How to check a company in Sweden

Where can I find official data on a Swedish company?

The three most important official sources are: Bolagsverket (the Swedish Companies Registration Office), which maintains the company registers and offers the “Sök företagsfakta” search (Näringslivsregistret); Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency), responsible for VAT (moms) registration, F-skatt approval and the employer register; and the EU's VIES system, where you can verify a counterparty's EU VAT number before an intra-Community transaction.

Alongside the official sources there are private services (e.g. allabolag.se) that aggregate registry and financial data. They can be convenient, but they are not the register — in case of discrepancies, the entry at Bolagsverket or Skatteverket prevails.

Basic registry data on Swedish companies is public, but kept in Swedish and split between Bolagsverket and Skatteverket, so you have to read it and combine it yourself. Copies of certain documents, such as annual reports, may carry a fee.

What is the organisationsnummer and how do I read it?

The organisationsnummer is a 10-digit identifier of a Swedish entity in the format XXXXXX-XXXX. For companies registered with Bolagsverket (including aktiebolag), the number is assigned by Bolagsverket upon registration. The first digit indicates the group of legal forms — the numbers of aktiebolag companies start with 5.

A sole trader (enskild näringsidkare) does not receive a separate number — the owner's personnummer serves as its identifier. That is why such businesses can be harder to find in public sources than companies.

The Swedish VAT number (momsregistreringsnummer) is derived directly from the organisationsnummer: the prefix SE, the 10 digits of the number and the suffix 01 — 12 digits in total after SE. This is the number you use for verification in the VIES system.

How do I check a Swedish company step by step?

1. Ask the counterparty for their organisationsnummer — you will also find it on invoices, in contracts and usually in the website footer.

2. Look the company up in Bolagsverket's search (“Sök företagsfakta”) and compare the name, legal form, address and status with what the counterparty told you. Note who represents the company (the board and the rules of signing authority — firmateckning).

3. Confirm with Skatteverket the VAT (moms) registration, the F-skatt approval and — if the company declares employees — its entry in the employer register.

4. For intra-EU transactions, verify the EU VAT number (SE + 12 digits) in the VIES system and keep the verification confirmation.

5. For an aktiebolag, review the latest annual report (årsredovisning) filed with Bolagsverket: revenue, result, equity, employment.

6. Check the beneficial owners (verklig huvudman) and whether the company is in bankruptcy (konkurs), liquidation (likvidation) or reorganisation (företagsrekonstruktion).

What legal forms do Swedish companies have?

The most common form is the aktiebolag (AB) — a limited liability company. According to Bolagsverket, a private AB requires share capital of at least SEK 25,000 (the threshold was lowered in 2020), and a public AB — SEK 500,000. In a handelsbolag (HB) the partners are personally and jointly liable for obligations; in a kommanditbolag (KB) at least one partner (komplementär) has unlimited liability, while the others (limited partners) are liable up to their contribution.

The legal form tells you who is liable for obligations and what reporting duties the company has: every AB files an annual report with Bolagsverket, while a sole trader does not. Detailed descriptions of the forms are available on the government portal verksamt.se.

How do I check VAT (moms), F-skatt and employer registration?

VAT (moms) registration and the employer register (arbetsgivarregistret) are maintained by Skatteverket — and that is also where you can confirm the status of a specific company. For intra-EU transactions, you verify the counterparty's EU VAT number (SE + 12 digits) in the VIES system; it is worth keeping a dated confirmation in case of an audit.

A Swedish speciality is F-skatt (F-tax). A company “godkänd för F-skatt” is itself responsible for its preliminary tax and contributions. According to Skatteverket's guidance, if you pay for work performed by a contractor who does not hold F-skatt approval, you as the payer may be obliged to deduct preliminary tax (as a rule 30% of the remuneration for work). That is why Swedish counterparties routinely check F-skatt before signing a contract — and so should you.

Signals worth clarifying: the company declares sales but has no moms registration; it declares a team of employees but does not appear in the employer register; it issues invoices “with F-skatt” although it holds no approval.

How does registration with Bolagsverket differ from registration with Skatteverket?

They are two independent registrations — and both are worth checking. Bolagsverket confirms legal existence: that the company exists, who represents it and what status it has. Skatteverket confirms tax registrations: moms, F-skatt and employer status. A company can appear in Bolagsverket and still be deregistered from VAT — or the other way round.

Mind sole traders: an enskild näringsidkare does not have to register with Bolagsverket at all (the entry is voluntary and mainly protects the business name), but registers with Skatteverket to operate. A missing Bolagsverket entry therefore does not mean a sole trader does not exist — but it makes confirming their tax status all the more important.

Do Swedish companies publish financial statements?

Yes — according to Bolagsverket, every aktiebolag is required to file an annual report (årsredovisning) with Bolagsverket regardless of size, and filed reports are public. Sole traders do not file reports with the register, and handelsbolag only in specific cases (including when a partner is a legal person or the company exceeds size thresholds).

From the report you can read revenue, net result, equity and employment — the basis for assessing financial health. Mind the freshness of the data: the report describes a completed financial year, so it may be well over a year old by the time you read it. According to Bolagsverket, filing late incurs late fees, and prolonged delay can even lead to compulsory liquidation of the company — which is why a missing recent report is a significant warning sign.

How to read a Swedish company's annual report — what to look at?

An årsredovisning consists of a few standard parts: the management report (förvaltningsberättelse), the income statement (resultaträkning), the balance sheet (balansräkning) and the notes (noter); companies with an auditor also include the audit report (revisionsberättelse).

What to look at in practice? First, equity: is it positive, and is it not shrinking year after year. Second, result and revenue: a single weaker year is not a verdict, but a downward trend is a signal. Third, employment: a sudden drop in headcount can precede trouble. Fourth, the auditor's opinion, if there is one: take qualifications in the revisionsberättelse seriously.

You do not need to be a financial analyst — comparing the last two or three years and asking the counterparty about anything that stands out is enough.

Does every Swedish company have an auditor (revisor)?

No. According to Bolagsverket, a small private aktiebolag may opt out of having an auditor (revisor) if, for each of the last two financial years, it has not exceeded at least two of three thresholds: an average of 3 employees, a balance sheet total of SEK 1.5 million, and net turnover of SEK 3 million. In practice this means the accounts of many small companies are not examined by an independent auditor.

What does this change for verification? A missing audit report (revisionsberättelse) at a small company is normal, not a warning sign. For larger contracts, however, it is worth knowing whether the numbers you are basing your decision on have been independently verified. Information about the auditor appears in the company's Bolagsverket entry and in the annual report itself.

How do I check whether a company has enforcement debts (Kronofogden)?

The Bolagsverket register will not show you current payment arrears. Debt enforcement in Sweden is handled by Kronofogden (the Swedish Enforcement Authority) — whether an entity has debts registered for enforcement is public information, and you can ask the authority about it. It is one of the cheapest and most effective complements to a registry check before extending trade credit.

It is also worth knowing that the so-called betalningsanmärkning (payment default remark, which Swedes often refer to) is not issued by Kronofogden but by private credit reference agencies, based among other things on the authority's data. A full picture of payment reliability therefore only emerges from combining sources: the company register, tax registrations and enforcement debts.

How do I check bankruptcy, liquidation and reorganisation?

A company's status in the Bolagsverket register shows, among others: konkurs (bankruptcy — the estate is managed by a receiver, konkursförvaltare), likvidation (liquidation, voluntary or compulsory — the company is winding down) and företagsrekonstruktion (reorganisation — the company continues to operate under protection while negotiating with creditors). These three statuses carry completely different risks, so do not treat them interchangeably.

Check the status directly before signing a contract and before larger payments — a status can change within weeks. It is also worth looking at the history of entries: a recent removal from the VAT or employer register, or frequent changes of the board or address, can be an early sign of trouble.

How do I check beneficial owners (verklig huvudman)?

According to Bolagsverket, most Swedish companies are required to report their beneficial owner (verklig huvudman) to the register maintained by Bolagsverket — an obligation stemming from the 2017 act on the registration of beneficial owners, implementing EU anti-money laundering rules. A beneficial owner is the person who ultimately controls the company — as a rule through more than 25% of shares or votes, directly or indirectly.

Access to the register data requires electronic identification, and access rules across the EU have been adjusted in recent years following EU case law — you will find the current requirements at bolagsverket.se. Knowing who really stands behind a counterparty matters especially for larger contracts and when your own company is subject to AML obligations.

How do I check the owners of a Swedish company (aktiebok)?

Sweden has no central public shareholder register for private companies — you cannot check who holds the shares at Bolagsverket. According to verksamt.se, however, every aktiebolag is required to keep a share register (aktiebok), and the register is public: the company should make it available to anyone who asks.

In practice, the simplest way to learn the ownership structure is to ask the counterparty itself (an extract from the aktiebok) and cross-check it against the beneficial owners register, which covers persons controlling more than 25%. A discrepancy between the declared owner and the register entries is something to clarify before you sign a contract.

When and how often should you check a Swedish counterparty?

The minimum is a check before the first contract and before any transaction involving prepayment or deferred payment terms. A company's status can change within a few weeks: VAT deregistration, entering liquidation or bankruptcy rarely announce themselves far in advance.

Good practices: repeat the check when renewing a contract and when raising a trade credit limit; monitor key suppliers and customers periodically, e.g. quarterly; save dated verification confirmations (e.g. the VIES result) — they document your diligence should the transaction later prove problematic.

How do you make sure you are talking to the real company?

Registers confirm that a company exists — they do not confirm that the person writing to you actually represents it. Fraudsters like to impersonate healthy, credible companies: they copy the name, organisation number and logo, swapping only the bank account or the e-mail address.

Simple security hygiene: compare the sender's e-mail domain with the company's official website; confirm the phone number and bank account through a channel from an official source (the company's website, the register), not from the invoice you received; be especially careful with a sudden “change of bank account” just before a payment. For large amounts, call the number from the official website and confirm the order and the payment details. A register entry says the entity exists — the rest must be confirmed by calling back.

What to watch out for? Warning signs

Typical warning signs when verifying a Swedish counterparty: a very young company seeking a large contract or long payment terms; no F-skatt approval or moms registration despite declared activity; no recent annual report, or a report filed late; frequent changes of name, board or address; an address at a “virtual office” with no real presence; discrepancies between what the company says about itself and the register entries.

No single signal is decisive on its own — a young company can be an excellent partner. But several signals at once are a good reason to ask for explanations, secure the payment (prepayment, shorter terms, a smaller first order) or simply choose another supplier.

How long does checking a Swedish company take and what does it cost?

Doing it yourself is not one click. You look the company up at Bolagsverket in Swedish, confirm the tax statuses (moms, F-skatt) separately at Skatteverket, verify the EU VAT number in VIES and keep a dated confirmation — and for each counterparty that is time, plus the risk of misreading a status or a legal form. Copies of accounts and commercial credit reports carry a further fee.

If you check counterparties regularly or do not read Swedish, a NordScan report shortens the whole process to a single search: registry data, statuses and financials pulled together in your language. Searching is free, and you only buy full reports when you actually need them.

How do I check a Swedish company without knowing Swedish?

The registers and source documents are mostly in Swedish (Bolagsverket runs a partly English-language service), and statuses and legal forms are easy to confuse — likvidation is not the same as konkurs, and a handelsbolag differs fundamentally from an aktiebolag in the partners' liability.

NordScan shows Swedish company data in 9 languages: statuses, legal forms and financial fields are translated and explained, and the report links to the sources, so you can always check the original. Enter the organisation number or company name in the search and see the full report — the fastest way from “I have an offer from Sweden” to “I know who I am dealing with”.

The key Swedish terms at a glance

Organisationsnummer — the 10-digit company identifier (format XXXXXX-XXXX). Moms — Swedish VAT; the EU VAT number is SE + the number + 01. F-skatt — the tax approval: the company settles its own taxes. Årsredovisning — the annual report, filed by every AB with Bolagsverket. Verklig huvudman — the beneficial owner: a person controlling, as a rule, more than 25% of the company. Konkurs — bankruptcy; likvidation — liquidation; företagsrekonstruktion — reorganisation. Aktiebok — the share register kept by the company itself. Betalningsanmärkning — a payment default remark issued by credit reference agencies. Firmateckning — the company's signing rules.

These dozen or so terms are enough to navigate Swedish registers and a counterparty's documents with confidence.

Frequently asked questions

How many digits does a Swedish organisationsnummer have?

Ten, in the format XXXXXX-XXXX. Aktiebolag numbers start with 5. The EU VAT number is SE + the 10 digits + 01.

Is checking a company in Sweden free of charge?

The raw registry data at Bolagsverket, status at Skatteverket and EU VAT in VIES is public, but scattered across three different places, kept in Swedish, and left for you to interpret (statuses, legal forms, financial figures). Full copies of accounts may carry a fee. Our report pulls these pieces into one readable answer.

How do I check a Swedish VAT number?

Verify the EU VAT number (SE + 12 digits) in the EU's VIES system. Domestic moms registration is confirmed by Skatteverket.

What does “godkänd för F-skatt” mean?

That the company is approved for F-tax and handles its own preliminary tax and contributions. According to Skatteverket, paying for work performed by a contractor without F-skatt may oblige the payer to deduct preliminary tax.

What does the status “konkurs” mean?

Bankruptcy: a court has declared the company insolvent and its estate is managed by a receiver (konkursförvaltare). It is the most serious warning status for a counterparty.

What is the difference between likvidation and konkurs?

Likvidation is the winding-up of a company (voluntary or compulsory) with its obligations being settled; konkurs is bankruptcy due to insolvency. Liquidation can also apply to a healthy company that is simply closing down.

Do Swedish companies have to publish financial statements?

Every aktiebolag files an annual report with Bolagsverket and it is public. Sole traders do not file with the register; handelsbolag only in specific cases.

Is allabolag.se an official register?

No — it is a private data aggregation service. The official sources are Bolagsverket and Skatteverket; in case of discrepancies their entries prevail.

How do I check who represents a Swedish company?

In the Bolagsverket register: the company's entry lists the board and the rules of signing authority (firmateckning) — who may sign on behalf of the company and in what configuration.

How do I check a Swedish company in my own language?

Enter the organisation number or company name in the NordScan search — the report shows registry data, statuses and financial fields translated into your language, with links to the official sources.

Related guides

• Bolagsverket — the Swedish company register explained
• How to start a company in Sweden — step by step
• Sole proprietorship in Sweden (enskild firma) — taxes and costs
• AB company in Sweden (aktiebolag) — how it works and what it costs
• Running a business in Sweden — obligations and formalities