FMVSS 205: Glazing Materials explained.

What FMVSS 205 says it is for

The eCFR heads this section "Standard No. 205, Glazing materials." Under 49 CFR part 571, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are the numbered standards that set safety performance requirements for motor vehicles and equipment. The text below is quoted from 571.205 as current through October 29, 2026.

This standard specifies requirements for glazing materials for use in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.

The purpose of this standard is to reduce injuries resulting from impact to glazing surfaces, to ensure a necessary degree of transparency in motor vehicle windows for driver visibility, and to minimize the possibility of occupants being thrown through the vehicle windows in collisions.

What it applies to

The application section of the standard says:

This standard applies to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks designed to carry at least one person, buses, motorcycles, slide-in campers, pickup covers designed to carry persons while in motion and low speed vehicles, and to glazing materials for use in those vehicles.

Applicability is decided by the text of the standard as written, including any exclusions it lists, and by the date-specific rules in it. This page does not decide whether a particular vehicle or item is covered.

How the standard is organized

The eCFR text of 571.205 has these top-level sections:

• S1: Scope
• S2: Purpose
• S3: Application
• S4: Definitions
• S5: Requirements
• S6: Certification and marking

In all, the text has 12 numbered headings. Use the finder above to search them; for example, a search for "test" lists the headings that mention tests.

Key requirements, quoted from the text

These are excerpts from the requirements sections of 571.205, in the order the standard presents them. Long paragraphs are shortened where marked with [...]; the eCFR has the complete text, tables and figures, which this page omits.

S5 Requirements. S5.1 Glazing materials for use in motor vehicles must conform to ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5), unless this standard provides otherwise. SAE Recommended Practice J673 (1993) (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5) is referenced in ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996.

S5.1.1 Multipurpose passenger vehicles. Except as otherwise specifically provided by this standard, glazing for use in multipurpose passenger vehicles shall conform to the requirements for glazing for use in trucks as specified in ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5).

S5.1.2 Aftermarket replacement glazing. Glazing intended for aftermarket replacement is required to meet the requirements of this standard.

S5.1.3 Location of arrow within “AS” markings. In ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5) Section 7. “Marking of Safety Glazing Materials,” on page 33, in the right column, in the first complete sentence, the example markings “AS↓1”, “AS↓14” and “AS↑2” are corrected to read “A↓S1”, “A↓S14” and “A↑S2”. Note that the arrow indicating the portion of the material that complies with Test 2 is placed with its base adjacent to a horizontal line. S5.2 Each of the test specimens described in ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5) Section 5.7 (fracture test) must meet the fracture test requirements of that section when tested in accordance with the test procedure set forth in that section.

S5.3 Shade Bands. Shade band areas for windshields shall comply with the requirements of either S5.3.1 or S5.3.2. S5.3.1 Shade bands for windshields shall comply with SAE Recommended Practice J100 (1995) (incorporated by reference, see § 571.5). S5.3.2 Except as provided in S5.3.2.1, the lower boundary of shade bands for windshields shall be a plane inclined upwards from the X axis of the vehicle at 7 degrees, passing through point V1, and parallel to the Y axis. The coordinate system and point V1 shall be as specified in Annexes 18 and 19 of European Commission for Europe (ECE) Regulation No. 43 Revision 2—Amendment 1. [...]

S5.4 Low speed vehicles. Windshields of low speed vehicles must meet the ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 specifications for either AS-1 or AS-4 glazing.

S6 Certification and marking. S6.1 A prime glazing material manufacturer must certify, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115, each piece of glazing material to which this standard applies that is designed— (a) As a component of any specific motor vehicle or camper; or (b) To be cut into components for use in motor vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment. S6.2 A prime glazing manufacturer certifies its glazing by adding to the marks required by section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996, in letters and numerals of the same size, the symbol “DOT” and a manufacturer's code mark that NHTSA assigns to the manufacturer. NHTSA will assign a code mark to a manufacturer after the manufacturer submits a written request to the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. The request must include the company name, address, and a statement from the manufacturer certifying its status as a prime glazing manufacturer as defined in S4. [...]

Defined terms

The standard defines 6 terms in its definitions section; the first 6 are quoted here from the eCFR.

• Bullet resistant shield means a shield or barrier that is installed completely inside a motor vehicle behind and separate from glazing materials that independently comply with the requirements of this standard.
• Camper means a structure designed to be mounted in the cargo area of a truck, or attached to an incomplete vehicle with motive power, for the purpose of providing shelter for persons.
• Glass-plastic glazing material means a laminate of one or more layers of glass and one or more layers of plastic in which a plastic surface of the glazing faces inward when the glazing is installed in a vehicle.
• Pickup cover means a camper having a roof and sides but without a floor, designed to be mounted on and removable from the cargo area of a truck by the user.
• Prime glazing manufacturer means a manufacturer that fabricates, laminates, or tempers glazing materials.
• Slide-in camper means a camper having a roof, floor, and sides, designed to be mounted on and removable from the cargo area of a truck by the user.

Limits of this page

This page quotes the text of 49 CFR 571.205 as published in the eCFR, current through October 29, 2026. It omits tables, figures, cross-referenced test procedures in other parts, and the preambles and rulemaking history that explain the rule. It does not tell you whether a given vehicle, part or product complies, how to run a test, or what a manufacturer must certify. Compliance questions go to the manufacturer's engineers, qualified counsel or NHTSA. The eCFR is an editorial compilation, not the official legal edition of the Federal Register.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 49 CFR 571.205, Standard No. 205, Glazing materials. (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR part 571, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)