Moving in Sweden: Environmental Zones, Congestion Tax and Street Rules
Sweden’s environmental zones restrict older heavy lorries and buses in eight municipalities, a congestion tax applies at toll points in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and each city we read sets its own conditions for stopping where its street rules forbid it. Below: what the official pages say, where they differ and what none of them answers.
A few short questions. Nothing is sent until you check and confirm.
What decides whether a removal lorry can stop outside your Swedish address?
Three sets of rules decide it. Environmental zones, set by municipalities under national rules, limit which heavy lorries and buses may enter parts of eight municipalities. A congestion tax falls on cars, lorries and buses that pass toll points in Stockholm and Gothenburg. And each city we read sets its own conditions for parking or driving where its street rules forbid it. Of the pages we read, only Gothenburg’s and Malmö’s dispensation pages name a move.
We’re an introduction service, not a mover. A partner removal company reads your enquiry and checks it covers the move. It assesses the load and gives its own quotation.
This page sets out the national zone scheme and what the city pages we read say about stopping a vehicle in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Customs, registration, car and pet paperwork are on our other Sweden pages. We read no move-day page for any other Swedish city.
Which Swedish municipalities have an environmental zone, and which vehicles does it restrict?
Transportstyrelsen’s page (opens in a new window) lists eight municipalities with a class 1 zone: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Mölndal, Uppsala, Helsingborg, Lund and Umeå. Class 1 restricts heavy lorries and buses; class 2 applies to cars, light buses and light lorries; class 3 is stricter still. The page, last updated on 22 November 2024, lists class 1 zones only.
The basic class 1 rule is that a heavy lorry or bus may drive in the zone for six years from first registration, the current year not counted. Better engines get longer: the page gives eight years for vehicles better than Euro II (from 1 September 2013, better than Euro III), registration year not counted. It also lets Euro VI vehicles drive in the zone, without naming a time limit; the Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö pages say there is none.
In class 2, a petrol-type (spark-ignition) car, light bus or light lorry needs Euro 5 or 6 and a diesel one needs Euro 6. Class 3 admits electric, fuel-cell and gas vehicles only, gas ones at Euro VI, plus heavy plug-in hybrids that meet Euro VI.
Gothenburg’s page on its zone (opens in a new window) puts the line at a total weight of 3.5 tonnes: class 1 is for vehicles over it and class 2 for vehicles up to it. The Transportstyrelsen, Stockholm and Malmö zone pages state no weight for “heavy”.
The Transportstyrelsen page’s examples of exempt vehicles are those used for the special transport service for people with disabilities (färdtjänst), vehicles whose driver or passenger holds a parking permit for people with reduced mobility, and vehicles adapted or bought with state car support. A move is not among its examples.
What do the city pages ask of a lorry in a zone, and do they mention foreign-registered vehicles?
The Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö pages repeat the six-year rule and say it runs from first registration whatever the country of registration (oavsett registreringsland). None of them describes a registration or notification step for a foreign-registered vehicle, and none says how a removal lorry is treated. All three give Euro 6 or better as having no time limit.
Stockholm’s page on heavy vehicles (opens in a new window) (updated 27 September 2024) gives only the six-year rule and Euro 6 or better. Gothenburg’s and Malmö’s pages, like Transportstyrelsen’s, also give an eight-year allowance for some Euro classes, Malmö’s with a table by Euro class and year of first registration that we do not repeat. Both say the local rules are the same in every Swedish city with a zone and rest on the traffic ordinance. Malmö’s zone page (opens in a new window) was updated on 17 December 2025; Gothenburg’s shows no date. The pages do not say how Stockholm’s shorter rule fits that, so check the lorry’s Euro class against each page rather than assume six years.
Stockholm’s and Malmö’s pages give the fine for driving an outdated vehicle in the zone as SEK 1,000, with a risk that the vehicle has to be towed out of it; Malmö adds that checks are made by number plate. Gothenburg’s page names neither a fine nor a check. Stockholm’s page also says the city grants no temporary dispensation for driving in its class 1 zone: the vehicle has to meet the rules, apart from the vehicles the page lists as exempt, such as police, rescue and veteran vehicles and EC-type mobile cranes. Gothenburg’s page adds that vehicles running on ethanol or gas may drive in its zone at any age.
Stockholm’s page lists streets exempt from its class 1 zone since 1 January 2021, among them Centralbron, Söderleden and Sveavägen between Norrtull and Cedersdalsgatan, and more streets while Essingeleden or Norra länken is closed. Gothenburg’s zone does not include the roads Lundbyleden/Lundbytunneln (E6.21) and Oscarsleden/Götaleden, or transit traffic between Oscarsleden/Götaleden and the ferry at the Danmarksterminalen/Tysklandsterminalen, or between Lundbyleden/Lundbytunneln and the ferry at Frihamnen.
Is Stockholm’s class 3 zone in force, and where does class 2 apply?
No page we read says Stockholm’s class 3 zone is in force. Transportstyrelsen’s news item of 23 October 2025 says the city’s decision still did not apply while the county board (länsstyrelsen) decides the case; Stockholm’s own, later page, updated 19 May 2026, says the county board announced that day that it revokes the zone and that the city is appealing. Class 2 applies on Hornsgatan, says the city.
Stockholm’s page on its three zone classes (opens in a new window), last updated on 3 March 2025, still describes class 3 as a zone that will apply inside Kungsgatan, Birger Jarlsgatan, Hamngatan and Sveavägen, so it is older than the May 2026 page. Its class 2 line says diesel cars, light buses and light lorries on Hornsgatan must meet Euro 6. The city’s page on class 3 dispensations (opens in a new window), updated 19 May 2026, says they need special reasons, for example a vehicle that is unique with no permitted equivalent on the market, or one with a unique body fitted.
Transportstyrelsen’s item (opens in a new window) gives the earlier steps. The city issued the rules in early October 2024, to start on 31 December 2024; the county board put them on hold on 28 November 2024; Transportstyrelsen refused the city’s appeal against that on 19 December 2024; the county board revoked the decision on 26 May 2025; and Transportstyrelsen set that decision aside on 23 October 2025 and sent the case back. Because the position has changed several times, open the Stockholm and Transportstyrelsen pages again just before the move.
Does the congestion tax apply to a removal lorry?
Transportstyrelsen’s pages do not name a removal lorry. Its page on the tax (opens in a new window) says it applies to Swedish-registered and foreign-registered vehicles alike, and its page on exemptions (opens in a new window) says it is charged on a “car”, meaning a passenger car, lorry or bus. The automatic exemptions are emergency vehicles, buses of at least 14 tonnes, diplomatic vehicles, motorcycles and military vehicles. A removal vehicle is not listed. Ask the removal company whether its lorry is liable.
The exemptions page, updated 12 June 2026, says other vehicle types, such as trailers, tractors and motor implements (motorredskap), are exempt. The first page shows no date and links separate pages for Stockholm and Gothenburg that give the hours, amounts and toll stations; we did not read them, so this page gives none of those details. A camera photographs the number plates at a toll station, and Transportstyrelsen identifies the owner of a Swedish or foreign vehicle; a tax decision follows and the bill goes to the owner.
How does Stockholm let a vehicle drive or stop where its local rules forbid it?
Stockholm asks for a dispensation (dispens) when a vehicle must drive, stop or park where its local traffic rules forbid it. The city’s page (opens in a new window) asks for special reasons and an application sent at least a week ahead, usually answered after five working days, with a fee of SEK 300 for a travel permit or SEK 800 for a parking permit. It does not mention a move.
- What the page requires.
The use must not mean danger to traffic safety, risk of damage to the road or other considerable inconvenience. The form goes by email. The list of details to have ready starts with the company’s organisation number, name and address, then a contact person, the reason and the prohibition concerned, the place, date and time, and the vehicle’s registration number. The page does not mention private persons. The fee is invoiced after the decision and is not refunded on a refusal. The page was updated on 19 October 2026.
- Loading.
The page on loading places (opens in a new window), updated 18 January 2024, is written for businesses and property owners wanting a loading place for deliveries or refuse collection. It says loading and unloading goods is already allowed on streets with a parking ban, so no application is needed there. It does not mention a move.
- Heavy, long and wide vehicles.
The page on permits (opens in a new window), updated 1 October 2026, says transports with heavy, long or wide vehicles need a permit, at SEK 910 to 1,740 for most types and SEK 300 for other travel permits. Over 12 metres, a vehicle may drive only on roads that allow long traffic; up to 3.5 metres wide needs no dispensation if the vehicle is no longer than 12 metres and meets the road’s weight limit. A refusal costs as much as the permit asked for. For a vehicle not registered in Sweden, the registration certificate may have to be attached. Heavy and long transports across municipal boundaries or on state roads go to Trafikverket instead.
None of these three Stockholm pages names a removal vehicle or says who applies when a removal company does the move.
What do Stockholm’s pages say about Gamla stan and driving a heavy lorry at night?
Vehicle traffic in the inner parts of Gamla stan, Stockholm’s old town, is banned from 11.00 to 06.00, and from 06.00 to 11.00 it is allowed only for deliveries and transport to places inside, with a length limit of 8 metres. A dispensation is possible. For heavy lorries at night, Stockholm’s pages give two weight lines, 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes, and do not say which applies.
- Gamla stan, the rules.
The city’s traffic-rules page (opens in a new window) (updated 8 October 2026) adds that parking is banned round the clock in the inner parts (the dispensation page mentions places for utility traffic, nyttotrafik), that vehicle height is limited to 3.5 metres, and that transport of sick people or people with reduced mobility is allowed at any hour (on most streets, says the dispensation page).
- Gamla stan, the dispensation.
The dispensation page (opens in a new window) (updated 17 June 2026) says one for the banned hours can be given for bulky or heavy goods that cannot be divided, or for other compelling reasons, if the transport can be done safely. The application must explain why it cannot be done in the permitted hours or by bicycle or on foot. A planned transport is applied for by email at least three days ahead; for an unplanned one the page gives a round-the-clock phone number. It costs nothing.
- Night rule on the night-transport page.
The page on night transport (opens in a new window) (updated 19 May 2026) says heavy lorries (over 3.5 tonnes) may not be driven or parked on street land from 22.00 to 06.00.
- Night rule on the permit page.
The page on permits for heavy, long and wide vehicles (updated 1 October 2026) says no lorry with a total weight over 4.25 tonnes may be driven on street land from 22.00 to 06.00, except on roads listed in the city’s local traffic rules, and that no vehicle over 4.25 tonnes may be parked then. The same page lists a night travel permit for vehicles over 4.25 tonnes at SEK 1,740, and the night-transport page mentions a dispensation for quiet off-peak transports.
The two pages do not say which weight line is current, and neither names a removal lorry. Ask the removal company for the lorry’s total weight and its plans for 22.00 to 06.00.
How does Gothenburg let a vehicle drive or stop where its local rules forbid it?
Gothenburg’s dispensation page (opens in a new window) names a move as a special reason, alongside an installation or a work vehicle. The application is a form posted to the city’s Stadsmiljöförvaltningen (urban environment administration), the fee is SEK 500 per dispensation, and a dispensation can be given for single occasions or a continuous period of up to a year, for the shortest distance and time needed.
For standing a vehicle, the page adds a condition: no alternatives may exist. Existing parking nearby comes first, even if it means a walk, because you cannot always have the vehicle right at the destination. The page shows no date and gives no processing time, and it does not say who may apply or whether the householder or a removal company is the applicant. It suggests that applicants read the city’s page on traffic rules and local traffic regulations first.
How does Malmö let a vehicle park where parking is not allowed?
Malmö’s page on temporary traffic dispensation (opens in a new window) names removal work as an example and says one is needed only to park where parking is not allowed for your vehicle. Applications go through the city’s e-service at least a week ahead and cost SEK 250 per issued dispensation, invoiced afterwards. The page says an answer takes one to two weekdays.
No dispensation is needed for a short stop to load or unload in the listed situations: a place with a parking ban or a main road, double parking that leaves room to pass, a place with a fee or time limit (without paying or using a parking disc), a turning area, and some pedestrian streets from 05.00 to 11.00. The work must go on without a break, and people on foot and cycling must be considered. The page’s metadata gives 29 October 2025 as its last change.
- Never granted for:
hospital grounds; a breakdown; environmental parking (miljöparkering, when the street is to be cleaned); parking where a fee is payable; foot and cycle paths; public-transport lanes; and places with a no-stopping rule from 07.00 to 09.00 and 15.00 to 18.00.
- The application names:
one or two places, the reason, the dates and the vehicle’s registration number. The permit number or a physical permit must be placed visibly in the car for as long as it is parked.
How far ahead must you apply, and what do the Swedish pages leave open?
Stockholm asks for a week, or three days for Gamla stan, and usually decides after five working days. Malmö asks for a week and answers in one to two weekdays. Gothenburg’s page gives no lead time. The pages leave open who applies when a removal company does the move, how a removal lorry is treated by the zone rules and the tax, and what any other municipality asks.
- Who applies.
Stockholm’s list of details starts with a company’s organisation number, yet its page, like Gothenburg’s and Malmö’s, speaks to “you”. None says who applies when a removal company does the move.
- Weight lines.
Among the zone pages only Gothenburg’s states a weight for “heavy”. Stockholm gives 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes for the night ban and does not reconcile them.
- Not read.
The zone pages of Mölndal, Uppsala, Helsingborg, Lund and Umeå; any move-day page of another city; the Stockholm and Gothenburg pages on the congestion tax; the application forms; Malmö’s e-service; Gothenburg’s page on local traffic rules; and the traffic ordinance itself.
- Dates.
Gothenburg’s two pages and the Transportstyrelsen tax page show no date. Stockholm’s class 3 position has changed several times, and fees may change.
Zone lists, fees and city rules are revised, and several of these pages carry no date, so open the linked pages again just before you book. To plan the weeks around a move, use our international moving checklist.
Swedish zone, tax and street rules, answered
Do the zone rules apply to a removal lorry?
In the eight class 1 municipalities they apply to heavy lorries and buses by age and Euro class, and the pages we read give no exemption for a removal lorry.
Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö say the time limit runs from first registration whatever the country of registration. Ask the removal company for the lorry’s Euro class.
Is Stockholm’s class 3 zone in force?
No page we read says so.
Transportstyrelsen’s news of 23 October 2025 says the city’s decision still did not apply while the county board decides. Stockholm’s page, updated 19 May 2026, says the county board announced that day that it revokes the zone and that the city is appealing to Transportstyrelsen.
What does a dispensation cost in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö?
Stockholm lists SEK 300 for a travel permit and SEK 800 for a parking permit, and does not refund the fee after a refusal.
Gothenburg charges SEK 500 per dispensation and Malmö SEK 250 per issued dispensation. Stockholm says applying for a Gamla stan dispensation is free. Amounts may change, so check each page.
Does the congestion tax apply to a removal lorry?
Transportstyrelsen’s pages do not name a removal lorry.
The tax is charged on cars, which its exemptions page takes to mean passenger cars, lorries and buses, and it applies to Swedish and foreign registrations. A removal vehicle is not among the listed exemptions. Ask the removal company whether its lorry is liable.
How far ahead must I apply for a city dispensation?
Stockholm asks for applications at least a week ahead, and three days ahead for Gamla stan.
Malmö asks for at least a week. Gothenburg’s page gives no lead time. Stockholm says a decision usually comes after five working days, and Malmö says an answer takes one to two weekdays.
Who applies for the permit when a removal company does the move?
No page we read says.
Stockholm’s list of details to have ready starts with a company’s organisation number, yet its page, like Gothenburg’s and Malmö’s, speaks to “you”. Put the question to the removal company before you accept a quotation, and ask for the answer in writing.
Describe the Swedish address
Tell us the street address and postcode, which floor you are on, whether there is a lift, how wide the street is and the day you want to move. Say if the address is near an environmental zone (the Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö pages carry maps) or near Stockholm’s Gamla stan. Photos of the street and the entrance show what access is like.
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