California Tire Chain Laws

How California handles chains

Your rig over 6,500 pounds gets no snow-tire exemption and must chain whenever chain controls go up on any California highway (CVC 27459). R-1, R-2, and R-3 are Caltrans and CHP shorthand. The sign reads Chains Required. Carry chains or Caltrans turns you back. A tandem-drive tractor chains the outside duals of both drive axles plus one set on the trailer. R-3 means chains on everything. Watch I-80 Donner, US-50 Echo Summit, and I-5 north of Redding. A not-correctable ticket is $192 bail. Check Caltrans QuickMap for the live level.

When, where, and what counts

• When required: Winter storm season, no fixed calendar. A requirement is live on any portion of a highway where Caltrans or a local authority posts Chains Required signs, and the sign lists any exceptions. R-1, R-2, and R-3 are Caltrans and CHP shorthand for the level, and they do not appear on the sign. R-1 rests on the snow-tire alternative for vehicles of 6,000 lbs unladen or less (CVC 27459). R-2 adds the exemption for 4WD vehicles of 6,500 lbs unladen or less with snow tires on all four wheels and chains carried (CVC 27460). The level rises and falls with the storm (CVC 27459). At chain control checkpoints, follow the instructions of Caltrans or CHP personnel.
• Where: Any California highway when Caltrans or a local authority posts chain controls (CVC 27459). Caltrans says chains are most often required in the higher northern passes: I-5 north of Redding, I-80 over Donner Pass, and US-50 over Echo Summit. They are sometimes required on SR-58 near Tehachapi, I-15 over Cajon Pass, and I-5 over Tejon Pass (the Grapevine). Chains may be required at any time at higher elevations elsewhere when conditions warrant.
• Applies to: All vehicles when posted. Any vehicle over 6,500 lbs gross gets no snow-tire exemption and must chain at every level, R-1 through R-3. R-3 binds all vehicles with no exceptions. You need chains on board before you enter a chain control area, and Caltrans sends vehicles without them back to a lower elevation. In unsettled weather Caltrans may set up truck screening checkpoints on the approaches to major mountain highways. Every heavy-duty truck stops there and shows its chains, and trucks without them go back down until the weather improves. Checkpoints have no parking, and there is no room higher up for trucks without chains. On some routes, signs bar a single drive axle tractor pulling double trailers (Type 2-S-1-T-2) when chain controls are posted.
• Chains vs traction devices: You can use link-type chains or an Alternative Traction Device in a chain control area. An Alternative Traction Device (ATD) is any device that meets CVC 605, including its permanent manufacturer marking, and Caltrans names cable chains, textile snow chains, wheel hub attached chains, and automatic tire chains as ATDs. For big rigs, Caltrans may restrict cable chains and other less conventional devices depending on local conditions. When chain controls are posted over I-80 Donner Pass, heavy trucks usually must run link-type chains on at least the main drive axle. Automatic chains replace conventional chains one for one, but a truck with only automatic chains may have to add chains on the outside wheels to match the chart. For a rig over 6,500 lbs, snow tires and studded tires never substitute for chains. Combination vehicles chain the outside duals of the drive (power) axles plus one set on the semi-trailer, and Caltrans or CHP may require chains on all drive wheels if conditions warrant. One trailer set is enough regardless of axle count, none on the tag axle. Trucks or tractors on super singles chain all drive wheels.
• Check the live order: Caltrans QuickMap (quickmap.dot.ca.gov) or call 1-800-427-7623 for the chain-control level in effect right now.
• Fine: The violation is an infraction (CVC 40000.1). CVC 42001 caps the fine at $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and $250 for a third within a year. The Judicial Council's 2026 Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule sets a not-correctable CVC 27459 ticket at a $25 base fine and $192 total bail, with no DMV points. A correctable ticket is $25 total. The schedule adds the maximum county and EMS penalty assessments, so your county's bail schedule may come in slightly lower.

More for California