Vehicle data

History

Swedish car registration began around July 1, 1905. The decision on the first national regulation on automobile traffic was taken at Stockholm Castle on September 21, 1906, the Automobile Traffic Regulation (SFS 1906:90). Among other things, it meant that the county administrative boards were obliged to keep a register of vehicles from 1907. From 1907, it was also stipulated that motor vehicle drivers should have a driving license, but it was not until 1916 that the first legal requirements for what a driver of a motor vehicle should know. After 1916, there is information on vehicle type, make, kerb weight, cylinder capacity and so on, which is not available in the vehicle registers before 1916.

In 1915, the Automobile Traffic Ordinance was amended with the County Administrative Board in each county as the responsible authority. The records were kept in 1916-1923 in bound ledgers, which were divided into three sections: automobiles (A), motorcycles (B) and professional traffic (C). The ledgers or books are kept chronologically according to the order in which vehicles were registered. The bound books have not yet been digitized, but information on vehicles can be ordered from the National Archives via our forms. One exception is the digitized Bilregister (1907–1923) Västernorrlands läns landskansli, Automobilavdelningens arkiv (Car Register 1907-1923, Västernorrland County Council, Archives of the Automobile Department).

In 1942 there was a transition to the registration of vehicles on loose sheets. Until 1972, the registration designation consisted of the letter of the county where the owner of the vehicle was registered and a serial number, for example Z 1234 for a vehicle registered in Jämtland County. If the owner of the vehicle was registered in another county or if the vehicle was sold across the county border, the registration designation was changed. This means that in order to map the history of a vehicle, it is often necessary to study registration cards from several different counties.

In 1972, the task of vehicle registration was transferred to the then Swedish Transport Safety Agency, where a nationwide register of vehicles was created. This register for the period 1972-1994 is archived on microfilm and information can be ordered from the National Archives via our online forms.

Vehicle registration card, ca 1940-ca 1972

From 1942 onwards, it was decided to enter the vehicle information on the cards using a typewriter. The cards were also given different colors depending on the type of vehicle. The sorting order was the registration number. If the vehicle changed, a new card was added so there could be several cards for the same vehicle.

These vehicle registration cards are currently being scanned by the National Archives. Due to GDPR, the material is only available digitally via the computers in our reading rooms. See our visiting locations and opening hours (in Swedish). Vehicle data can also be ordered via our online forms.

For the vehicle register cards for the Norrland counties, there is a search index, Wincars – fordonsregister för norrlandslänen (1916–ca 1972) as open and downloadable data (in Swedish).