Sweden

At a glanceRequirements at a glance

Haulage Licence Required

Yes

Yes, for the company operating the trucks. Under the Commercial Transport Act, commercial road transport may be carried out only by a company holding a haulage licence (yrkestrafiktillstånd) or an EU Community Licence issued by the competent authority. Transportstyrelsen grants the licence. Sweden applies these rules to companies carrying goods for hire in light trucks and cars, as well as in heavy trucks. Operating commercial transport without a licence is the offence of unlawful commercial transport, punishable by a fine or up to one year in prison.

Licence Conditions

The licence is granted under the four conditions of EU Regulation 1071/2009, the EU-wide rules for admission to the occupation of road transport operator:

• Establishment: the company must have a real and stable establishment in Sweden, including F-tax approval (registration with the Swedish Tax Agency as a business that pays its own tax), VAT registration, and premises at a street address where its core business records are kept.
• Good repute: the company’s key persons must not have been convicted of serious offences or penalised for serious infringements of transport rules.
• Financial standing: capital and reserves of at least EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle and EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle, shown by audited annual accounts, and no debts to the public sector held by the Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden).
• Professional competence: at least one transport manager (trafikansvarig), the person who actually and continuously manages the company’s transport operations, who has passed a written exam and is resident in the EU.

Ownership or Nationality Conditions

None found beyond establishment. Available official sources do not set a Swedish ownership or nationality requirement. The conditions are establishment in Sweden and an EU-resident transport manager. Where key persons live outside Sweden, Transportstyrelsen asks for foreign criminal record and debt certificates.

Vehicle Registration and Driver Qualification Required

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Vehicles listed on the licence must be registered for use in traffic and have passed their most recent roadworthiness inspection. Drivers of trucks in licence categories C1, C1E, C, and CE carrying goods must hold a driver qualification card (yrkeskompetensbevis), which is valid for five years and renewed through periodic training, in addition to the matching driving licence.

Compulsory Motor Insurance Required

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Under the Traffic Damage Act, every registered motor vehicle in use must carry traffic insurance (trafikförsäkring), covering personal injury and property damage caused in traffic. Damage to goods being carried in the vehicle is covered only where another vehicle caused it, so traffic insurance does not protect a customer’s belongings against the mover’s own handling or accidents. The sources checked for this page do not establish a Swedish rule requiring movers to insure customers’ goods, so customers should ask what protection, if any, is offered.

Carrier Liability Rules

No removal-specific statute. Sweden’s Domestic Road Transport Act, which sets carrier liability for ordinary road freight, expressly does not apply to the carriage of household removals (“flyttsaker”). The Consumer Services Act (konsumenttjänstlagen, SFS 1985:716) covers storage of goods and work on goods, but not transport. In practice, liability for a domestic move depends on the contract. Many movers use “Bohag 2010”, general terms for domestic household moves for consumers, agreed between the industry and Konsumentverket. Under Bohag 2010:

• the mover’s liability is capped at 20 times the price base amount (prisbasbelopp, an index amount set annually by the government) per household, and at half a price base amount for delay;
• valuables such as cash, securities, precious metals, and jewellery are excluded unless agreed, and the consumer is advised to list items worth more than half a price base amount;
• the consumer must give notice of damage within a reasonable time after noticing it, and at the latest three years after the job ended;
• the consumer may cancel without charge up to 15 days before the move;
• the mover should hold carrier liability insurance.

Consumer Protection

Yes. Konsumentverket is the government authority for consumer matters and supervises consumer protection rules; its Director-General is also the Consumer Ombudsman (Konsumentombudsmannen, KO). Under the Act on Contract Terms in Consumer Relations (SFS 1994:1512), the Patent and Market Court can, on the Consumer Ombudsman’s application, ban a business from using unfair contract terms. Note that the standard 14-day right to withdraw from distance and off-premises contracts does not apply to goods transport services to be provided on a specific day or within a specific period, which includes most moves.

Consumer Complaint Resources (For Movers Not Vetted as ITMs)

Yes. The National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) is Sweden’s public alternative dispute resolution body for consumer complaints against businesses. The consumer must first complain to the mover, and must file with ARN within one year of that complaint. ARN charges a filing fee of SEK 150 and issues a written recommendation, which is not legally binding, and minimum claim values apply. ARN has applied Bohag 2010 to a moving dispute where the mover had said it followed those terms. Municipal consumer advisers (kommunal konsumentvägledning) can also help at the local level, and disputes can be taken to a general court.

Industry Association

None found. No currently active national association dedicated to household removals was identified in this research. Bohag 2010 was agreed on the industry side by the Swedish Association of Road Transport Companies (Sveriges Åkeriföretag), a general road haulage association, together with the Swedish Furniture Transporters’ Association (Sveriges Möbeltransportörers Förbund), whose current status could not be confirmed.

OverviewOverview & Scope

Sweden regulates the business of carrying goods by road for hire at the company level, under the EU framework that applies in every member state. The company that operates the trucks needs a haulage licence from Transportstyrelsen and must meet the EU conditions of establishment, good repute, financial standing, and professional competence. Sweden extends these rules to light vehicles, so a mover using vans needs the licence too. The licence attaches to whichever company operates the vehicles. A mover that uses its own trucks needs it directly. Where a mover subcontracts the trucking, the carrier’s own licence covers the transport it performs, and the mover uses carriers that hold it. The most distinctive feature for consumers is liability. Sweden’s statutory road carriage rules exclude removals, and the consumer services law does not cover transport, so the mover’s contract terms decide most questions about loss, damage, delay, and cancellation. The industry’s Bohag 2010 terms, agreed with Konsumentverket, are widely referred to but apply only when included in the contract. Consumer complaints can go to ARN.

RegistrationRegistration & Compliance Essentials

Company licensing (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

1. Obtain a haulage licence (yrkestrafiktillstånd) from Transportstyrelsen if the company operates its own vehicles to carry clients’ goods, including light trucks and vans.
2. Meet the licence’s establishment condition: F-tax approval and VAT registration with the Swedish Tax Agency, and a real and stable establishment in Sweden with premises at a street address where core business records are kept.
3. Appoint at least one qualified transport manager who has passed the professional competence exam, is resident in the EU, and actually manages the transport operations.
4. Maintain capital and reserves of at least EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle and EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle, and keep public debts settled.

Subcontracted transport

5. Where transport is subcontracted, use carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they perform.

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

6. Keep every vehicle registered, inspected, and covered by traffic insurance.
7. Ensure every truck driver holds the correct driving licence and a valid driver qualification card, with periodic training completed every five years.

Customer practices

8. Ensure contract terms and consumer-facing practices comply with Swedish consumer protection law, including the Act on Contract Terms in Consumer Relations.

ChecklistCompliance checklist

Company licensing

• Transportstyrelsen haulage licence (yrkestrafiktillstånd) heldWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles, including light trucks and vans)Verified by DocumentRequired
• F-tax approval and VAT registration with the Swedish Tax Agency, as part of the licence’s establishment conditionWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Qualified, EU-resident transport manager appointed (certificate of professional competence)Where applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Minimum capital and reserves maintained (EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle, EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle), shown by audited annual accountsWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired

Subcontracted transport

• Where transport is subcontracted, the mover uses carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they performWhere applicableVerified by AffirmationRequired

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

• Every vehicle registered for use in traffic, with its most recent roadworthiness inspection passedWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Traffic insurance (trafikförsäkring) in force for every vehicleWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Every truck driver holds the correct driving licence and, for categories C1, C1E, C and CE, a valid driver qualification cardWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired

Customer practices

• Contract terms and consumer-facing practices comply with Swedish consumer protection law, including the Act on Contract Terms in Consumer Relations (SFS 1994:1512)Verified by AffirmationRequired