Winter tyres in Georgia: what the law requires on Rikoti and Gudauri, M+S or the snowflake

Winter tyres have been required by law on specific Georgian roads since 2024, and the law says exactly what counts as a winter tyre. Many drivers think the M+S mark is enough. It is not. Here is what Government Decree No. 526 demands, the difference between M+S and the snowflake, and when a tyre change is due regardless of the calendar.

Where and when it is mandatory

Decree No. 526 (27 December 2023, in force since 1 January 2024) sets the winter period from 1 December to 1 March. In that period every wheel of the car must carry a winter tyre on the listed sections.

There are more sections on the list, the full one is Annex 2 of the decree. In heavy snow or ice the Minister of Internal Affairs can additionally order chains, on every wheel of at least one driven axle.

What counts as a winter tyre

Article 4 of the decree sets four conditions for a passenger car's winter tyre:

A police officer checks the tyre visually and the tread with a gauge or a ruler. A car that fails can be taken off the road and moved to a secure lot, and the towing and storage costs fall on the driver.

M+S and the snowflake: the difference

M+S (Mud and Snow) is the manufacturer's own mark, applied on the basis of the tread pattern, with no test. The three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) means a test under UN Regulation 117: in snow acceleration the tyre must beat a reference tyre by at least 25 percent. Every snowflake tyre also carries M+S, but not the other way round. Georgian law asks for the snowflake.

The +7 degree rule

The law writes a calendar, the rubber feels a temperature. A summer tyre's compound hardens and loses grip below about +7 °C, snow or no snow. A winter tyre has more natural rubber and stays soft in frost. In a British test on a wet road at +5 °C a car on winter tyres stopped about 5 metres shorter. In Gudauri and Bakuriani a +7 morning arrives by late October, in Tbilisi in December.

Tread: 3 mm is the law, 4 mm the advice

The law asks for 3 mm, tyre makers recommend 4 mm for winter: below that the snow grooves stop biting. A new winter tyre has 8 to 9 mm. How to read a tyre's size and date of manufacture is in a separate [article](/en/news/tyre-markings-dot-code).

Frequently asked questions

Will I be let through to Gudauri on M+S tyres?

From 1 December to 1 March, no, unless the snowflake is on the sidewall. The law asks for the snowflake, M+S alone is not enough.

Are winter tyres mandatory in Tbilisi too?

No, the requirement covers only the listed sections. But below +7 °C a summer tyre grips worse in the city as well.

Does an all-season tyre count?

If it has the snowflake on the sidewall and more than 3 mm of tread, yes. With the M+S mark alone, no.

Sources: Government of Georgia Decree No. 526 (matsne.gov.ge), UN Regulation 117, TÜV Nord.