A coordination number is a unique identifier that the Swedish Tax Agency can assign to an individual who has never been listed in the Population Register. You can apply for a coordination number yourself via our e-service or by filling in a printed form. You also need to book an appointment for an identity check at a service centre.
When you have been assigned a coordination number, it is valid for five years. After this period you can apply for an extension. If you have been issued with a coordination number and you are subsequently listed in the Swedish Population Register, your coordination number will be replaced with a personal identity number.
From 3 June 2024, you need to book an appointment for an identity check at a service centre when applying for a coordination number. This also applies if you have been summoned to attend a meeting in person.
If the Swedish Tax Agency receives a coordination number request, we will send you a notice about attending an identity check. In certain circumstances, an identity check can be carried out by a passport-issuing agency such as an embassy.
You can apply if you:
If you are going to work in Sweden for less than one year, you need to register for preliminary A-tax, or to apply for special income tax for non-residents (“SINK). You employer can apply for SINK on your behalf. If you don’t already have a coordination number, you need to apply for one yourself.
If you are moving to Sweden and plan to live here for one year or more, you need to register your move to Sweden.
Apply via our e-service Ansökan om samordningsnummer. You also need to book an appointment for an identity check at a service centre.
If a child needs a coordination number and has a connection to Sweden, the child’s parents or guardians can submit a joint application. You can apply via our e-service or by filling in a printed form.
You must visit a service centre in person for an identity check before the Swedish Tax Agency can issue you with a coordination number.
If you apply on a printed form, you must hand it in at the service centre when you attend for an identity check.
When you come in for an identity check, you must hand over your identity documentation so that we can check its validity. You need to bring the following:
The service administrator will examine your documents and check your identity. Your documents will be returned to you straight away. If you cannot show a valid proof of identity document, you can prove your identity by providing other documentation. The Swedish Tax Agency will then assess whether this documentation confirms your identity.
If you change details such as your name or citizenship, you must notify us by filling in the form “Coordination number – update information” (SKV 7541, in Swedish). You must also book an appointment for an identity check at a service centre and show documents that confirm your identity and the new details. You must also do this if you wish to request a change in the identity level of your coordination number.
If you have a coordination number and your contact address changes, you must inform the Swedish Tax Agency of your new address. To do so, please fill in form SKV 7542 “Samordningsnummer – kontaktadress” (“Coordination number – contact address”), which is in Swedish.
A coordination number can be assigned on your behalf in the following circumstances:
If the Swedish Tax Agency receives a coordination number request, we will send you a notice about attending an identity check. We will send this notification to the contact address registered for you with the party requesting the coordination number.
Your notification will state the final date by which you must visit a service centre. You need to book an appointment for an identity check at a service centre.
As the parent or guardian of a child with Swedish citizenship, you can apply for a Swedish passport for them at a Swedish embassy or a passport-issuing police station in Sweden.
If the child is not currently registered in Sweden, or has never been (i.e., does not have a personal identity number), the passport authority may request a coordination number from the Swedish Tax Agency if needed. If the passport office determines that the child is entitled to a Swedish passport, it will request a coordination number for the child.
A coordination number that has been assigned and is in current use is referred to as an active coordination number. In certain cases, a coordination number that is not currently in use must be marked as inactive. After five years, this happens automatically.
The Swedish Tax Agency can reactivate an inactive coordination number if it is needed. You need to visit a service centre in person for an identity check.
An active coordination number enables access to the following details:
The three identity levels are as follows:
The following details are also provided:
When you are assigned a coordination number, it remains active for five years. It can be reactivated after this period if you still need it.
When a person who has a coordination number dies, the Swedish Tax Agency registers the date of death.
If you leave Sweden and will not have any further contact with Swedish public authorities, you should notify the Swedish Tax Agency. We will then determine whether your coordination number should be marked as inactive.
You must fill in an application form at a service centre, providing full details of your connection to Sweden and why you need a coordination number. You must also book an appointment for an identity check at a service centre and provide a current contact address.
If a public authority needs a coordination number to remain active after the five-year period, it must submit a reactivation request to the Swedish Tax Agency. You will need to show that public authority your identity documents and notify them of your current contact address.
In most cases, you will need to visit a state service centre in person for an identity check. If so, we will notify you by post.
The Swedish Tax Agency registers coordination numbers in the population registration database. We mark each number with one of the following three possible identity levels: confirmed, probable or uncertain. If you apply yourself, you must prove your identity in order to be assigned a coordination number.
In order to be assigned a coordination number with the identity level “confirmed”, you must prove your identity in a personal visit to the Swedish Tax Agency, or the official passport authority in another country, if the request comes from a public authority. When you apply for a Swedish passport, you must prove your identity when you visit a passport office.
If you cannot prove your identity by visiting a Swedish state service centre in person and providing a valid proof of identity document, the Swedish Tax Agency must assess whether your identity is probable on the basis of other documentation you have provided. This could include copies of valid identity documents, or other types of documentation. Please note: this only applies if a public authority, university or college has requested a coordination number for you.
In exceptional cases, the Swedish Tax Agency can issue you with a coordination number even if your identity cannot be confirmed.
In such cases, the public authority that has requested a coordination number for you must provide us with all of the personal data available. The Swedish Tax Agency will then make an assessment on the basis of the personal data provided.
If you were issued with a coordination number before 1 September 2023, and it has not been marked as inactive, its identity level will automatically be marked as confirmed.
If you were issued with a coordination number at the request of a public authority, university or college before 1 September 2023, its identity level will automatically be registered as “probable” or “uncertain”. This depends on whether or not your identity had been proved when we issued your coordination number, or the last time we reactivated it.
Coordination numbers are structured in a similar way to 10-digit personal identity numbers. The third digit is an odd number for men, and an even number for women. The first six digits are your birth date: i.e. the order of the digits is birth year, month and day, with 60 added to the day on which you were born.
A man born on 3 October 1970 whose individual number is 239 has the following coordination number: 701063-2391 (i.e., 70 10 03 + 60).