Vehicle Code
§ 26701In force
(a) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or operate any motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, manufactured after January 1, 1936, unless it is equipped with safety glazing material wherever glazing materials are used in interior partitions, doors, windows, windshields, auxiliary wind deflectors or openings in the roof. (b) No person shall sell or offer for sale any camper manufactured after January 1, 1968, nor shall any person operate a motor vehicle registered in this state which is equipped with that camper, unless the camper is equipped with safety glazing materials wherever glazing materials are used in outside windows and doors, interior partitions, and openings in the roof. (c) No person shall operate a motorcycle manufactured after January 1, 1969, equipped with a windshield containing glazing material unless it is safety glazing material. (d) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or operate any motor vehicle equipped with red, blue, or amber translucent aftermarket material in any partitions, windows, windshields, or wind deflectors.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Search our full record of US law — 2.1 million sections, every state + federal →
Sources and References
- Wisconsin Statute § 346.88: obstructions to the operator's view(docs.legis.wisconsin.gov).gov
- California Vehicle Code § 26701: safety glazing requirements for windshields(leginfo.legislature.ca.gov).gov
- California Vehicle Code § 26708(b)(12)-(13): portable GPS and video event recorder windshield mounting zones(leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 28-959.01: materials on windows or windshield, exceptions and requirements(azleg.gov)
- 75 Pa.C.S. § 4524: windshield obstructions and wipers(palegis.us)