Getting your personnummer in Sweden: what it is and where you need it

Sweden has no separate tax ID for residents. The personal identity number (personnummer) assigned by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) serves as your tax number, your health record number, your benefits number and the key to most private services. Americans moving to Sweden quickly find that forms ask for it everywhere. This guide explains what the number is, how a new resident receives it, what shorter-stay residents use instead, and the main places you will need it.

What the number is

Skatteverket gives a personnummer to everyone registered in the Swedish Population Register. You keep it for life, even if you later move abroad. You use it in contact with authorities and private companies, because it is your identifier in Sweden. Skatteverket also uses the register to supply current information about residents to other authorities, which is why updating your details with Skatteverket reaches other agencies.

### How it is built

The number shows your birthdate as six digits in year, month, day order, followed by a hyphen, a three-digit birth number and a control number. The last digit of the birth number is odd for men and even for women. The hyphen becomes a plus sign in the year a person turns 100. If all birth numbers for a date are used up, your number may show a date close to your real birthdate.

How a new resident gets one

### The conditions

You are generally required to register in the Population Register if you move to Sweden and plan to stay one year or more. As a US citizen, you must also show a valid Swedish residence permit, using the residence permit card. Skatteverket decides whether you meet the requirements.

### The steps

1. Notify your move in the "Moving to Sweden" e-service, in English, or at a service centre.
2. Book and attend an identity check at a state service centre, bringing your passport, residence permit card, documents showing your reason for moving and proof of your family situation.
3. Give the full address where you live and sleep, with the four-digit apartment number if there is one, and put your name on the postbox.
4. Wait for processing. Skatteverket states a move to Sweden takes about six weeks to be assigned to an administrator.

If you are staying under a year

Short-stay residents cannot get a personnummer but can apply for a coordination number (samordningsnummer), provided they have a connection to Sweden and can show they need one. You apply through the "Coordination number" e-service and attend an identity check. A coordination number can also be assigned when you apply for F-tax approval or at the request of an authority or university. It stays active for five years and is replaced by a personnummer if you are later registered.

Getting numbers for your family

Each family member who moves with you is registered separately and receives their own number. Skatteverket needs documents for this:

• Spouse or registered partner: a marriage certificate, an extract from the civil register or a family registration document.
• Previously married and moving alone: documents such as a divorce decree or death certificate. People who have never married need no civil status documents.
• Children under 18: a birth certificate, civil register extract or family registration document showing the parents, plus any custody decision. Both parents or guardians must notify the move jointly, or one must have written consent from the other.

If you lack these documents, Skatteverket may ask to see the residence permit decisions from the Migration Agency.

### Temporary addresses

If you start in a hotel or hostel, give that address when you notify your move. If you move to another home before you are registered and receive your number, report the new address and the date you moved. Skatteverket contacts applicants by letter, and sometimes by email or phone; if it cannot reach you, it may not register you or give you a number.

Where you need it

### Your job and your tax

Your employer withholds tax based on a decision from Skatteverket. If you stay in Sweden for at least six consecutive months, or have a significant connection to Sweden, you have unlimited tax liability and your employer deducts preliminary A-tax. Otherwise SINK, the special income tax for non-residents, applies at a final rate of 22.5%, with no income tax return and no deductions. The length of your stay, not the length of your job, decides which applies.

You can start working before Skatteverket decides, and you must be able to show your employer that you are permitted to work in Sweden.

### Social insurance

Försäkringskassan decides whether you are insured in Sweden, which affects benefits such as child allowance and housing allowance. If you move with children under 16, it contacts you once you are registered in the Population Register. Others can provide information through its e-service or form 5456.

### Healthcare

Försäkringskassan states that once you are registered in Sweden, you are entitled to medical and dental care on the same terms as others living there, paying the standard patient fee. 1177 explains that people from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland usually pay the full cost before then. Healthcare is organised by regions, and 1177.se lets you choose your region.

### ID card

A Skatteverket ID card requires being in the Population Register and having a personnummer. The fee is SEK 400, paid before your appointment. From 1 December 2026, new ID cards are applied for from the Swedish Police.

### BankID

BankID, the electronic identification used by most Swedish adults to log in to e-services and sign contracts, requires a Swedish personal identity number, an account at a bank that issues BankID, and a valid ID document. You order it from your bank.

### Proving your registered details

A population registration certificate (personbevis) is an extract from the Population Register, issued only by Skatteverket. With Swedish eID and age over 16 you can download certificates about yourself, including one with English text. It cannot be used as proof of identity.

Protecting your number

Your personnummer reveals only your birthdate and sex, but it is used for identification in so many places that guarding your ID card matters. If you lose a Skatteverket ID card, block it by calling +46 10 331 10 10. If Skatteverket assigns a new number, for example after a corrected birthdate, apply for new ID documents.

Keeping it current

Report a move within Sweden in advance or no later than one week after moving. Because the Population Register feeds other authorities, an accurate address keeps letters from Skatteverket and other agencies reaching you.

Common questions

Is the personnummer the same as a tax ID? Yes. The personnummer is your identifier with Skatteverket and other authorities and companies in Sweden.

Can I get a personnummer for a six-month job? Registration generally requires a planned stay of one year or more. Shorter stays use a coordination number.

Does SINK require a tax return? No. SINK is a final tax at 22.5%, so you do not file an income tax return and cannot claim deductions.

Does my personnummer change if I move back to the US? No. Skatteverket says you keep the same personal identity number for life.