The Norwegian city charge for studded winter tyres

Most countries that dislike studded tyres ban them. Norway prices them instead, which is why this cost surprises people who have driven other winter destinations. In Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim a studded-tyre permit costs 35 NOK a day, 450 NOK a month or 1,400 NOK for the season, and the fine for driving without one is 750 NOK.

The part that matters for a rental is who pays. The fine is charged to the driver, not the rental company, so it is not something that quietly appears on the company's account and gets absorbed. It lands on you, which is reason enough to sort the permit on the morning you plan to drive into one of those three cities.

Before any of the above becomes a cost, establish whether it applies. Winter rentals in Norway come on one of two types, and only one of them is charged. Studless friction tyres are exempt. Studded tyres need the permit. Most rentals are studless, so for a lot of visitors the honest answer is that this fee never touches them, and the useful action is simply to ask which tyres your winter rental has when you collect the car.

It is also worth knowing what you are not looking for. In Oslo there is no windscreen sticker to display: the permission is registered electronically against the vehicle's registration number, so there is nothing to check in the car and nothing to stick on the glass. If your rental does have studs and you have paid, that is the whole of it.

This is a municipal charge rather than a national one, so you buy it from the city: oslo.kommune.no for Oslo, or the relevant city site for Bergen and Trondheim. Buy it for the days you will actually drive in the city, since the day, month and season options exist precisely because most visitors need only the first of the three.

One boundary worth planning around on a longer trip: the permit does not carry into Sweden or Denmark. Those countries take the opposite approach and ban studs on some streets instead of charging for them, so a cross-border winter drive is a separate question rather than an extension of what you have already paid. For the rest of the money picture, see cash or card in Norway, taxis and apps in Norway, and the Norway money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Norway

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Taxis in Norway, and checking the priceNorwegian taxis are among the priciest anywhere, and since deregulation their fares vary a lot between companies, so it pays to check before you ride. The train usually wins. Here is how it works.
• Tipping in NorwayNorway is not really a tipping country. Wages are high and service is included, so tipping is not expected. Round up for good service if you like. Here is what you actually owe.
• Do I need cash in Norway, or can I use cards?Short answer: a card for everything, and almost no cash. Norway is nearly cashless like its Nordic neighbors, uses the krone rather than the euro, and is one of Europe's most expensive countries. Here is how to handle it.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Norway.Norway is a destination some US pet owners choose, and it follows the EU pet-entry rules: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Norway adds one thing the big EU countries do not: a timed tapeworm treatment for dogs. Here is what that means, and the local parts worth knowing.
• Staying connected in Norway.Norway covers its coast and valleys better than a country this shape has any right to, and then stops sharply above and inland. The two things worth checking before you buy are the mountain passes and Svalbard.
• What does getting sick in Norway cost a visitor?Norway has a strong public health service organised around its own residents, and a geography that makes reaching it the first question in half the country.