Winter TyresBrazil Winter Tyres 2026: No Rule, 1.6 mm Tread Is the Law
No. Brazil has no winter tyre rule. The legal minimum tread is 1.6 mm, shown by the wear indicators, and heavy rain is the condition to plan for.
Brazil has no winter tyre rule. The tyre law that applies everywhere, all year, is a 1.6 mm minimum tread.
Cold in the south, but no season
Most of Brazil is tropical, and even the southern plateau of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, where frost is common in June and July and snow falls on the high ground in some years, has no winter tyre obligation. There is no fitting period, no marking requirement and no chain rule in Brazilian traffic regulation.
The rule that does apply
CONTRAN, the national traffic council, consolidated its tyre rules into a single resolution that took effect on 1 April 2022 and replaced Resolution 558 of 1980. Its article 4 bans a motor vehicle from circulating on tyres whose tread has worn down to the wear indicators, or whose remaining depth is below 1.6 mm. The indicators are the small raised bars in the grooves; once the tread is flush with them, the tyre is illegal.
What to plan for instead
- Rain. Tropical storms flood roads in minutes. Deep tread clears water; a tyre near the indicators aquaplanes early.
- Heat and distance. Long highway stages in high temperatures raise pressures. Check them cold.
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Sources
- Governo Federal, Participa + Brasil: consolidation of the rules on tyre use in vehicles (article 4, 1.6 mm; in force 1 April 2022; revokes Resolution 558/1980): https://www.gov.br/participamaisbrasil/consolidacao-das-normas-referentes-ao-uso-de-pneus-em-veiculos
Crossing more than one border this winter? See winter tyre rules, dates and legal tread minimums for every country →
Tyre details
- EU tyre label grades for wet grip and fuel use — What each letter and pictogram on the sticker actually measures.
- What the speed letter on the sidewall allows — H, V, W and Y decoded, plus the sticker rule for lower-rated winter sets.
- Load index: will the tyre carry a loaded car? — The two- or three-digit number that caps weight per tyre.
- Tyre noise ratings in decibels — What the dB figure and the A, B or C class on the label mean inside the car.
- Starting tyre pressure for your size and load — A starting figure in bar and psi, then the door placard has the final word.
Full rules, fines & requirements
Winter tyres, tread depth & rules
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Related Questions
No. Brazilian traffic rules set no winter tyre requirement, no season and no snow chain rule anywhere in the country, including the colder southern states.
1.6 mm. CONTRAN's tyre resolution, in force since 1 April 2022, bans a vehicle from the road if the tread has worn down to the wear indicators or to less than 1.6 mm.
Water. Tropical downpours flood roads quickly, and tread depth is what clears water from under the tyre. Long hot highway runs also make correct pressures important.