Your parcel probably won’t come to the door. It waits at a counter in a supermarket or kiosk, or in a locker, and getting it out as a visitor comes down to three things: the name on the label, the ID in your pocket and the date in the notice.
When you need this
Your bank is posting a replacement card. Your medicine is still on the bathroom shelf at home. You’ve ordered something to a holiday cabin, or a text message says a parcel is waiting at a shop you’ve never heard of. Or a notice asks you to pay VAT and a fee before a gift from home is released.
Where parcels end up: ombud, lockers or the door
PostNord is the operator the regulator, PTS, has designated to run Sweden’s universal postal service. It is not the only parcel carrier, though: PTS considers the parcel market competitive, and private carriers run their own agents and lockers. The sender picks the carrier, and each carrier sets its own rules on ID and hold times. The details below are PostNord’s, because it publishes them. For any other carrier, follow its notice.
The everyday default is a pick-up point, not your doorstep. PostNord has about 2,000 postal agents (postombud) and about 400 pick-up-only points, mostly inside grocery stores and other shops. On average they’re open just over 10 hours a day, seven days a week. Alongside them stand parcel lockers (paketboxar) at more than 2,500 sites. If the locker you chose is full, the parcel goes to the nearest agent and you get a message by app, text or email. Home delivery is also possible when the sender offers it at checkout.
| Option | Where | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Ombud (agent) | Counter in a grocery store, kiosk or petrol station | Valid ID matching the label, during shop hours |
| Parcel locker | Outside shops and stations | The carrier’s app; possibly Mobile BankID |
| Home delivery | Your address | Someone there, if a signature is needed |
| Poste Restante | Designated outlet in listed postal codes | Your name and ID; held 30 days |
The ID question: your passport works
This is what visitors actually need to know. PostNord accepts any valid foreign passport, whether from the EU or elsewhere, and a national ID card issued in a Schengen country. It also takes Swedish documents, plus Mobile BankID’s digital ID card and Freja eID (both for parcels only).
Two conditions trip people up. The name on your ID has to match the name on the label, and the document has to be valid and undamaged. A foreign driving licence is not on the list. The notice always tells you whether ID is needed at all.
In practice, order in your name exactly as it appears in your passport. That holds even when the parcel goes to a friend’s flat or a rented cabin: put your own name on the label and the host’s name as “c/o” after it.
Lockers and the BankID wall
Parcel lockers are opened with PostNord’s app over Bluetooth, not with a printed code. PostNord’s locker FAQ says you must identify with Mobile BankID. Its collection page says BankID is needed only when the sender has chosen an ID-check add-on. The operator’s own pages disagree.
That matters because Mobile BankID needs a Swedish personal identity number, so most visitors can’t get one (see our BankID guide). The safe choice: pick an ombud at checkout, not a locker. At the counter your passport is enough. If a parcel does land in a locker, someone with the app can collect it for you through a link you share by text or email.
How long parcels wait — and the October 2026 change
This is the freshness catch. Locker parcels have normally waited seven days before going back to the sender, and that is still what PostNord’s consumer FAQ says. But PostNord’s business page says it is testing a three-day hold in lockers in the Stockholm region, ahead of a planned switch across Sweden in October 2026. Recipients will be able to extend it to seven days in the app. Earlier reports said September; that date slipped.
At an agent counter, the standard hold has been seven days since 2021, and recipients can usually extend it free unless the sender has locked that option. Poste Restante mail waits 30 days. Whatever the rule, the last collection date in your notice is the one that counts.
Parcels from outside the EU: VAT, duty and a fee
Anything arriving from outside the EU is taxed, and that includes the UK, the US and China. Norway and Switzerland are outside the EU too.
- VAT from the first krona. The EU removed the low-value VAT exemption on 1 July 2021, so every imported item carries VAT, normally 25 percent of the value including shipping.
- A new €3 duty. Since 1 July 2026 a temporary €3 customs duty applies per item, meaning per tariff classification rather than per piece, on consignments worth up to €150. It runs until July 2028.
- The carrier’s handling fee. With PostNord as your customs representative, you pay its fee on top.
Gifts sent by a private person and worth up to 600 kronor (€45) go through with no VAT and no fee, as long as the customs documents call them a gift. If the web shop charged VAT at checkout under the EU’s IOSS scheme, you won’t pay VAT again, but duty and a smaller fee can still apply.
You get at least 14 days to pay. If you don’t pay, the parcel goes back to the sender, and PostNord says you face no reminder fees or debt collection. Pay only through the carrier’s own app or website: a notice for something you never ordered may be a gift, or a scam.
Had something you forgot sent on from outside the EU? In some cases PostNord can clear a forgotten item free of duty and tax, so contact it before paying.
Medicines by post: the EEA line
The forgotten-medicine case has its own rule, set by Läkemedelsverket (the Swedish Medical Products Agency):
| Sent from | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Another EEA country | Yes, up to one year’s supply, if bought at a pharmacy, approved in Sweden and the sending country, and (if prescription-only) prescribed by an EEA prescriber |
| Outside the EEA | No |
| Anywhere, narcotic- or doping-classed medicine | Never |
Parcels from Swedish online pharmacies must be signed for, and collection points ask for ID or BankID. If posting isn’t allowed, go to a Swedish pharmacy or doctor instead; see pharmacies in Sweden and bringing medicines into Sweden.
Step by step
- Choose the delivery point when ordering. Pick an ombud near where you’re staying; choose a locker only if you can open it with the carrier’s app.
- Enter your name exactly as on your passport, with your own name first even at a cabin or a friend’s address.
- Give a mobile number and email so the notice reaches you.
- Track the parcel with the shipment ID on the carrier’s website or app.
- Read the notice. It names the pick-up point, says whether ID is required and gives the last collection date.
- If a VAT and fee request arrives, pay it through the notice’s link; you have at least 14 days.
- Collect it with your passport or Schengen national ID card during the shop’s opening hours.
- Extend the hold in the app if you can’t make it in time.
For a cabin in the countryside, the nearest agent may be the village’s only grocery store, keeping that store’s hours; see opening hours in Sweden. With no fixed address at all, use Poste Restante: your name, then “Poste Restante” in the street field, then the postal code and town of a place that offers it. For a replacement bank card, ask the bank which carrier it uses and whether ID is needed.
Practical information
| Item | What applies (checked 2026-09-25) |
|---|---|
| Collecting at an ombud or locker | No charge to you; the sender paid shipping |
| Ombud hold time | Normally 7 days; free extension unless the sender locked it |
| Locker hold time | 7 days; planned 3 days from October 2026, extendable to 7 in the app |
| Poste Restante | Held 30 days |
| ID at an ombud (PostNord) | Any valid foreign passport, or a national ID card from a Schengen country |
| Import VAT | Normally 25% of value including shipping |
| EU customs duty, up to €150 | €3 per item (tariff line), 1 July 2026 to July 2028 |
| PostNord handling fee | 175 kr standard, 100 kr simplified, VAT included |
| Private gift up to 600 kr (€45) | No VAT, no fee |
FAQ
How do I pick up a parcel in Sweden?
Wait for the notice by text, email or the carrier’s app. It names the pick-up point, usually an agent (ombud) inside a grocery store, kiosk or petrol station, or a parcel locker, and gives the last collection date. Go during the shop’s opening hours with a valid ID whose name matches the label, and show the notice or shipment code.
What ID do I need to collect a PostNord parcel as a tourist?
Any valid foreign passport works, as does a national ID card issued in a Schengen country. The name must match the one on the label, and the document must be undamaged and unexpired. A foreign driving licence is not on PostNord’s list. Other carriers set their own rules, so check the notice, which states whether ID is needed at all.
Can I use a PostNord parcel locker without BankID?
Not reliably. Lockers are opened through PostNord’s app, and the operator’s locker FAQ says you must identify with Mobile BankID, which needs a Swedish personal identity number. Another PostNord page says BankID is needed only when the sender chose an ID check. As a visitor, choose an agent counter instead, where your passport is enough.
How long will my parcel wait before it is sent back?
At a PostNord agent, normally seven days, and the recipient can usually extend it for free. In lockers the hold has been seven days, but PostNord plans to cut it to three days from October 2026, extendable to seven in the app. Poste Restante mail waits 30 days. Check the date in your notice.
Do I pay customs on a parcel from the UK or the US?
Yes, both are outside the EU. VAT applies whatever the value, normally 25 percent including shipping, and from 1 July 2026 a €3 duty per item applies to consignments up to €150. PostNord adds a 175 or 100 kronor handling fee. Private gifts worth up to 600 kronor, declared as gifts, go free.
Can someone post my forgotten medicine to me in Sweden?
Only from within the EEA. Up to a year’s supply of non-narcotic medicine may be posted if it was bought at a pharmacy, is approved in both countries and, if prescription-only, was prescribed by an EEA prescriber. From outside the EEA, sending medicines is not allowed, and narcotic or doping-classed medicines may never be posted.
Can I receive mail in Sweden without a fixed address?
Yes, through Poste Restante. Write your name, then “Poste Restante” in the street field, and the postal code and town of a place offering the service. You collect at the designated outlet by giving your name and showing ID; anything not collected within 30 days goes back to the sender.
Related guides
- Sending postcards and parcels from Sweden — stamps, postal agents and customs forms going the other way
- Swedish convenience stores — many are the pick-up point named in your notice
- BankID for tourists — why lockers and some apps stop at the BankID wall
- Customs allowances — what you may carry into Sweden yourself
- Bringing medicines into Sweden — when the medicine travels with you instead
Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: PTS (the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority), the European Commission, Tullverket (Swedish Customs), Läkemedelsverket (the Swedish Medical Products Agency), and PostNord as the designated operator — full register in this topic’s source file. The locker hold time is due to change in October 2026. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.