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Westfjords road, Iceland

Studded tyres from 1 November: what a winter hire actually means

Studs are permitted from 1 November to 14 April, and from the same day every passenger car needs 3.0 mm of tread. Neither rule says a hire car must have studs.

Two rules change on 1 November in Iceland, and only two. Studded tyres become legal again, and the minimum tread depth on a passenger car rises from 1.6 mm to 3.0 mm. There is no date on which "winter tyres" become compulsory, no rule that a hire car must carry studs, and no rule about chains. A winter hire means a car that meets the 3.0 mm rule, on tyres the hire firm chose, and the rest is your check at the desk.

The two rules, as written

The studs rule is clause 16.02 of regulation 822/2004 on the construction and equipment of vehicles, read on reglugerd.is on 1 November 2026: "Keðjur og neglda hjólbarða má ekki nota á tímabilinu frá og með 15. apríl til og með 31. október" — chains and studded tyres may not be used from 15 April to 31 October inclusive — unless driving conditions require them. Read the other way round, studs are permitted from 1 November to 14 April.

The tread rule is amendment 736/2014 to the same regulation, signed 21 July 2014 and in force from 1 November 2014, read in Stjórnartíðindi on Ísland.is on 1 November 2026: "Á tímabilinu frá og með 1. nóvember til og með 14. apríl skal fólksbifreið búin hjólbörðum með a.m.k. 3,0 mm mynstursdýpt" — from 1 November to 14 April inclusive a passenger car shall have tyres with at least 3.0 mm of tread. From 15 April to 31 October the figure is 1.6 mm. The same split applies to coaches, lorries and trailers; emergency vehicles need 4.0 mm in winter.

The police say it in rounder words. The capital-area police notice of 1 October 2020 on Ísland.is describes studded tyres as "almennt leyfð frá 1. nóvember til 15. apríl", generally permitted from 1 November to 15 April. That is one day later than the regulation's "to and including 14 April", and the difference is the kind of thing a re-check turns up: the regulation is the law, the notice is the summary, and nobody has been fined on 15 April for the sake of it. The South Iceland police notice of 13 October 2022 says the same period and adds that studs fitted in late October are not fined. The capital-area police notice of 14 April 2026 asked drivers to consider taking studs off early because the roads were clear, and said the fine book would stay closed for the time being.

Reykjavík city's own pages discourage studs inside the city for the dust and wear they cause, and recommend good non-studded winter tyres instead. That is a preference, not a rule.

What that means for a hire car

First, the 3.0 mm rule binds the car, not the driver's choice of firm. Every passenger car on the road from 1 November must meet it, hire cars included, so the firm is obliged to hand you tyres at or above it. It is a minimum. A tyre at 3.0 mm is legal and near the end of its useful winter life; the city's advice is not to go below three to four millimetres. Look at the tread at the desk, and if there is a coin in your pocket use it.

Second, studs or not is the firm's decision, and both are legal. Studded tyres grip better on polished ice; non-studded winter tyres are quieter and are what the city asks for. A car booked as "winter tyres" may be either. If the trip is the south coast to Höfn and back, the question matters on Hellisheiði and on the shaded bends east of Vík more than in town; ask which the car has, and ask what the firm's own notice says about driving on roads umferdin.is marks as icy.

Third, what you cannot assume: chains are not standard and are rarely offered; four-wheel drive is not tyres and does not shorten a stopping distance on ice; and a winter hire does not extend the season of any road. The seven-day Ring Road ledger on this site is written for May to September and says that October to April is "only with winter tyres, a daily look at umferdin.is and the Stuðlagil and Dettifoss detours dropped". The tyres are the easy part of that sentence.

Sources

The ledgers this post refers to

  1. Iceland Ring Road in 7 days

    Anticlockwise from Keflavík: about 1,555 km and 19.5 hours at the wheel in seven days, with nights in Vík, Höfn, Egilsstaðir, Mývatn, Akureyri and Borgarnes.

    7 days · Iceland
    1,555 km · 19 h 35 driving
    Checked 1 Nov 2026
  2. Iceland South Coast and Golden Circle in 5 days

    Reykjavík base, a Golden Circle day, then two south-coast days to Jökulsárlón with nights in Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur: about 1,125 km and 14 hours of driving.

    5 days · Iceland
    1,125 km · 14 h 10 driving
    Checked 1 Nov 2026