North Jutland police are stepping up checks on unsuitable car tyres this winter, with fines of 1,000 kroner per tyre for drivers whose tyres do not match the road conditions.
Nordjyllands Politi will tighten enforcement of the rule on unsuitable tyres during the coming winter months, DR reported on November 11, 2026. Hjalte Helbo, head of operational traffic in the district, said checks will not be limited to accidents.
Per Helbo, tyres can also be inspected during an ordinary traffic check or any other contact with police. If officers judge the tyres unsuitable for the weather, the fine is 1,000 kroner per tyre.
Worn tyres and missing snowflake markings also count
Helbo said plain summer tyres in clear winter conditions are not suitable for the road. According to his account, drivers can also be fined when using winter or all-season tyres, because Nordjyllands Politi cracks down on worn tyres.
In very hard winter conditions, winter tyres must also carry the snow grip marking, known in Danish as snegrebsmærkede. Tyres without it leave the driver facing a fine, as described in DR’s report.
The rule has applied since July 1, 2025, as noted by Ingeniøren. Because a car has four tyres, the bill can reach 4,000 kroner, according to Bil Magasinet.
When the law was introduced, police criticized it as too imprecise and hard to enforce, DR reported. As a result, each police district decides for itself what counts as vinterføre, meaning winter road conditions.
Few fines so far, and a national push for consistency
As reported by TV2 Nord, no tyre fines had been issued in North Jutland in the months after the law change. Police had earlier said they would fine only when vehicles were in accidents, skidded, or were seen being driven unsafely.
Ingeniøren reported that Rigspolitiet, the national police, has since set out a uniform fining practice across districts that had handled the rule differently. Police told Bil Magasinet it is not possible to extract data on how many drivers were fined.
At FDM, the Danish car owners’ association, chief consultant Dennis Lange urged drivers to fit winter tyres. According to Lange, anyone who depends on daily driving will not get through the winter without winter tyres or good all-season tyres.
Lange also said drivers who are unsure should assume winter conditions exist, even without five centimeters of snow on the road. As stated by him, hoar frost on the asphalt will probably also count as winter conditions.
What the tyre rules mean for internationals who drive in Denmark
Denmark has no general requirement to use winter tyres, and no fixed calendar date for changing them. As DR reported in 2025, the rules simply require that a car’s tyres are ready if and when winter weather arrives.
That differs from neighboring countries with date based or condition based mandates, and it places the judgment on the driver. The practical test is whether the tyres are suitable for the conditions on the day, as assessed by the officer who stops the car.
Two Danish terms matter here. Vinterføre refers to winter road conditions, which each police district defines, per DR. Snegrebsmærkede describes tyres carrying the snow grip marking, required by Nordjyllands Politi in very hard winter conditions.
For foreign residents, the financial exposure is concrete. A set of four tyres judged unsuitable can mean 4,000 kroner in fines, according to Bil Magasinet, which adds to the cost of running a car in Denmark.
Enforcement currently centers on North Jutland, based on DR’s reporting. What is not yet known is how many fines have been issued nationally, since police told Bil Magasinet that such data cannot be extracted.
