Vehicle · Studded tires
Are Studded Tires Legal in Michigan?
Whether studded snow tires are legal in Michigan, the months they are allowed if the rule is seasonal, who is exempt, and the penalty for running them out of season. Cited to the statute.
What the studded tire law says in Michigan
The core rule, the season window if there is one, and who the law exempts.
| What the law says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Legal only in the seasonal window | Mich. Admin. Code R 247.175 allows permitted traction devices only between November 15 and April 1 of the succeeding year, except in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, where the window runs October 1 to May 1. Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(b) bans studs outright and leaves the dates to the rule. |
| The pavement-wear test | Mich. Admin. Code R 247.174 is the real gate. Studs may not be used unless they wear concrete or asphalt pavements typical of the state at a rate no greater than 25 percent of the reference standard studded tire. Michigan publishes no approved-product list, so a stud qualifies only by meeting that figure. |
| Two windows by region | Mich. Admin. Code R 247.171(3) defines the northern Lower Peninsula as every county whose southern boundary sits as far north as, or farther north than, the southern boundary of Missaukee county. Those counties and the Upper Peninsula get the wider October 1 to May 1 season. |
| Tire chains | Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(b) permits a tire chain of reasonable proportion when required for safety because of snow, ice, or other condition tending to cause a vehicle to skid. Chains sit in the statute, carry no dates, and are condition-based. |
| Who is exempt | What it means |
|---|---|
| Wire-embedded pneumatic tires, year round | Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(c) permits a pneumatic tire in which wire of .075 inch in diameter or less is embedded, provided the metal in contact with the road stays within 5 percent of the tire area on the road, or 20 percent during the first 1,000 miles of use. This class carries no dates and is a year-round permission. |
| Police, ambulances, and rural mail carriers | Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(e) permits ice grips or tire studs for a law enforcement officer operating an agency-owned vehicle, a person operating an ambulance, or a United States Postal Service rural carrier driving a vehicle the carrier owns and maintains as a prerequisite to employment. This is the one place in the code where studs are allowed by naming the driver rather than testing the device. |
| Stricter local law controls | Mich. Admin. Code R 247.172(2) says the rules do not displace any statute or local ordinance that is more restrictive, and traction devices may not be used unless there is compliance with other laws. A Michigan city may set a shorter season than the state. |
| Farm machinery | Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(b) also allows farm machinery with a tire having a protuberance that will not injure a highway. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps for running studded tires within the law in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Check your region first
Confirm whether your county sits in the wider northern zone. The Upper Peninsula and counties as far north as Missaukee run October 1 to May 1, and the rest of Michigan runs November 15 to April 1.
- Confirm the studs meet the wear standard
Michigan gates studs on a 25 percent pavement-wear figure under Mich. Admin. Code R 247.174 rather than an approved-product list, so verify the tire meets that standard before relying on it.
- Fit and remove inside your window
Install studs no earlier than your zone start date and take them off by your zone end date to stay within the rule.
If you were cited over studded tires, a local traffic attorney or public defender can explain how the charge is handled and whether an exemption applies to you.
→ Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710, Michigan Vehicle CodeThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Season dates and exemptions can change, so confirm your situation against the statute before winter.
What drivers in Michigan get wrong about studded tires
Michigan looks like a simple seasonal state and is not. Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(b) bans studs and other non-rubber protuberances outright, then hands the seasonal question to a regulation the statute ordered the transportation department to write. That rule, Mich. Admin. Code R 247.175, allows permitted traction devices only between November 15 and April 1 of the succeeding year across most of the state, and pushes the window out to October 1 through May 1 in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, where R 247.171(3) uses Missaukee county as the dividing line. Before any of that, a stud has to clear R 247.174, which permits it only if it wears typical concrete or asphalt at no more than 25 percent of a defined reference tire. Michigan publishes no approved-product list, so the wear figure is the real gate, and a driver who cannot show the device meets it stays under the prohibition no matter the month. A handful of drivers escape the test entirely under § 257.710(e), namely police in agency vehicles, ambulance operators, and Postal Service rural carriers. For everyone else the honest summary is that studs are banned by default, usable only if they pass the wear standard, and then only inside the regional window.
Common questions
Are studded tires legal in Michigan?
Only conditionally and seasonally. Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(b) bans studs outright, and Mich. Admin. Code R 247.175 allows them only in season and only if they clear the pavement-wear standard in R 247.174.
When can you use studded tires in Michigan?
Between November 15 and April 1 across most of the state, and between October 1 and May 1 in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula, under Mich. Admin. Code R 247.175.
Why are Michigan studded-tire dates set by regulation and not statute?
Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(d) delegated the standards to the transportation department and required a separate provision for the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula. Mich. Admin. Code R 247.175 supplies the actual dates.
Who can use studded tires in Michigan outside the wear test?
Under Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.710(e), a law enforcement officer in an agency vehicle, a person operating an ambulance, and a United States Postal Service rural carrier may use ice grips or tire studs, permitted by the driver rather than by testing the device.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.