![Winter tyres in Europe, 2026–27: the rule in every country, week by week [OC]](https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/a75750ed-78fc-48bd-ba2b-86e4f34c1e0c.webp){kind=link}
Made in October 2026. Each country’s rule was read from its own law or transport authority on 24–25 Oct 2026; every source is linked in the full table: https://copilot.travel/maps/winter-tyres
A few things that surprised me:
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Estonia requires winter tyres 1 Dec–1 Mar whatever the weather; Finland 1 Nov–31 Mar only when conditions require.
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Germany only accepts tyres with the snowflake (3PMSF) mark in wintry conditions; old M+S-only tyres no longer count.
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Caravans need winter tyres too in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Lithuania; in Germany, Austria and France the rule only covers the towing car.
Never even thought about there been laws forcing different tires per season. Do people just randomly have 4 extra tires in their homes to change when the time comes?
Maybe I should be glad to be in a country with no snow.
That’s how many people do it. For people who don’t have the space at home, automotive workshops offer seasonal storage of the extra set of wheels as a service.
It’s not only about the snow, by the way, it’s also about temperature. Winter tyres don’t only have a different tread more suitable for snow, they are also are made of a a different (softer) rubber mix than summer tyres to provide improved grip at lower temperatures. You can use them in summer, but at the cost of increased wear. If you’re using up winter tyres that have too little treading left to be safe for another winter during the summer, you will save some wear on your summer tyres.
You can store the tires at services that swap them in spring and summer. In Canada, insurance companies offer lower rates if you use winter tires because they have the data that shows winter tires users have fewer crashes.
Every November, first icy day countless idiots in expensive cars with summer performance tires end up in guardrails. Because, when you spend $80,000 for a car, ain’t got money for the right tires.
We have the same kind of morons here in Germany. I am looking forward to meeting them again soon. /s
I really don’t get those idiots. The tyres might very well be the most important (safety relevant even) parts on the entire car, because they provide the interface to the road.
Yes. Although, for my company car, they are stored at the dealership who in turn have three old shipping containers behind their building that they have fitted with custom tire shelves to store customer wheels off-season.
If you’re in a country where there’s is snow or just cold temperatures, you don’t “randomly” have 4 extra tires. You literally need them for at least a few months. Typically you’d swap over in late October, then back in March/April depending on how it’s going. Swapping them yourself is trivial enough, but it’s also incredibly cheap to get them swapped at a shop.
Note that at least last I checked, the proper transition temperature isn’t “freezing” or “there is snow”, but about 7-8°C. That’s when winter tires will have better grip, and summer tires grip steeply diminishes below this. Once there is actual snow, your just actually up shit creek with no paddle on summer tires. But if you have to emergency brake at like 3°C for example, it makes a significant difference what kind you got on your vehicle.
Pretty much yes! In the Nordics and the Alps most families own two sets, usually each on its own wheels (then you can change them by ourself, slo many times theres somekind of storage or you can use storaging and changing as a service), so the swap takes half an hour at home or a few minutes at a tyre shop. Many don’t keep them at home at all: tyre shops run “tyre hotels” that store your off-season set and swap it for you twice a year.
The other route is all-season tyres with the snowflake-on-a-mountain mark (3PMSF): in most countries with a winter rule, Germany included, they count as winter tyres, so one set does the whole year. Where winters are mild that’s the usual choice.
Pretty useful info. What a strange and alien concept, tyre hotels lol. But it makes more sense like that.
Yeah, totally get that, in ever smaller housing and apartments in cities price of storing winter tires might not make sense anymore. Ofcourse it also makes other funny things like people remembering their cars bolt pattern when someone has useless round of wheels at their storage and such.
summer tires harden in cold temperatures, making them less grippy even without ice or snow. and winter tires get too soft in warmer air, meaning they stretch more, which can lead to overheating and blowout. so you do need both. there are some tires that are allowed year-round, but they’re less efficient.
also it’s usually not just extra tires, but complete wheel sets. that way you can change them yourself.
Yes. Either that or the spare set of tires is stored where they get their tires changed (and checked) twice a year.
PS: It’s a set of wheels including tires (often the cheaper steal rims as that’s not the stuff you drive fast with anyway…) for those having them at home of course. I would not actually change tires myself…
PPS: And as it’s completely normal, it’s not unusual to get a used car with a second set of wheels.
Yes, a wheel change is easy and can be accomplished by a trained monkey, but an actual tyre change for a car is kind of difficult and doing it properly requires bulky special equipment (at very least a balancing machine) only very few people have at home.
Yes. Either that or a workshops holds them for you (🤑).
I don’t have to change my tires but I do. They are stored in my shed, but people who don’t have space at home may pay for them to be stored at the mechanic’s facilities.
On days with fresh snow I often see several cars in ditches on my drive to work. I live in a rural area and have also had to dodge out-of-control cars and trucks so I want to make sure I can depend on the grip.
Eta: I once skidded right through an intersection on a red light because I was in a rental on summer tires. Never again lol!
First ice day and all the wankers in pickups are in the ditches. They think those blocky tires are ok for winter, and the bought a vehicle with all the weight concentrated over the wrong wheels. Everything about pickups is stupid.
True facts!
I didn’t have a car until I moved out here and my first car was the cheapest AWD I could find. Next we got a hybrid with fwd and I had to change the way I drove to compensate for the lack of power in the back.
I couldn’t imagine being that high up on a rwd on all seasons 😬
These days there exist four-season tyres, which to my knowledge meet the requirements of countries that require winter tyres in winter or wintery conditions.
All season tires are a marketing term. It’s not possible to make rubber formulas that work across a 50 degree temperature range. If they did work in cold weather, then would wear quickly in hot weather.
Those all season tyres are really just a bad compromise, I wouldn’t bet my life on them. And with the tyres being the interface to the road, responsible for keeping the car on the road and making it stop in a timely manner when you hit the brakes, you are literally betting your life on them.
They are still functional tyres. I’ve been driving on all season tyres for years now and it’s never been an issue.
I live in a country with a relatively mild climate, so we don’t really get extreme winters or summers. All season tyres are plenty good enough for the occional light dusting of snow in winter.
While they do meet the requirements they are objectively worse than dedicated winter tyres in the winter and vice versa for summer. As a Norwegian I’d never trust all season tyres in the winter, at least not here in Norway. Non-studded winter tyres work good enough in the cities, but studded tyres are the best regardless of where you drive in the winter.
As a Dutchman, I just don’t want to get fined when driving into Germany. Preferably without breaking the bank.
yeah but the tradeoff is you’ll use more fuel.
The major trade-off is the time and distance it takes to brake and that the tyres get stressed more heavily in comparison to seasonal ones.
yeah they’re just less good overall
Yes even in places where there’s no legal requirement because it is better to do that and because insurer can fuck you up if you don’t have correct tyres
Only if you told the insurer you fit winter tires and you don’t.
There are also all season tires (marked M+S I think) that work through all the year but not particularly well in any season. The problem with changing tires is winter tires life span which is typically 5 years. Thus if you don’t drive much, you end up disposing not much used ones every 5 years resulting in ecological and financial problems.
Crashing is a ecological and financial problem.
Decent all season tires have both marks (M+S and 3PMSF) and are accepted in all countries.
You are right that the tire is a compromise, but in practice the better all season tires are convenient and sufficient for most drivers, especially in countries with a predominantly mild climate. Their biggest downside is cost vs mileage.
The downside is also that they are not good in either season.
IIRC 3PMSF aren’t actually all-season, they’re winter tires. You can use them in the summer if they don’t have studs though