Are studded tires legal in Connecticut?
Connecticut allows studded tires from November 15 through April 30.
The studded tire rule in Connecticut
Allowed in season
Connecticut allows studded tires from November 15 through April 30.
Connecticut allows tires with a metal nonskid device, which covers studded tires, from November 15 through April 30.
Each vehicle operated upon any highway or bridge shall be equipped with tires of rubber, or other elastic substance, approved by the commissioner, and the wheels shall be so constructed that no metal part of the wheel or tire may be in contact with the surface of the road at any time when such vehicle is in motion upon the highway, except such vehicle may be equipped with tires incorporating a metal nonskid device during the period from November fifteenth to April thirtieth, inclusive.Tires, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-98, read September 22, 2026. Read it at the source
Studded tire season 2026-27 in Connecticut
The dashed line marks today.
Exceptions to the Connecticut rule
The rule does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles, road building machinery working on highways, farm tractors crossing a highway to reach farmland, or trucks and trailers holding a permit from the Commissioner of Transportation.
Nothing in this section shall apply to authorized emergency vehicles, to road-making machinery in use in the repair or construction of highways or to a tractor used in agricultural pursuits when necessarily traversing a highway or bridge for the purpose of access to agricultural lands, or to a truck, tractor, trailer or semitrailer for which a permit has been granted by the Commissioner of Transportation.Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-98. Read it at the source
Other traction devices
The statute speaks of any metal nonskid device and bars metal parts of a tire from touching the road outside November 15 to April 30. It does not name tire chains separately, so whether chains fall under the same window is a reading of the statute, not something it spells out.
no metal part of the wheel or tire may be in contact with the surface of the road at any time when such vehicle is in motion upon the highway, except such vehicle may be equipped with tires incorporating a metal nonskid device during the period from November fifteenth to April thirtieth, inclusive.Tires, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-98. Read it at the source
Studded tire windows in neighbouring states
The dashed line marks today.
- New YorkAllowed in seasonOct 16 to Apr 30
- MassachusettsAllowed in seasonNov 2 to Apr 30
- Rhode IslandAllowed in seasonNov 15 to Apr 1
Connecticut studded tire questions
Compiled September 22, 2026 from Tires, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-98 and the other sources linked beside each quote. Statutes change between winters, and a transportation department can extend a window where its statute allows, so the linked source is the one to check before a trip. Every state is in the studded tire laws by state table.