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Vårdcentral, 1177 and interpreters

Last checked 9 October 2026

When you're ill, you almost always start at a vårdcentral (health centre). If you're unsure where to seek care, call 1177 at any time of day or night. If a life is in danger, call 112. What care costs depends partly on whether you're folkbokförd (registered as living in Sweden), and the regions set their own fees. Choose what fits you.

What does folkbokförd mean?

You're folkbokförd when Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) has registered that you live in Sweden. The first time, you get a personnummer. If you'll live here for at least a year, you should in most cases be folkbokförd. If you only have a samordningsnummer (coordination number), you're not folkbokförd. Read more in the Personnummer tool.

  1. 112 is for when a life is in danger, for example if someone suddenly becomes seriously ill or has been in a serious accident. An ambulance comes if needed. The person who answers speaks Swedish or English and can get help from an interpreter.

    1177 is healthcare advice by phone, day and night. A nurse assesses your symptoms, gives you advice and tells you where to seek care. It costs the same as an ordinary call. In the phone menu, press 5 for English. In some regions you can speak English or other languages with the nurse.

    Does your phone have a foreign number? Then call +46 771-11 77 00 instead of 1177. You can call 112 even without a SIM card.

    SOS Alarm: 112 1177: when you call 1177 (in Swedish)

  2. You can choose any vårdcentral in Sweden and belong to it. This is called listing (att lista sig). In some regions you're listed automatically at the nearest vårdcentral if you don't choose. You can also seek care temporarily at another vårdcentral, for example if you fall ill while travelling.

    You often choose and switch vårdcentral by logging in to 1177.se. How it works varies between the regions.

    • You can switch at most twice a year, unless there are special reasons.
    • At the vårdcentral where you're listed, you should be able to choose a fast läkarkontakt: a regular doctor you see first.
    • Compare vårdcentraler and their reviews in Hitta vård (Find care) on 1177.se.
    What does the care guarantee promise?

    Under the vårdgaranti (care guarantee), you should get contact with the vårdcentral where you're listed the same day, and a medical assessment within three days. If you need specialist care, you should get an appointment within 90 days, and treatment within 90 days of the decision. The care guarantee only applies in the region where you're folkbokförd.

    1177: choosing a vårdcentral (in Swedish) 1177: Find care (in Swedish) 1177: care guarantee (in Swedish)

  3. With a Swedish personnummer and BankID or Freja+, you can log in to 1177.se. There you can, for example, book and cancel appointments, send messages to your clinic, renew prescriptions and read your medical records. What you can do depends on your region and clinic.

    You can't log in with a foreign e-ID. If you don't have BankID yet, see the BankID tool.

    1177: logging in (in Swedish)

  4. The vårdcentral is open during the day on weekdays. It's usually best to call first or book by logging in. If it's urgent, for example a wound that's bleeding, you can go there directly.

    When the vårdcentral is closed, you can turn to an out-of-hours clinic (jouröppen mottagning), such as a närakut. You usually need to call first. The akutmottagning (emergency department) at a hospital is for serious accidents and sudden serious illness. With minor problems, you'll usually wait a long time there.

    Interpreter: If you don't speak Swedish, or find it hard to understand, you can get an interpreter (tolk). Say so when you book, and say which language. In healthcare you don't pay for the interpreter. Interpreters are bound by confidentiality. Children shouldn't interpret, and an interpreter is better than relatives or friends. In dental care you may sometimes have to pay for the interpreter.

    Cancel in time if you can't come. Otherwise you may have to pay for the visit, and in some regions for the interpreter too.

    1177: Interpretation into my language 1177: How healthcare works in Sweden

  5. You usually pay a patient fee (patientavgift) when you get care. The regions set their own fees, so they can differ. You pay the fee of the region where you get the care.

    • Free: visits to the child health centre (BVC), and to the midwifery clinic (barnmorskemottagning) when you're pregnant.
    • In most regions, children and young people pay nothing for outpatient care until their 20th birthday. If you're 85 or older, you pay nothing for outpatient care.
    • High-cost protection (högkostnadsskydd): you pay at most SEK 1,450 for outpatient visits in 12 months. Then you get a frikort (exemption card), valid all over Sweden. Your region may have a lower amount.
    • If you're admitted to hospital, you pay at most SEK 130 per day.

    In most regions you can log in to 1177.se and see how much is left before you get a frikort.

    If you miss a booked appointment, you may have to pay anyway. That fee usually doesn't count towards the high-cost protection.

    1177: patient fees (in Swedish) 1177: high-cost protection (in Swedish)

  6. Tell the doctor what other medicines you take, and whether you're pregnant or breastfeeding. The prescription is then held by the pharmacies, and you can usually collect your medicine at any pharmacy. Bring ID. A prescription is usually valid for one year.

    The high-cost protection for medicines is automatic. You pay the full price until you've paid SEK 2,000. Then it gets cheaper step by step, and in 12 months you pay at most SEK 3,800. Medicines within the high-cost protection are free for children under 18.

    You renew prescriptions by logging in to 1177.se or contacting your clinic. Sometimes you need to come in for a visit.

    Collect your medicines in good time before they run out. The pharmacy may not have your medicine in stock.

    1177: How to buy medicines in Sweden 1177: prescription costs (in Swedish)

  7. Dental care is free until the end of the year you turn 19. After that, you pay a large part yourself. You choose your dentist, at Folktandvården (the public dental service) or a private clinic. To get state dental support, the clinic must be connected to Försäkringskassan (the Swedish Social Insurance Agency). Most are.

    Dentists set their own prices. Ask what it costs first: you have the right to know in advance. Compare prices on Tandpriskollen.

    • General dental allowance (allmänt tandvårdsbidrag): SEK 600 a year from the year you turn 20 up to the year you turn 23, then SEK 300 a year up to the year you turn 65, and SEK 600 from the year you turn 67. If you turn 66 in 2026, you also get SEK 600. You get the allowance on 1 July each year and can save it until the next year.
    • High-cost protection: you pay the first SEK 3,000 in 12 months yourself. Of the costs between SEK 3,000 and 15,000 you pay half, and of anything above SEK 15,000 you pay 15 percent. It's calculated on the state's reference prices.
    • From the year you turn 67, you pay only 10 percent of the reference price for many treatments. This has applied since 1 January 2026.

    For acute problems, contact your usual clinic first. If it's closed, there's out-of-hours dental care.

    The age limit for free dental care was lowered on 1 January 2025, from the year you turn 23 to the year you turn 19.

    1177: Dental care costs Försäkringskassan: dental support (in Swedish) Tandpriskollen (in Swedish)

  8. If you feel so bad that it affects your daily life, and have for a few weeks or more, contact a vårdcentral. There you can get support and treatment, for example for worry, sleep problems, stress, panic attacks or low mood. If needed, they refer you on to a psychiatric clinic.

    Call 1177 if you need advice on where to get help, also for someone close to you. Children and young people can also turn to the school health service (elevhälsan), a youth clinic (ungdomsmottagning) or child and adolescent psychiatry (bup).

    If you have thoughts of taking your life or harming yourself: seek care directly at a psychiatric emergency clinic or call 112. You can also call Självmordslinjen (the suicide helpline) on 90101 or chat at mind.se.

    1177: care for mental health problems (in Swedish) 1177: suicidal thoughts (in Swedish)

Read more on the blog

Sources

Questions about medicines? Call Läkemedelsupplysningen (the medicines information line) on 0771-46 70 10, weekdays 8–17. They speak Swedish or English.