Importing and Registering Your Car in Sweden – Plus: Using Your EU Driving Licence

Many people moving to Sweden face the same question: sell the car or bring it along? If you take your car with you, you save yourself buying a new one – but you have to register it in Sweden. Once you live here, you are not allowed to keep driving it on foreign plates indefinitely.

In this post we walk you through the whole process with Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency), the deadlines and costs involved and what you need to know about your driving licence. The process described applies to cars coming from another EU country, such as Germany.

The most important deadline: seven days

The first rule is also the most surprising: a vehicle brought into Sweden to be registered here may only be driven on its foreign registration for seven days from the date of import. The condition is that the foreign registration and foreign motor insurance are still valid. You must carry the foreign registration certificate with you.

This means you can't simply keep driving on foreign plates for weeks after arriving. So plan the registration before you move – or use temporary registration, more on that below.

Step 1: origin check (ursprungskontroll)

The first step is the ursprungskontroll – an origin check of the vehicle by Transportstyrelsen. Based on your documents, they check that the car is legally yours and where it comes from.

What you need for the application:

• the application (via Transportstyrelsen's e-service or a paper form),
• the original registration certificate from the previous EU country,
• proof of ownership, e.g. a purchase contract or receipt with details of seller, buyer and the vehicle identification number,
• proof that the fee has been paid.

The fee for the origin check for vehicles previously registered in an EU country is SEK 1,240 (as of 2026, Transportstyrelsen: fees). An approved origin check is valid for five years.

In the application you also state the reason for import. If you are moving with your own car, the reason flyttsak (removal goods) may apply. For that, you must have lived abroad for at least one year, owned the vehicle for at least one year and used it abroad for at least one year – and prove it with documents (e.g. rental contract, registration certificate, insurance documents).

Processing times vary. Transportstyrelsen shows current waiting times online – check them beforehand and apply early.

Temporary registration: keep driving until everything is done

So you can keep driving after the seven days, there is tillfällig registrering (temporary registration). You apply for it as an add-on to the origin check.

• It is valid for three months and cannot be extended.
• You must be permanently resident in Sweden.
• You need a special insurance certificate from a Swedish insurer for temporary registration.
• You receive special red and white number plates.

Within these three months the car has to pass the registration inspection. All the details are at Transportstyrelsen: temporary registration on import.

Step 2: registration inspection (registreringsbesiktning)

Once the origin check is approved, you book a registreringsbesiktning with an inspection company (besiktningsföretag) – a full technical inspection. When booking, you give the case number from the origin check.

• Inspection companies set their own prices – it's worth comparing.
• Without temporary registration, you may drive without plates to and from the inspection by the shortest suitable route – provided the origin check is approved, you have a booked appointment and you have taken out one day of traffic insurance.
• Once the car passes, the inspection company registers it and it is automatically assigned a Swedish registration number. The plates are made and sent to you together with the registration certificate, which takes up to five working days.

The vehicle is examined thoroughly. It's best to have any faults repaired beforehand so you don't have to go twice.

Step 3: insurance and putting the car into use

Before you can drive your newly registered car, you have to put it into use (ställa på fordonet). For that you need valid trafikförsäkring – the statutory third-party insurance that is mandatory in Sweden for every vehicle on the road.

• Get quotes from Swedish insurers. Many also offer partial or comprehensive cover (halvförsäkring / helförsäkring).
• Ask your current insurer for a certificate of your no-claims history. Whether a Swedish insurer recognises it is up to them.
• Only cancel your old insurance once your Swedish cover is in place.

Also check in good time with the registration authority and insurer in your previous country how the vehicle will be deregistered there once it is registered in Sweden. Keep copies of all documents before sending off originals.

Vehicle tax (fordonsskatt) and malus

As soon as the car is registered in Sweden, you pay fordonsskatt (vehicle tax). For cars from 2006 onwards it is usually based on CO2 emissions, for older cars sometimes on weight. Every car pays a basic amount of SEK 360 per year; diesel vehicles also pay an environmental and fuel surcharge.

• Malus: Newer petrol and diesel cars with higher CO2 emissions pay a significantly higher tax for the first three years from when the vehicle first becomes taxable. This applies to vehicles from model year 2018 – above 95, 90 or 75 g CO2/km depending on the registration date (Transportstyrelsen: malus).
• Missing CO2 data: For imported used cars, CO2 data is often missing from the register. The tax is then calculated using an estimation method (skälig grund) – which can be more expensive. So keep the CoC (EU certificate of conformity) at hand.

Work out before the move whether importing is worth it. With relatively new cars that have high fuel consumption in particular, the malus can change the maths considerably. If your car still counts as "new" for VAT purposes (at most six months old or driven at most 6,000 km), VAT questions may also arise – in that case, ask Skatteverket directly.

Winter tyres: the rules in Sweden

A point many newcomers underestimate: from 1 December to 31 March, winter tyres are mandatory when there are winter road conditions. The minimum tread depth during this period is 3 mm. Winter tyres can be studded or studless; studless winter tyres must carry the alpine symbol (mountain with a snowflake). The police decide on the spot whether winter conditions apply.

Your EU driving licence in Sweden

The good news: a driving licence from an EU/EEA country is valid in Sweden as long as it is valid in the issuing country and you have not exchanged it for a Swedish one (Transportstyrelsen: foreign driving licences). Exchanging it is not mandatory. If your licence is from outside the EEA, different rules apply – check Transportstyrelsen's website.

Voluntary exchange for a Swedish licence

If you are permanently resident in Sweden, you can exchange your valid EEA licence. This is how it works:

1. Request and fill in the form "Ansökan om utbyte av utländskt körkort".
2. Send the form with your original licence to Transportstyrelsen in Örebro.
3. Once approved, you receive an invoice for the new licence.
4. Visit one of Trafikverket's driving test offices (förarprovskontor) to have your photo taken and give your signature – bring valid ID.
5. Collect your new licence in person from a postal agent (postombud).

Since 1 May 2026, stricter rules apply to EEA licences that originally came from a country outside the EEA. For a licence obtained after passing a driving test in an EEA country – such as Germany – nothing changes.

If you are moving from Germany with an old German licence, check the German exchange deadlines – more on that in our checklist for leaving Germany.

Our conclusion

Bringing a car to Sweden is very doable if you plan in good time. The order is: apply for the origin check → temporary registration if needed → registration inspection → insurance → put the car into use. Remember the seven-day rule, calculate vehicle tax and malus beforehand and get winter tyres. You can simply keep using your EU driving licence – exchanging it is voluntary.