Cars in Sweden

There are no common EU regulations about registering vehicles, but the main rule is that the car is to be registered in the owner’s country of residence. When you live in Sweden, your car must be registered in Sweden. If you live in Sweden and own a Swedish-registered car, you must also take out statutory insurance.

Register your car when you move to Sweden

The origin of all cars and vehicles brought into Sweden for use in Sweden must be be verified before they can be registered. You apply to the Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) for verification of the origin of your car.

Once the origin has been verified, you must contact the car inspection service, Svensk Bilprovning, for a registration inspection.

The Swedish Transport Agency has drawn up a checklist for the import of vehicles, from start to finish. The checklist describes what you need to do, and in what order, from the time you arrive at the Swedish border until all the formalities are completed and the car is ready to drive. The list provides information on customs, tax, traffic insurance, verification of origin, registration inspection, and registration number.

When you import a car or other vehicle from another EU country, such as Denmark and Finland, you do not pay customs duty. However, you must contact the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for information about tax and VAT.

When you import a car or other vehicle from a coutry outside the EU country, such as Iceland and Norway, you pay customs duty and VAT. Contact Swedish Customs (Tullverket) to find out what you should do. If you are bringing a vehicle from Iceland or Norway when you move to Sweden, you can apply for exemption from customs duty. Exemption depends on various factors, such as whether you are moving permanently to Sweden or returning, and how long you have owned the vehicle.

All cars and other vehicles in Sweden must be insured.

On the website of the Swedish Transport Agency, you can find information about road traffic (third-party) insurance, when you need to take out an insurance policy, and what happens if your vehicle is uninsured.

When you drive in Sweden, you must comply with the Swedish traffic regulations and speed limits, and regulations regarding congestion charges and use of summer and winter tyres. You can read more about the relevant regulations in Sweden on the following links.

If you are moving permanently and importing a car for private use in Sweden, you may drive the car for a maximum of seven days from the date the car entered the country, on condition that you have valid registration and road traffic insurance from another country. When you drive the car, you must have the foreign registration certificate with you. Within a week, you must have taken out a valid Swedish road traffic insurance.

If you are moving temporarily to Sweden without moving residence, you do not need to register your car in Sweden. The car can continue to be registered in your home country. If you are staying temporarily in Sweden, for example if you are working for a short period, you may drive your foreign-registered car for a maximum of one year.

If you are stopped by the Police during your temporary stay in Sweden, you must be able to prove that you are not in the country permanently. This may be difficult to prove, so you should always have with a registration certificate, proof of ownership, and proof of residence that shows you are registered in another Nordic country.

Contact your insurance company in your home country for information about whether you are covered by the insurance when you drive a car in Sweden for short and long periods.

Driving a Swedish car abroad

If you drive a Swedish-registered car in another Nordic country, it is the regulations of that country that determine how long you may drive the car there.