A model for the calculation of diffuse reflectance and transmittance of a single interference layer on a transparent substrate is applied to pyrolytically deposited tin oxide films on glass. Total as well as diffuse reflectance and transmittance spectra were measured in an integrating sphere, and scattering levels between 0.002 and 0.1 were recorded. The optical constants and the thickness of the films were determined from the total reflectance and transmittance spectra. The wavelength-dependent effectiveroot-mean-square roughness of aluminum-coated tin oxide front surfaces was determined by the application of the scalar scattering theory. Surface roughness values between 5 and 25 nm were obtained. The obtained effective rms roughness values of the air-film interface were used together with the other film parameters to calculate the diffuse reflectance and transmittance spectra of the tinoxide-coated glass substrates. A comparison between calculated and experimental spectra showed good agreement for diffuse reflectance, diffuse transmittance, and total integrated scattering spectra.