Rules on transport in connection with economic activities

This page describes the general rules that applies if you transport animals in connection with economic activities. To the left you can read more about what constitutes transport in connection with economic activity.

If you transport your own animals in your own vehicle within 50 km from your farm, you do not need to comply with these rules.

Authorisation for transporters

To be permitted to transport animals, you need to register as a transporter and receive an authorisation. The cost for the application is 1300 SEK.Transport companies that employ several drivers only need to register the company. You can apply for authorisation for short transports (less than eight hours) or for long transports (more than eight hours). Remember that you always need to have your authorisation, as well as a document showing that the vehicle has been inspected and approved available when you transport animals. In case of long transports, you also need a certificate of approval for the vehicle. This, too, must be available when you transport animals.

Applying for authorisation

Complete the form Application — registered transporter of live animals, in the right-hand column.

Enclose a certificate showing that the means of transport you intend to use comply with the rules on transports. This certificate is issued by the County Administrative Board in the county you live in, after they have inspected your vehicle. You also need to enclose the  basic data from the inspection of the vehicle from the County Administrative Board.

Training required for certificate of competence

You need a certificate of competence to be allowed to transport bovine animals, sheep, goats, poultry, or horses. In case the transporter is not in charge of the animals' welfare, the attendant who has that responsibility also needs a certificate of competence. You get this certificate by completing training relevant for the animals you intend to transport.

Please  keep in mind that it may take some time to complete the training and receive the certificate of competence.

Approved training courses

Below we list the training courses that are approved for teaching animal transporters. New courses may be added to the list at any time, and the ones already listed may change. However, their websites are often available only in Swedish.

• The Vocational Training and Working Environment Council, TYA. This course primarily addresses livestock and horses.
• The Study Promotion Association in Uppsala County. Training courses are available regarding transport of horses, sheep and goats. Also available as web-courses.
• Meny, expert skills in food. This course only applies to transport of horses. Available as a web-course.     
• Dalagården veterinary clinic, Gunilla and Moa Lundgren, Båstad. This course only applies to transport of horses.
• Vivet AB, Örebro. Training courses regarding horses and livestock.  

Exception for short, unfrequent transports

If you transport your own animals in your own vehicle a shorter distance than 65 km, and unfrequently, you do not need a transporter authorisation or an approval of the vehicle or a certificate of competence. As a rule of thumb, "unfrequently" means no more than eight times a year. This exception also applies if you transport your own animals to a veterinarian, to pasture, or if they are included in a programme for preservation.

Journey log

If you transport bovine animals, sheep, goats, pigs or unregistered horses to countries outside Sweden, and the transport takes more than eight hours, you need a journey log. A registered horse is a horse that has a horse passport and has been or may be entered into a stud book. Horses that are being transported to slaughter do not count as registered horses. The journey log can be found in the right-hand column.

Using the journey log

Two working days before the departure, please fax section 1 of the journey log to the Board of Agriculture. The fax number is +46 36 12 63 40.

If the journey log is approved, we will send the approval by fax to the transporter.

When carrying out the transport, complete sections 2, 3 and 5 of the journey log as needed. When the transport is completed, please send section 4, Declaration by the transporter, to the County Administrative Board in the county where you began the transport. If you have completed section 5, please remember to send this to the Board of Agriculture.

Please note:
Veterinary inspection is to take place no sooner than 24 hours before loading. Horses must be inspected no sooner than 48 hours before loading.

You need to bring the journey log with you during transport.

As a transporter or organiser you are responsible for planning the transport, and for ensuring that the journey log is completed and sent to the proper authority.

Navigation system

If you transport domestic bovine animals, sheep, goats, pigs or domestic equidae (except registered horses) for more than eight hours, your vehicle must be equipped with a navigation system. The system must be capable of registering transfers and stops. The system also need sensors that register temperature and detect opening and closing of the loading flap, and it must also be able to transmit data to a fixed receiver.

For more information on navigation systems, please consult the experts at TYA (see the list of approved training courses above.)

Signs

When you use motor vehicles and trailers to transport animals, you need to have signs on them both at the front and at the rear of the vehicle. These signs shall be written in Swedish or in English. They shall make it clear that there are live animals in the vehicle, and be easy to read from a distance.

Signs approved in other countries

Vehicles registered in Sweden must comply with Swedish rules. Vehicles registered in other EEA countries have to comply with the rules in those countries. EEA comprises EU Member States as well as Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

Signs that are approved in non-EEA countries are acceptable if they clearly show that the transport contains live animals.

Transports abroad

You need to comply with many other rules in order to be allowed to transport animals abroad. The rules vary from country to country, and it is important that you find out what applies in the country you are going to.

For more information, please consult the authorities responsible for transportation of animals in EU Member States.

It is important that animals do not carry diseases with them when they are brought from one country to another. Also, there are rules that are intended to restrict trade in endangered species. You can find some information about this on our English pages on imports, but most of it is available only in Swedish. 

Other means of transport

If you transport animals by rail, ship or airplane, special rules apply. You find some of them in the EU Regulation in the right-hand column.

For all transports starting and ending in Sweden and for sea transports starting in Sweden, Swedish regulations also apply. Please contact us for more information, since this piece of legislation is not available in English.