Winter Tyres Switzerland: What the Law Requires

Quick answer: winter tyres Switzerland rules come down to one clause, not a calendar. Switzerland has no winter tyre law with fixed dates. The country requires only tyres fit for the road you are driving on, under the roadworthiness duty in the Road Traffic Act. Drive on tyres unsuited to snow or ice, cause an obstruction or a crash, and the fine and the liability land on you, whatever month it is.

That single rule decides whether your tyres are legal on any given day. See our guide to winter tyre rules across Europe for the wider picture, and check the Swiss motorway vignette if your winter route crosses the Alps, since it covers the same roads this rule applies to.

Key Takeaways

• No calendar or percentage law for winter tyres. Article 29 of the Road Traffic Act (SVG) requires tyres “fit for the actual conditions,” with no fixed dates (verified 2026-09-11).
• Tread minimum: 1.6mm, year-round, for every tyre and vehicle class (VTS Art. 58 Abs. 4, verified 2026-09-11).
• Snow chains are mandatory only where the “Schneeketten obligatorisch” sign is posted, on at least two wheels of one drive axle (SSV Art. 29 Abs. 1, verified 2026-09-11).
• Studded tyres are legal 1 November to 30 April, capped at 80 km/h, and banned on motorways (VTS Art. 62; VRV Art. 5 and Art. 35 Abs. 2, verified 2026-09-11).
• Foreign-registered cars are bound too: Swiss traffic law applies by road, not by number plate (SVG Art. 1 Abs. 2, verified 2026-09-11).

The Roadworthiness Duty, and How It Splits by Vehicle Class

Swiss federal law names no fixed dates and no dedicated tyre article. The rule that stands in is Article 29 of the Strassenverkehrsgesetz (SVG): “Fahrzeuge dürfen nur in betriebssicherem und vorschriftsgemässem Zustand verkehren.” In plain English, vehicles may only be used on the road in a roadworthy, condition-appropriate state (SVG Art. 29, verified 2026-09-11). Tyres unfit for the snow or ice on the road, causing an obstruction or an accident, bring liability under this same article: a fine, and an insurer who can treat the crash as negligence. A search of the full statute for winter tyre, snow chain, studs, M+S and snowflake returns zero hits; no separate winter-tyre statute exists.

This duty covers cars (M1) and light vans up to 3.5 tonnes (N1) directly, with no calendar of their own. Heavier vehicles get no dedicated statute either: the tyre chapter of the Vehicle Technical Requirements Ordinance (VTS), Articles 58 to 62, spans cars, vans, lorries, buses and trailers as one regime, with no stricter tread figure for heavy classes. Where a chains sign is posted, the fitting duty falls on the towing vehicle’s drive axle only, not a trailer of its own, while studded tyres extend explicitly to towed trailers, under the same window and limits (VTS Art. 62 Abs. 1). Motorhomes are not separate either; each takes the rule for whichever class it is registered under.

Tyre Marking and Tread Depth the Law Actually Names

Most winter-tyre guides jump straight to a marking requirement. Swiss law does not, outside one narrow scenario: Article 58 Abs. 2 of the VTS says a tyre must match the vehicle’s top speed, and winter tyres are the named exception (Article 59 Abs. 3 and 4), which bites only when a winter tyre’s own speed rating is lower than the car could reach. There, cars need the 3PMSF snowflake mark (UNECE Regulation 117) rated at least 160 km/h; motorcycles and light, small or three-wheeled vehicles need only the older M+S mark, rated at least 130 km/h. Outside that scenario, the statute names no winter marking at all, unlike Austria, whose exclusive list of M+S-style marks binds every car.

All-season tyres are not a defined category in Swiss law; Ganzjahresreifen does not appear in the VTS, so one is judged only by the snowflake exception above and the general roadworthiness test.

Tread depth is one year-round figure: 1.6mm on the whole running surface, for every tyre, every season (VTS Art. 58 Abs. 4). There is no stricter winter figure; the only carve-outs run downward, for vehicles capped at 30 km/h and small mopeds up to 45 km/h, never upward. The commonly repeated “4mm recommended for winter” is industry advice, not law.

Snow Chains and Studded Tyres

Snow chains apply only where the sign says so

Switzerland has no blanket, nationwide chain law. Chains become mandatory only on a road carrying the sign “Schneeketten obligatorisch” (2.48). Under SSV Art. 29 Abs. 1, a multi-track vehicle may use that stretch only if at least two drive wheels on the same axle carry metal snow chains. The duty is to fit chains on the signed section, not to carry them everywhere. A non-metal alternative counts only as a device specifically approved by ASTRA, the federal roads office, not a generic textile sock. The sign lifts with “Ende des Schneeketten-Obligatoriums” (2.57); once it is down, ordinary tyres are enough.

Studded tyres are legal, with a speed cap and a motorway ban

Studded tyres are permitted, not banned, and closely regulated (VTS Art. 61 and 62). The window runs 1 November to 30 April, extending outside it only “in wintry conditions” (VTS Art. 62 Abs. 1), the one genuine calendar date in the whole regime, and it applies to studs, not tyres generally. Eligible vehicles are motor-wagons up to 7.5 tonnes, motorcycles, light and small vehicles, and the trailers they tow, studs on every wheel with a rear “80” speed-disc plate compulsory while fitted.

Two limits catch drivers out: speed drops to a hard cap of 80 km/h with studs fitted (VRV Art. 5 Abs. 1 lit. a Ziff. 4), well under our guide to speed limits in Switzerland, and studded vehicles cannot use motorways or expressways at all (VRV Art. 35 Abs. 2), a nationwide ban with no exception in the text.

Foreign-Registered Vehicles: Does the Rule Apply to You?

Yes, expressly, not by inference. The conduct rule runs through SVG Art. 1 Abs. 2, a territorial-scope clause: Switzerland’s traffic rules apply to drivers and cyclists “on all roads open to public traffic.” Scope runs by road, not plate, and Article 29 sits inside that same block, so a foreign-plated car whose tyres cannot handle conditions, and that causes an obstruction or a crash, is liable exactly like a Swiss-plated one.

The technical rules, tread, marking and studded-tyre construction, work slightly differently. VTS Art. 36a Abs. 4 binds foreign vehicles to the same requirements, unless that would be stricter than an applicable international agreement or the vehicle’s home-country law; in practice, bound by default unless a looser standard applies instead. Since 1 January 2025, Art. 36a Abs. 2 adds the 1.6mm tread rule on top of the type approval EU whole-vehicle-approved cars already carry. Diplomatic and consular vehicles are the one clean exemption, needing only Annex 5 of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (VTS Art. 36a Abs. 5).

Penalties for Non-Compliant Winter Tyres in Switzerland

Switzerland fines most winter-tyre offences on the spot, with a far higher ceiling if a case goes to court instead.

Offence	On-the-spot fine
Ignoring the “chains obligatory” sign	CHF 100
Driving a motorway or expressway on studded tyres	CHF 60
Driving on a defective or under-depth tyre	CHF 100 per vehicle
Towing a trailer fitted with a defective tyre	CHF 100
Using studded tyres outside 1 November to 30 April	CHF 60
Missing or non-compliant studded-tyre speed plate	CHF 20
Speed plate left on with no studs fitted	CHF 20

These come from the Ordnungsbussenverordnung, the fixed-penalty catalogue (verified 2026-09-11), and stop at a ticket. Beyond that list, SVG Art. 90 Abs. 1 sets the ordinary Busse (fine) track for breaking a traffic rule but names no ceiling of its own; where a statute sets none, the Criminal Code fills the gap at CHF 10,000 (StGB Art. 106 Abs. 1). A separate criminal track, SVG Art. 93, allows up to three years in custody for intentionally running a vehicle you know puts safety at risk, a fine instead if only negligent.

Traps: What Other Guides Get Wrong About Winter Tyres in Switzerland

“3PMSF replaced M+S in 2024.” Not in Swiss law. No transition period for M+S exists in the VTS, and Article 59 Abs. 3 lit. b still names M+S as the accepted mark for motorcycles today. The 2024 date online is, at most, an EU or UNECE production cutoff for a different product layer.

“Winter tyres run October to Easter.” This popular window traces to no Swiss source. Equip for the conditions ahead, not a borrowed date.

“The Gotthard and San Bernardino tunnels are exempt from the studded-tyre motorway ban.” Traces to one press release that no longer resolves; neither ordinance names either tunnel.

“Switzerland bans studded tyres outright.” It does not. They are legal 1 November to 30 April, capped at 80 km/h, everywhere except motorways.

“Chains must be carried year-round.” They need not be carried at all outside a signed section, and even there the duty is to fit, not to stow a set in the boot.

The Short Version

Switzerland’s winter tyre rule is simpler than most guides make it sound, and stricter in one place they rarely mention. There is no calendar: Article 29 asks only that your tyres suit the road you are on, for cars, vans, lorries, buses, trailers and motorhomes alike. The one named marking, the 3PMSF snowflake, applies only when a winter tyre’s speed rating trails the vehicle’s own. Chains are a sign-based duty, not a year-round one, and studded tyres are legal within a fixed window, an 80 km/h cap and a full motorway ban. Foreign-registered cars are bound by all of it, through a road-based scope rule rather than a nationality clause.

If your route continues past the Alps, our guides to winter tyres in Italy and winter tyres in France cover what changes at each border. And before you cross into Switzerland at all, check that the Swiss motorway vignette covers your vehicle for the roads this rule applies to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Fedlex: Strassenverkehrsgesetz (SVG, SR 741.01)
• Fedlex: Verordnung über die technischen Anforderungen an Strassenfahrzeuge (VTS, SR 741.41)
• Fedlex: Verkehrsregelnverordnung (VRV, SR 741.11)
• Fedlex: Signalisationsverordnung (SSV, SR 741.21)
• Fedlex: Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV, catalogue no. 314.11)