Foreign driving licence in Sweden 2026: when you must exchange it, and how

Did you move to Sweden with a driving licence from another country? Then you can often drive here for a while, but for how long depends on where the licence was issued. Some licences can be used for as long as they are valid. Others stop being valid one year after you were folkbokförd, and most of them cannot be exchanged for a Swedish one. Here is what applies to your licence, the deadline many people miss, how an exchange works and what changed in August 2026.

Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency) decides on licences, exchanges and exceptions, and Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration) runs the tests. We checked the details on the pages of Transportstyrelsen, Trafikverket and Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) on 10 October 2026.

What applies to your licence?

Folkbokförd means that Skatteverket has registered you as living in Sweden. The EEA (European Economic Area) is the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland and the UK are not part of it.

Whatever the country, the licence is only valid if it is valid in the country that issued it and has not already been exchanged for a Swedish one. Swedish rules apply when you drive here, for example the age limits. Always carry your licence when you drive. If you have lost it and cannot get a new one from your home country, you may not drive.

EU/EEA: the licence is valid, and exchanging is optional

A licence from another EEA country is valid in Sweden as long as it is valid in the country that issued it and has not been exchanged. That still applies once you are folkbokförd here.

If you still want a Swedish licence, you can exchange it if the licence is valid and you are permanently resident in Sweden. Was your EEA licence originally a licence from a country outside the EEA? Then it can only be exchanged if one of these applies:

• you held a valid EEA licence for at least five years before you became permanently resident in Sweden,
• the original licence was from the Faroe Islands, the UK, Japan or Switzerland, or
• the EEA licence was issued after a passed driving test in an EEA country.

With a licence from another EEA country, you cannot take a theory test or driving test at Trafikverket. If you want a Swedish licence, you exchange instead.

The UK and the Faroe Islands: valid after one year too

Licences from the UK and the Faroe Islands are the exception among licences from outside the EEA. You can use them in Sweden even when you have been folkbokförd here for more than one year, as long as they are valid and not exchanged. So you do not need to apply for an exchange within a year.

If you want to exchange, you can do so if the licence is valid, you are permanently resident in Sweden, and you meet the personal and medical requirements for holding a licence in Sweden.

Switzerland and Japan: apply to exchange within one year

A licence from Switzerland or Japan stops being valid in Sweden one year from the day you were folkbokförd here. So you need to apply for an exchange within that time. The requirements are the same as for the UK and the Faroe Islands: a valid licence, permanent residence in Sweden, and the personal and medical requirements.

Other countries: one year, then a Swedish licence

A licence from any other country outside the EEA is valid in Sweden if:

• it is valid in the country that issued it,
• it has not been exchanged for a Swedish licence, and
• you have not been folkbokförd in Sweden for more than one year.

It cannot be exchanged for a Swedish licence. To drive after the first year, you need to get a Swedish licence, with a theory test and a driving test.

Three more things:

• Translation. Is your licence not designed according to the Geneva Convention of 1949 or the Vienna Convention of 1968, and not issued in English, German or French either? Then it is only valid together with a certified translation into English, German, French, Swedish, Danish or Norwegian. An international driving permit also counts as a translation, but it cannot be issued in Sweden. Bring it from your home country.
• Photo. If the licence has no photo, it is only valid together with an ID that has a photo.
• Temporary protection. If you have a residence permit under massflyktsdirektivet, the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, you can use your licence as long as the directive applies.

An exception if you are only staying for a limited time

Transportstyrelsen can in some cases grant an exception, so that you may drive on your foreign licence for more than one year. This only applies if you plan to stay for a limited time and it poses no risk to road safety. The purpose of your stay and how long you stay decide. Examples are studying here temporarily, having a time-limited job, or having come with someone who is studying or working in Sweden temporarily.

• A residence or work permit does not mean you are sure to get an exception.
• No exception is given because it is hard to get a time for a driving test.
• The application is an ordinary letter. Among other things, include the purpose of your stay and how long you will stay, a copy of your licence, a study certificate or employer’s certificate, and a copy of your residence permit.
• Preferably apply when a few months remain of your first year as folkbokförd. The answer usually takes 8 to 12 weeks, and longer at times such as May to August.

The deadline many people miss

For licences from outside the EEA, except the UK and the Faroe Islands, it is the day you were folkbokförd that counts. One year later, the licence stops being valid in Sweden. If you only have a samordningsnummer (coordination number), a number for people who are not folkbokförd, your licence is still valid. Skatteverket sends its decision on registration in a letter. If you are unsure of the date, ask Skatteverket.

A year sounds like a long time, but a Swedish licence takes time. The learner’s permit usually takes up to four weeks, and the risk course must be done before the theory test. Trafikverket advises booking the theory test and the driving test at the same time, a few weeks apart, so that you have time to retake the theory test if needed. An answer on an exception usually takes 8 to 12 weeks.

Enter the date you were folkbokförd in our Driving licence tool. It works out when your licence stops being valid and can add a reminder to your calendar. How long registration takes is in How long does it take to get a personnummer in 2026?

How to exchange for a Swedish licence

You must have a valid licence, be permanently resident in Sweden and have valid ID. Permanently resident means that you live here at least 185 days every calendar year because of personal ties and work, or close personal ties if you have no work. Studying here does not change where you count as permanently resident.

1. Fill in the application. Order or download the form Ansökan om utbyte av utländskt körkort (application to exchange a foreign driving licence) from Transportstyrelsen.
2. Send it with your original licence. For the UK, the Faroe Islands, Switzerland and Japan, also send a hälsodeklaration (health declaration) and a grundläggande synintyg (basic eyesight certificate) for a car or motorcycle, and a certificate that the licence is valid. The certificate comes from the licensing authority that issued the licence, and for a Japanese licence from the Embassy of Japan in Stockholm.
3. Pay. If the application is approved, you get a payment slip for making the licence: SEK 375.
4. Have your photo taken and give your signature at one of Trafikverket’s driving test offices. The photo costs SEK 200. Bring valid ID.
5. Collect the licence. It is sent by registered post (REK) to the Postnord agent nearest your registered address. Collect it in person and show approved, valid ID. E-legitimation (electronic ID) is not accepted. After 14 days the licence goes back to Transportstyrelsen.

Your foreign licence is sent back to the authority that issued it, and Japanese licences to the Embassy of Japan.

While your application is processed you do not have your licence, but the law says you must carry it when you drive. The police decide whether you may drive, and you risk a fine. If you drive anyway, Transportstyrelsen recommends carrying a copy of your licence and valid ID.

How to get a Swedish licence

If your licence cannot be exchanged, you need a Swedish category B licence to drive after the first year. For that you must be permanently resident in Sweden or have studied here for at least six months, and be 18 or older. If you have no personnummer, you need an active samordningsnummer.

1. Apply for a learner’s permit (körkortstillstånd). You need it to practise and to take the tests, and it is free. Apply in Transportstyrelsen’s e-service with e-legitimation, or on a paper form. You need a health declaration and a basic eyesight certificate from an optician, at most two months old. It usually takes up to four weeks, and the permit is valid for five years.
2. Practise driving. With a driving school, the learner’s permit is enough. To practise privately you also need a supervisor (handledare) approved by Transportstyrelsen. The supervisor must be at least 24, have a valid licence from Sweden or another EEA country, and have held a car licence for at least five of the last ten years. With a licence from outside the EEA, this is only possible if the supervisor used to have a Swedish licence and exchanged it. Practising with a supervisor who is not approved counts as driving without a licence (olovlig körning).
3. Do the risk course (riskutbildning). Part 1 is about alcohol, drugs, tiredness and other risks. Part 2 is about speed and different road conditions, among other things, with a skid track (halkbana). Both parts must be done before the theory test.
4. Take the theory test. Book and pay on Trafikverket’s website. The test has 70 questions and takes 50 minutes, and you need 52 points. It is available in 15 languages, including English, Arabic, Persian, Somali and Tigrinya, and you can choose to listen to the questions in Swedish. If you cannot read and understand Swedish, you can apply to take the test with an interpreter. Arrive at least 30 minutes early, because your photo for the licence is taken before the test.
5. Take the driving test while your theory test is valid. If you take the test in a car with automatic gears, you get condition 78 and may only drive automatic cars.
6. Collect your licence. Issuing it costs SEK 375, and it is sent by REK to a Postnord agent.

Cancel a test at least 24 hours before, and you get the fee back. If you cancel later or do not turn up, you pay anyway.

Bring the right ID

At Trafikverket’s tests and photo sessions, only certain physical ID documents are accepted, including Skatteverket’s ID card, a Swedish driving licence, passports from EU countries, and passports from the Faroe Islands, the UK, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Other passports are not accepted, and neither are Freja eID or digital BankID cards.

If you do not have acceptable ID, you can apply to Trafikverket for someone else to confirm your identity, at least two weeks before the test or photo. That person must come along and show valid ID. This also works for the photo when you exchange a foreign licence. At the optician, a close relative with valid ID can confirm who you are.

New in August 2026

• 1 August: no introduction course. Neither the supervisor nor the learner needs an introduction course (introduktionsutbildning) any more to practise privately with a car or light lorry. The supervisor must still apply and be approved. Transportstyrelsen’s English page on taking a licence still mentions the introduction course, but its Swedish pages say the requirement was dropped on 1 August 2026.
• 19 August: the theory test is valid for one year. A passed theory test for category B is now valid for one year, and within that time you must pass the driving test. This applies to theory tests passed from 19 August 2026. If you passed before 19 August, it is valid for four months.
• The risk course stays. It is still required before the tests, and it is valid until you get your licence, for at most five years.

What it costs

You pay Trafikverket for tests and photos, and Transportstyrelsen for issuing the licence.

Buying a car?

First check that your licence is valid in Sweden. Our Buying a car tool then goes through how to look the car up in the register, pay safely and change the owner.

Summary

• Licences from the EU/EEA, the UK and the Faroe Islands can be used as long as they are valid. You do not need to exchange them.
• Licences from Switzerland and Japan stop being valid one year after you were folkbokförd. Apply to exchange within that year.
• Licences from other countries are valid for one year from your registration and cannot be exchanged. Start on a Swedish licence in good time.
• An exchange costs SEK 375 for the licence and SEK 200 for the photo.
• Since August 2026, no introduction course is needed, and a passed theory test is valid for one year.

Sources

• Transportstyrelsen: Ha utländskt körkort i Sverige (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Frågor och svar, utländska körkort (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Har du körkort från ett land utanför EES och planerar att stanna i Sverige på begränsad tid men mer än ett år? (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Byta ut ett körkort från ett EES-land till ett svenskt (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Byta ut körkort från Förenade kungariket, Färöarna, Japan eller Schweiz (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Permanent bosättning (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Ansökan om utbyte av utländskt körkort (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Körkort avgifter (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Utlämning av ditt nya körkort (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Körkortstillstånd (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: B, personbil och lätt lastbil (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Handledare (in Swedish)
• Transportstyrelsen: Riskutbildning för personbil (in Swedish)
• Trafikverket: Personbil och lätt lastbil (in Swedish)
• Trafikverket: Teoriprovet på annat språk (in Swedish)
• Trafikverket: Före provet (in Swedish)
• Trafikverket: Priser för prov och fotografering (in Swedish)
• Trafikverket: Boka, betala och avboka prov (in Swedish)
• Skatteverket: Flytta till Sverige (in Swedish)