Sweden runs one emergency number for everything — ambulance, fire, police, sea rescue, mountain rescue — and four calmer numbers around it so that 112 stays free for the people who need it. This page gives you the number, the script, and the four ways the call can fail.
When you need this
- Someone has collapsed, stopped breathing, or is bleeding heavily
- A car has gone off the road, a boat is in trouble, or a fire has started
- You are in a forest or on a mountain and cannot give a street address
- Your phone shows “emergency calls only” and you do not know if that is enough
- A child in your party is missing
- A bag was stolen yesterday and you want the police, but nothing is happening now
- A storm or a major accident has hit the area and nobody will tell you anything
What to say when they answer
Dial 112. Nothing before it — no country code, no area code, no prefix. It is free from a landline, a mobile, and a mobile with no SIM card in it, and it is answered around the clock.
The operator opens with three questions, in this order:
- What has happened? Lead with it. “A man has collapsed and is not breathing.”
- Where has it happened? See the next section — this is the part visitors get wrong.
- What number are you calling from? If you called without a SIM card, say so, because they cannot ring you back.
Then answer the follow-ups and stay on the line. It feels like delay; it is not. While the operator is talking to you, colleagues listening in are already dispatching. The operator will also give you CPR instructions over the phone if they are needed — you do not have to know what to do, only to keep the line open and do what you are told.
Warning: If you dial 112 by mistake, hang up immediately rather than staying silent. A silent open line has to be treated as a real emergency, and someone else waits while it is checked.
One call reaches everything: ambulance, fire and rescue, police, sea and air rescue, mountain rescue, poison information and emergency social services. You do not need to pick a service — though saying sjöräddning (sea rescue) or fjällräddning (mountain rescue) will route you faster if you know that is what you need.
Where you are, when there is no address
In most cases your position arrives automatically from your handset the moment you dial, and it is far more precise than the old method of guessing from the nearest mast. It is not guaranteed, it is not always exact, and it is never a reason to skip telling them.
| Where you are | What to say |
|---|---|
| In a town | Street, number, town — then the entrance and floor |
| On a road | The road number, plus the last sign, junction or exit you passed |
| In the wild | Coordinates, read aloud — then the trail, lake, peak or hut name and how you got there |
| At sea | Coordinates, plus the vessel’s name and how many people are aboard |
| Somewhere with a name | Street and number first, the name of the place second |
Learn where your phone shows coordinates before you travel, and read them out once to yourself. It is the single most useful five minutes a hiker can spend before a Swedish trip — and it is why our guides to wild camping and ice safety send you here.
Beyond mobile coverage entirely, a satellite phone reaches SOS Alarm on +46 63 107 112. On the water, VHF channel 16 is the alternative and sometimes the better one: the rescue coordination centre monitors it around the clock, and other vessels hear you too. The call sign is Sweden Rescue and the distress signal is MAYDAY.
Will the call connect?
This is the section no other English page has, and in Sweden it now matters.
Yes, without a SIM card. SOS Alarm states it directly: you can call 112 in Sweden with no SIM card in the phone. Telia says the same about a prepaid card with no credit left. The catch is that without a SIM the network sends no callback number, so if the call drops nobody can reach you. Say your location early, and say it twice.
Maybe not, on an older handset. During December 2025 Telenor, Tre and Tele2 shut down their 2G and 3G networks. Some phones support VoLTE for ordinary calls but cannot place an emergency call over 4G — they used to fall back on 2G. PTS, the telecoms regulator, ordered those three operators to block such handsets from mobile voice service entirely: from 1 December 2025 for phones that needed a manual step such as removing the SIM card, and from 2 February 2026 for the rest. Telia keeps its 2G network running until the end of 2027.
Warning: Removing your SIM card is no longer a dependable last resort. SOS Alarm’s own advice, if emergency roaming fails, is still to take the SIM out and dial again — but PTS has been blocking precisely the handsets that depend on that step since 1 December 2025. Two current official sources point different ways, so we publish both: try it if you have no other option, but do not count on it.
If your phone is more than a few years old, the question to ask your own operator before you travel is not “does it do 4G” but “can it place an emergency call over VoLTE”. Ask them — do not find out by dialling. PTS puts it in three words on its own page: “Testa inte att ringa 112.” A test call occupies an operator who is somebody else’s only way through. And no phone reaches 112 where no operator has a signal at all — in the mountains and the Norrland interior, that is a real state of the world, not a fault.
The other numbers, and what each is for
In 2025 SOS Alarm took 3,816,710 calls to 112 and answered them in 7.3 seconds on average. About a third of them — 1,140,529 calls — involved no actual need for help. These are the numbers that exist so that does not happen.
| Number | For | From a foreign phone | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 112 | Anything urgent: danger to life, property or the environment | 112 | Free |
| 113 13 | Verified information during a major accident or crisis — and to report one | +46 77 33 113 13 | Your operator’s ordinary rate |
| 114 14 | Police matters that are not happening now | +46 77 114 14 00 | Your subscription’s rate — not free |
| 1177 | Medical advice, around the clock | +46 771 1177 00 | Your operator’s ordinary rate |
113 13 is the one nobody tells visitors about. During a storm, a power cut, a water contamination or a large fire, it gives information that has been checked with the municipality or agency responsible — and it takes information too, if you have seen something they may not know about.
Four EU-harmonised 116 lines are answered in Sweden, all free: 116 000 for a missing child (SOS Alarm, 24 hours, handled like a 112 call), 116 006 for crime victims (Brottsofferjouren, office hours), 116 016 for violence in close relationships and sexual violence (Kvinnofridslinjen, in use since 28 April 2025) and 116 111 for anyone under 18 (Bris, 24 hours, phone or SMS). Two other 116 numbers exist elsewhere in Europe but have no Swedish service behind them: 116 117, because Sweden routes non-emergency medical advice through 1177 instead, and 116 123.
Warning: The short numbers 114 14 and 1177 are Swedish national short codes and may simply not connect from a foreign-registered phone. Both services publish an international number for exactly that reason. Save the long forms before you fly. 112 is the one number that needs no workaround.
Language on the line
SOS Alarm operators speak Swedish and English, and the police say the same of the 112 service. For other languages an interpreter can be brought in — SOS Alarm covers roughly 200, with dedicated weekday staffing for Arabic, Somali, Russian and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.
Two honest caveats. English is a published service level, not a legal guarantee, so open in English rather than assuming it. And the police note that an interpreter can be added “if there is time” — it may delay the call. If you have any English at all, use it first and ask for the interpreter second.
If you cannot speak or hear
Since 3 March 2026 you can start an ordinary 112 call and type to the operator at the same time, character by character, with the voice channel still open. It is called real-time text, you switch it on in your phone’s own accessibility settings, and it needs no registration. It is open to everyone, not only to deaf and hard-of-hearing callers.
The older SMS112 service is different and is closed to visitors: it requires registering in advance, and the form asks for a 12-digit Swedish personal identity number and a 10-digit Swedish mobile number, with activation taking one to three working days. If you are visiting Sweden, you cannot use it — use real-time text.
PTS also runs relay services that need no pre-registration and will place calls on your behalf: Bildtelefoni.net for sign language, Texttelefoni.se for text, and Teletal for speech support.
What 112 is not for
Deliberate misuse is a criminal offence, not a telling-off. Under the Swedish Criminal Code, causing an unnecessary safety measure by falsely claiming danger to life, health or property is falskt larm — fines or up to a year in prison, and six months to four years if the offence is gross. Causing an unnecessary call-out of police, rescue services, ambulance, military or sea rescue by misusing an alarm is missbruk av larmanordning — fines or up to six months.
Nothing on this page should make you hesitate in a real emergency. Immediate care is given regardless of who you are or what you can pay; what that care costs afterwards is a separate question, answered in our guide to healthcare for visitors.
One last trap: the 112 app is published in Swedish only. It is still worth having for one thing — it shows your coordinates in WGS84 decimal degrees, which you can read aloud in any language. Do not rely on it to explain anything to you. The app and Sweden’s public warning alerts have their own guide, VMA and the 112 app.
And for a night when things are very dark: between roughly 21:00 and 06:00 you can call 112 and ask for jourhavande präst, the duty priest. The operator connects you, the conversation is confidential, and no church membership or belief is required. Sweden’s health service also lists Mind’s Självmordslinjen on 90101 and, for anyone under 18, Bris on 116 111.
Practical information
| Item | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Calling 112 from a landline or mobile in Sweden | Free, including from a mobile with no SIM card or no prepaid credit |
| Calling 112 from a satellite phone (+46 63 107 112) | Your satellite provider’s ordinary rate — not free |
| 114 14 — police, non-urgent | Not free; charged at your own subscription’s rate |
| 113 13 — crisis information | No charge beyond your operator’s ordinary call cost |
| 1177 — medical advice | Your operator’s ordinary call cost; the advice itself is not billed |
| 116 000 / 116 006 / 116 016 / 116 111 | Free |
| Real-time text during a 112 call | Free — it runs inside the 112 call |
| Ambulance transport and treatment | Billed separately and set by each region — see our healthcare guide |
We publish no kronor figure on this page, deliberately. Operator call rates are commercial and change without notice, and ambulance and treatment charges are set by each of Sweden’s 21 regions. The only number that matters here is that 112 itself costs nothing.
FAQ
What is the emergency number in Sweden?
112, for everything. One call reaches ambulance, fire and rescue, police, sea and air rescue, mountain rescue, poison information and emergency social services. It is free from any phone, works with or without a SIM card, and is answered around the clock. In 2025 the average answer time was 7.3 seconds. Do not dial any prefix before it.
Do 112 operators in Sweden speak English?
Yes. SOS Alarm operators speak Swedish and English, and the police state the same. For other languages an interpreter can be brought in — SOS Alarm covers roughly 200, with dedicated weekday staffing for Arabic, Somali, Russian and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian. Interpretation can add time, so open in English if you can.
Can I call 112 in Sweden without a SIM card?
Yes. SOS Alarm states directly that you can call 112 in Sweden with no SIM card in the phone, and Telia says the same for calls with no prepaid credit left. One catch: without a SIM the network sends no callback number, so if the call drops nobody can reach you. Say your location early and repeat it.
Will my old phone still be able to call 112 in Sweden?
Maybe not. Telenor, Tre and Tele2 shut down 2G and 3G in December 2025, and PTS ordered them to block handsets that cannot place an emergency call over 4G/VoLTE — from 1 December 2025 for some, 2 February 2026 for the rest. Telia keeps 2G until the end of 2027. Ask your own operator before travelling.
How does SOS Alarm know where I am when I call 112?
In most cases your position arrives automatically from the handset when you dial, which is far more precise than the old network-cell estimate. It is not guaranteed and it is not a substitute for telling them. Give a street and number in town, a road number on the road, and coordinates in the wild — the 112 app displays yours.
What number do I call in Sweden if it is not an emergency?
Three, by subject. 114 14 for police matters that are not happening now — from a foreign phone, +46 77 114 14 00. 1177 for medical advice around the clock — from a foreign phone, +46 771 1177 00. 113 13 for verified information during a major accident or crisis — from abroad, +46 77 33 113 13.
Can I text 112 in Sweden?
Since 3 March 2026, yes — through real-time text. Start an ordinary 112 call and switch on RTT in your phone’s settings; the operator sees your typing as you type, with voice still open, and no registration is needed. The older SMS112 service still requires advance registration with a Swedish personal identity number, so visitors cannot use it.
Which 116 numbers work in Sweden?
Four. 116 000 for a missing child, answered by SOS Alarm and handled like a 112 call. 116 006 for crime victims, Brottsofferjouren, office hours. 116 016 for violence in close relationships and sexual violence, Kvinnofridslinjen, in use since 28 April 2025. 116 111 for anyone under 18, Bris, 24 hours by phone or SMS. All free.
Related guides
- Getting sick in Sweden: healthcare for visitors — what happens after the call, and what it costs
- 1177: Sweden’s medical advice line — the number to use when it is not an emergency
- VMA and the 112 app — how Sweden warns the public, and why the app is Swedish-only
- Reporting a crime as a tourist — where a 114 14 call actually leads
- Wild camping in Sweden — where you will be standing when you have no address to give
Facts verified 2026-08-01. Sources: SOS Alarm, PTS (Post- och telestyrelsen), Krisinformation.se, Polismyndigheten, Sjöfartsverket, 1177 and Brottsbalken 16 kap. 15 § — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.