Before you start

Folkbokföring completed, which is what starts the one-year clock
Your existing licence, valid and not expired
A Swedish eyesight certificate and health declaration for the licence application
A körkortstillstånd (learner permit) before you may take lessons or tests, if you are testing rather than exchanging

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your licence is exchangeable at all
EEA licences are valid in Sweden indefinitely and can be exchanged on request. Swiss and Japanese licences can be exchanged. No other country's licence can — the answer is the Swedish tests, regardless of how long you have been driving.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Write down the date you were registered, because that starts the clock
The one-year validity runs from your entry in the population register, not from your arrival in the country and not from the date on the permit card. Missing that distinction is how people end up driving unlicensed without realising it.
OnlineWho: You
3
Apply for a körkortstillstånd early if you must test
Before you can take lessons or book a test you need a learner permit from Transportstyrelsen, which requires an eyesight certificate and a health declaration. This step alone takes weeks and is the usual reason people run out of their year.
OnlineWho: YouMonth 2–3
4
Book the theory and practical tests with Trafikverket well in advance
Test slots in the Gothenburg area are oversubscribed and waits of months are normal. Book as soon as your learner permit is issued, and take the compulsory risk-awareness courses (riskutbildning) before the practical test rather than discovering they are required.
OnlineWho: You
5
Learn how Gothenburg's congestion tax actually works before you commute
Trängselskatt is charged by camera on weekdays between 06:00 and 18:29, at 9, 16 or 22 kr depending on the minute you cross. The daily maximum is 60 kr per vehicle. Crucially, the flerpassageregel means several passages within 60 minutes are charged only once, at the highest of those rates — so a school run and a commute in the same hour is one charge, not three.
OnlineWho: You
6
Fit winter tyres in the winter season, because it is a legal requirement
Winter tyres are compulsory on Swedish roads in winter conditions during the statutory period. Gothenburg's winters are wetter and milder than Stockholm's, which means slush and freeze-thaw rather than settled snow — arguably worse driving, and no reason to skip the tyres.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Existing driving licence
Passport and personnummer
Eyesight certificate from an optician or doctor
Health declaration for Transportstyrelsen
Proof of completed risk-awareness courses, for the test route

Things most newcomers don’t know

Gothenburg's congestion tax has a multi-passage rule and Stockholm's does not.

Under the flerpassageregel, a vehicle crossing several charging points within 60 minutes is taxed once, at the highest of those amounts. Gothenburg's cordon has far more charging points than Stockholm's and is crossed casually — the rule is what stops an ordinary trip across town costing four separate charges. The practical consequence is that clustering errands inside one hour is genuinely cheaper, which is not true in Stockholm. The daily ceiling is 60 kr per vehicle either way.

Source: Transportstyrelsen — trängselskatt i Göteborg

Nobody pays congestion tax in July, or at weekends, or the day before a public holiday.

The charge applies on weekdays only, between 06:00 and 18:29, and is suspended entirely for the whole of July as well as on public holidays and the day before one. Sweden takes July off and the tax system reflects it. If you are budgeting a commute, the charged year is about eleven months of weekdays, not twelve.

Source: Transportstyrelsen — trängselskatt i Göteborg

Only the EEA, Switzerland and Japan can exchange a licence into a Swedish one.

Sweden has no exchange agreement with the United States, Canada, Australia, India, or — since Brexit — the United Kingdom. Experienced drivers with decades on the road must pass the Swedish theory and practical tests like a seventeen-year-old, and the most common failure is discovering this in month eleven when there is no longer time to do anything about it.

Source: Transportstyrelsen

The congestion tax follows the vehicle's owner, which matters when you buy a used car.

Trängselskatt is levied on the registered owner and billed monthly, with no roadside payment option at all. Buying a used car means inheriting the registration, and unpaid charges attached to it can become your problem. Check the vehicle's status with Transportstyrelsen using the registration number before money changes hands — it takes a minute.

Source: Transportstyrelsen

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a long-held licence from outside the EEA can be exchanged — it cannot.
Counting the one-year validity from arrival rather than from population registration.
Leaving the learner permit application until you need to book a test.
Assuming Stockholm's congestion rules apply here — the amounts, the ceiling and the multi-passage rule are all different.
Buying a used car without checking outstanding congestion charges attached to the registration.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.