Winter TyresSerbia 2026 Winter Rules: 4 mm Tyres Plus Chains in Snow
Serbia: 1 Nov-1 Apr, when snow, ice or black ice is on the road, cars need winter tyres on all wheels with 4 mm tread plus chains for the drive wheels. Fine RSD 5,000.
Serbia’s winter rule switches on with the weather inside a fixed window. From 1 November to 1 April, if snow, ice or black ice is on the road, a car must be fitted with the prescribed winter equipment: winter tyres on all wheels, with at least 4 mm of tread, and chains or another traction device for at least two drive wheels. Missing equipment costs RSD 5,000.
What the kit consists of
The Ministry of Interior’s guidance on the vehicle-classification and technical-conditions rulebook lists the winter equipment for cars and light vans (categories M1 and N1):
- tyres for winter use — marked M+S, Snow, Winter or similar — on all wheels;
- snow chains or other traction devices for at least two drive wheels.
Buses and heavy goods vehicles (M2, M3, N2, N3) must also carry a shovel.
4 mm, not 3 mm
The detail that catches visiting drivers is tread depth. When tyres are used as winter equipment in Serbia, the tread must be at least 4 mm. Slovenia and Sweden, for example, work to 3 mm, so a set that is legal elsewhere on the trip can be under the Serbian figure. The 1.6 mm figure is the general summer minimum and is irrelevant on a snowy road here.
When it bites, and what happens
The obligation applies only when the road carries snow, ice or black ice during the 1 November – 1 April window. The Road Traffic Safety Act (article 131) delegates the details to the ministry and requires drivers to carry and use winter equipment as prescribed; article 333 sets a fixed fine of RSD 5,000 for failing to do so, rising to RSD 6,000–18,000 if the offence put another road user in immediate danger or caused a crash.
Under article 291, a police officer can order a driver on a road where winter equipment or chains are compulsory to fit them. A driver who does not comply is taken out of traffic, or sent on a route where the equipment is not needed.
On the E75 motorway through Belgrade and Niš, winter-equipment checks mostly matter in snowfall. The routes into Zlatibor, Kopaonik and the south-west highlands are where chains stop being theoretical.
Sources
- Ministry of Interior (MUP), Tehnička ispravnost i korišćenje obavezne zimske opreme — period, condition, M1/N1 equipment, 4 mm.
- Zakon o bezbednosti saobraćaja na putevima — articles 131 (winter equipment), 291 (police orders), 333 (RSD 5,000; RSD 6,000–18,000).
More on Serbia
Crossing more than one border this winter? See winter tyre rules, dates and legal tread minimums for every country →
Tyre details
- Winter tyre rated below your car's top speed? Read the speed letter — 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.
- EU tyre label grades for wet grip and fuel use — What each letter and pictogram on the sticker actually measures.
- 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
From 1 November to 1 April, when snow, ice or black ice lies on the road. In those conditions a car must carry the prescribed winter equipment; on a clear road in the same period the obligation does not apply.
For cars and light vans (categories M1 and N1): winter tyres such as M+S or Snow/Winter-marked tyres on all wheels, and chains or another traction device for at least two drive wheels.
At least 4 mm when they are used as winter equipment. A winter tyre at 3 mm, legal in several neighbouring countries, falls short in Serbia.
RSD 5,000 under article 333 of the Road Traffic Safety Act. If the offence endangers another road user or causes a crash, the fine range is RSD 6,000 to 18,000, and police can order chains fitted or stop the vehicle continuing.