Permit application

Anyone who wishes to carry out postal activities in Sweden must have a permit. The applicant may be either a natural person or a legal entity. Post- och telestyrelsen (PTS) [the Post and Telecommunications Agency] is the authority that issues such permits.

Requirements under the terms of the permit

The Swedish Postal Services Act (2010:1045) describes postal activities as "regular collection, sorting, transport and delivery of letters for payment" (Chapter 1, section 2). That means that postal activities are only activities where forwarding takes place with a particular regularity, for example conforming to a set delivery schedule in some way. Postal activities are thereby distinguished from, for example, activities carried out by companies that rent out mail boxes and courier firms.

Letter means an addressed item of mail placed in an envelope or other cover that weighs no more than 2 kg. Postcards and similar are equated with letters.

The postal operator holding the permit must be able to demonstrate to PTS that the postal activity is carried out reliably and in such a way as to maintain protection of senders’ and recipients’ personal privacy.

• Application form

Permit holders must ensure that:

• letters are handled in such a way that they are not damaged by external impact or by the weather and wind
• unattended boxes containing letters in public places (in cases where boxes are used in distribution) are locked at all times
• letters cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons and are not left unattended in a way that poses any risk in terms of privacy;
• staff concerned have thorough knowledge of the rules on professional secrecy and on the protection of privacy contemplated in secrecy regarding letters in Chapter 4 Section 8 of the Criminal Code and that
• the premises where addressed items of mail are handled meet reasonable security requirements.