Driving Licence in Sweden: Exchanging Your Foreign Licence

You just moved to Sweden and you want to keep driving. The first thing to settle is whether your existing licence works here, for how long, and whether you can swap it for a Swedish one — because for most non-EU arrivals, the honest answer is that you cannot exchange it, and the clock is already running on how long you can legally drive.

This guide covers the three situations you can be in: an EU/EEA licence (easy), a licence from one of the four eligible non-EU countries (exchangeable), and a licence from anywhere else (you'll have to take the full Swedish test). The rules below come from Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency), which handles licences, and Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration), which runs the tests.

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If your licence is from the EU or EEA

This is the simplest case. A driving licence issued in an EU or EEA country stays valid in Sweden for as long as it remains valid in the country that issued it — even after you register as a resident here. You do not need to exchange it, and there is no one-year deadline.

You may still choose to exchange an EU/EEA licence for a Swedish one (for example if yours is close to expiry and renewing it from abroad is a hassle), but it is optional. Once you exchange it, the original is surrendered.

Two practical points:

• If your EU/EEA licence is lost, stolen or expires while you live in Sweden, you generally renew or replace it through Transportstyrelsen rather than your home country.
• Keep the physical card. Swedish police checks expect to see the actual licence, not a photo.

You'll want a personnummer sorted regardless — it's the key that unlocks almost everything else, including any later dealings with Transportstyrelsen.

If your licence is from outside the EU/EEA

Here is the part that catches people out. A driving licence from a non-EEA country can be exchanged for a Swedish licence only if it was issued in one of four places: the United Kingdom, the Faroe Islands, Switzerland, or Japan. If your licence is from anywhere else — the US, India, Canada, Australia, most of Asia, Africa and Latin America — it cannot be exchanged. There is no test-waiver, no shortcut. You take the full Swedish process described below.

The one-year rule. If you hold a non-EEA licence, it stops being valid for driving in Sweden once you have been a registered resident for more than one year. After that anniversary you may not drive on it at all, even if the card itself says it's valid for another decade. This is the deadline that matters, so count from your folkbokföring (population-registration) date, not from when you arrived.

To exchange an eligible non-EEA licence you must:

1. Be a permanent resident in Sweden (registered in the population register).
2. Meet the personal and medical requirements for a Swedish licence (this includes a vision standard and a health declaration).
3. Apply to Transportstyrelsen before your foreign licence loses validity, and surrender the original card as part of the exchange.

There is an application fee plus a production fee for the new card. The amounts change, so confirm the current figures on the Transportstyrelsen page for licence holders before you pay anything.

Staying temporarily? If you're in Sweden for a limited period but longer than a year, Transportstyrelsen can in some cases grant an exemption that lets you keep driving on your non-EEA licence beyond the one-year point — but only if it doesn't create a road-safety risk. This is the narrow exception, not the rule; see the exemption page.

Here's the quick decision table:

Your licence is from…	Can you exchange?	How long can you drive on it?
EU / EEA country	Optional — no need to	Indefinitely, while it stays valid at home
UK, Faroe Islands, Switzerland, Japan	Yes, via Transportstyrelsen	Until you exchange; exchange before residency limits bite
Any other country	No	Until 1 year of registered residence

Getting a Swedish licence from scratch

If you're not from an exchangeable country, this is your path. It's the same process Swedes go through, and it isn't quick or cheap — budget several months and a five-figure SEK total. The category for a standard car is B-körkort.

1. Apply for a körkortstillstånd (learner's permit). This is the permission to start practising. You submit a health declaration and meet the eyesight standard (an optician does the vision test; expect a small fee, often around SEK 150). The permit is valid for five years. Apply through korkortsportalen.se, Transportstyrelsen's official licence portal.

2. Learn to drive. Most people use a trafikskola (driving school). You can also practise privately with an approved supervisor (handledare), which is cheaper but requires its own permit and an introductory course. Driving school is where most of the cost goes.

3. Complete both risk courses (Riskutbildning). These are mandatory and you cannot skip them. Risk 1 covers alcohol, drugs, fatigue and attitudes; Risk 2 (halkbana) is skid-pan training on a slippery track. You must finish both before you can sit the driving test.

4. Pass the theory test (kunskapsprov). Booked through Trafikverket, it's 65 scored multiple-choice questions (plus 5 unscored trial questions) in 50 minutes, and you need at least 52 correct to pass. The 2026 fee is around SEK 420 on weekdays (more for evenings/weekends — confirm on the Trafikverket price page). A pass is valid for four months — you must clear the driving test within that window or retake the theory.

5. Pass the driving test (körprov). A roughly 25-minute on-road drive with a Trafikverket examiner, after pre-drive safety checks. The 2026 fee is around SEK 1,000 on weekdays (higher evenings/weekends), plus roughly SEK 800 if you rent Trafikverket's car, and an issue fee of about SEK 375 for the licence card. Check current figures on the Trafikverket price page.

Once you pass both tests and any probationary conditions are met, your Swedish licence is issued. New licences carry a two-year probationary period (prövotid) — serious offences in that window can force you to start over.

While you sort all this out, lean on Sweden's strong public transport network — in the bigger cities you may find you barely need to rush the licence at all.

Common problems and fixes

• You assumed your non-EU licence is fine because the card hasn't expired. It isn't — the one-year residency limit overrides the printed expiry. Fix: count one year from your registration date and have a plan (exchange or test) in place before then.
• You're from an exchangeable country but missed the window. If your foreign licence has already lapsed in validity, exchange may no longer be straightforward. Fix: contact Transportstyrelsen directly and ask what's still possible before booking any tests.
• You passed theory but kept failing the driving test, and the theory result expired. The kunskapsprov is only valid four months. Fix: book your körprov as soon as you pass theory, and keep practising in the meantime rather than waiting.
• You can't get a test slot near your city. Trafikverket test centres in metro areas book out weeks ahead. Fix: widen your search to nearby towns via korkortsportalen.se / Trafikverket booking, and consider an off-peak weekday slot (also the cheaper fee).
• You moved here before registering and started the clock late. The deadline runs from folkbokföring, not arrival. Fix: confirm your exact registration date with Skatteverket so you know precisely when your foreign licence stops counting.

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Check your deadline today

Open your folkbokföring date and add one year — that's your hard limit for driving on a non-EEA licence. If you're from the UK, Faroe Islands, Switzerland or Japan, start the exchange on korkortsportalen.se now. If you're from anywhere else, apply for your körkortstillstånd this week, because the full Swedish process takes months and the clock has already started.