Swedish return rights depend on where you bought and whether the item is faulty. Here is what a shop must do, what it may choose to do, and where to turn when it refuses, even after you’ve flown home.
When you need this
- You bought clothes or a souvenir in a shop and changed your mind
- A shop assistant says “no returns” and you think that can’t be legal
- You want to send back an order from a Swedish webshop
- Something you bought broke, or arrived different from the description
- You hold a Swedish gift card or credit note and wonder whether it expires
- A Swedish business refused your complaint after you got home
Three rules, three situations
Swedes use three different words for what English lumps together as “returns”, and each comes from a different source. Mixing them up is the most common mistake visitors make, at the till and in emails.
| Situation | Swedish term | Where the right comes from | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changed your mind about something bought in a shop | öppet köp (refund) or bytesrätt (exchange) | The shop’s own policy, if it has one | Whatever the shop says |
| Changed your mind about an online or phone purchase from a business | ångerrätt (right of withdrawal) | Law: Lag (2005:59) om distansavtal | 14 days from delivery |
| The item is faulty | reklamation (complaint about a fault) | Law: Konsumentköplag (2022:260) | 3 years; complain within 2 months of noticing |
Saying “I want to use my ångerrätt” in a shop gets you nowhere, because there is no ångerrätt in a shop. Asking for reklamation on a broken item does work: it puts you on statutory ground, not on the shop’s goodwill.
Öppet köp and bytesrätt: the shop decides
No Swedish law requires a shop to take back an item that isn’t faulty. Konsumentverket, the Swedish Consumer Agency, puts it plainly: you can never demand öppet köp or bytesrätt, because the shop decides. Many chains offer it anyway, which is why so many people assume it is a right.
When a shop does offer returns, it sets every condition:
- The window, which ranges from a few days to as long as a year
- The item’s condition, usually unused, and sometimes with packaging unopened and tags still on
- What you get back: money (öppet köp), another item (bytesrätt), or a tillgodokvitto (credit note)
- How the money comes back, normally to the card or Swish account you paid with
Ask before you pay and check that the terms are printed on the receipt. Then photograph the receipt, because thermal paper fades. Sale items are often excluded from öppet köp by the shop’s own rules, but a fault on a sale item is still covered by law.
Market stalls follow the shop rule. The law counts a stall the trader usually works from as business premises, so buying at a Christmas market gives you no withdrawal right.
Ångerrätt: 14 days for online and phone purchases
Buy from a business online, by phone, or at your door, and you get a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal. You need no reason. The clock starts the day after you receive or collect the goods, so click and collect counts too. For services it starts the day after the contract.
How withdrawal works under the statute:
- Tell the seller clearly within 14 days. Since 19 June 2026, every business selling through a website or app must offer a clearly labelled withdrawal function (ångerfunktion) for the whole period and confirm your withdrawal without delay. A written message also works. Simply refusing a parcel leaves you without proof.
- Send the goods back within 14 days of withdrawing. You pay the return postage unless the seller agreed to cover it or never told you that you would have to.
- Get your money back within 14 days of your notice, by the same payment method. The seller may wait until it has the goods, or your proof of sending them.
If the seller never told you about the withdrawal right, the 14 days never start running. The right still ends at the latest 12 months after the normal period would have expired. You may owe something if you handled the item more than needed to see what it is and how it works, and for any express delivery you chose.
The law also lists exceptions, where no withdrawal right applies:
| No ångerrätt for… | Why |
|---|---|
| Purchases from a private person | The law covers businesses only |
| Goods made to your specifications | Personalised |
| Goods that spoil quickly | Perishable |
| Sealed hygiene goods, sealed audio, video or software, once you unseal them | Can’t be resold |
| Single newspaper or magazine issues | Statutory exception |
| Accommodation, events, car hire or catering booked for a set date | Statutory exception |
Reklamation: three years for faulty goods
If something is faulty, the shop’s return policy stops mattering. Konsumentköplagen makes the seller answer for faults that existed at delivery and show up within three years, on new and second-hand goods bought from a business. A fault that appears within two years is presumed to be the seller’s, unless the seller proves otherwise. Within that time you shouldn’t pay any fee for having the fault investigated.
Complain to the business that sold you the item, not the manufacturer; a warranty is optional extra cover. A complaint made within two months of noticing the fault is always in time. No law requires a receipt: a bank or card statement showing when, where and how much will do. A missing original box doesn’t block a complaint either.
What you can demand depends on the fault. Repair or replacement comes first, with the seller paying the shipping. If the fault is serious or can’t be fixed within reasonable time, you can ask for a price reduction or cancel the purchase (hävning). If the purchase is cancelled, you get your money back the way you paid, so you don’t have to accept a credit note.
One change is pending. An EU repair directive will extend the seller’s liability by at least 12 months when a fault is fixed by repair. On 6 October 2026 the Swedish statute had not yet been amended.
Gift cards and credit notes
A presentkort (gift card) or tillgodokvitto is valid for as long as the business decides. If no validity is stated, the starting point is ten years, and the business must prove it told you the validity when you bought. Gift cards bought online can be withdrawn within 14 days, with any unused part refunded; gift cards bought in a shop can’t. The real risk is bankruptcy: gift cards usually die with the business, and a change of owner can end them too. Use them soon.
When the shop says no: ARN and ECC
Sweden’s dispute route is cheap and works by post or online, so it’s realistic even after you’ve gone home. ARN (Allmänna reklamationsnämnden), the National Board for Consumer Disputes, is a state authority that tries complaints in writing and recommends a solution. Its decisions are not binding, but most businesses follow them. It usually takes about six months.
| ARN requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| What | Goods or services for private use, bought from a business |
| First step | The business refused your complaint, or didn’t answer in reasonable time |
| Deadline | ARN must receive your case within one year of your first complaint to the business |
| Connection to Sweden | The business targets the Swedish market or has sufficient connection to Sweden |
| Language | English accepted if the business does not object |
| Residence | ARN’s checklist sets no residence requirement |
EU, Iceland or Norway resident? Your home country’s European Consumer Centre (ECC) gives free advice and can work with ECC Sweden to mediate with a Swedish business. Ignore any guide that sends you to the EU’s online dispute resolution (ODR) platform: it closed on 20 July 2025.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Öppet köp / bytesrätt | Free where offered; the shop’s terms |
| Ångerrätt (online, phone, doorstep) | 14 days from the day after delivery or collection |
| Return postage after withdrawal | Paid by you, unless the seller agreed to pay or did not inform you |
| Reklamation | 3 years; within 2 months of noticing; free, seller pays repair or replacement shipping |
| Presumption of seller’s fault | Faults appearing within 2 years |
| Gift card, no date stated | 10 years |
| ARN fee | 150 kr, not refunded if ARN declines the case |
| ARN minimum claim | 750 kr (clothes, shoes, electronics, general goods); 1,500 kr (furniture, motor vehicles, travel) |
| ECC advice | Free |
FAQ
Can I return clothes I bought in a Swedish shop?
Only if the shop offers it. No Swedish law gives you a right to return a non-faulty item bought in person; öppet köp (refund) and bytesrätt (exchange) are voluntary, and the shop sets the window and conditions. Many chains offer it, usually for unused items with tags on. Ask before paying and make sure the terms are printed on the receipt.
How many days do I have to return an online order in Sweden?
Fourteen days. Buying from a business online or by phone gives a statutory right of withdrawal (ångerrätt), counted from the day after you receive or collect the goods. Tell the seller clearly, ideally through the withdrawal function every webshop must offer since 19 June 2026, then send the item back within 14 days. You usually pay the return postage.
Do I need the receipt to return something or complain?
For a voluntary return, usually yes: the shop sets the terms, and the receipt is where they are printed. For a complaint about a fault, no law requires a receipt. A bank or card statement can prove the purchase, provided it shows when you bought, from whom and for how much. Photograph receipts to be safe.
How long is the guarantee on goods in Sweden?
Swedish law gives a three-year right to complain (reklamation) about faults that existed at delivery, on new or second-hand goods bought from a business. A fault that appears within two years is presumed to be the seller’s responsibility. Complain to the seller within two months of noticing the fault. A manufacturer’s warranty is extra and voluntary.
Do Swedish gift cards expire?
Yes. The business decides how long a gift card or credit note (tillgodokvitto) is valid. If no validity is stated, the starting point is ten years. Gift cards usually become worthless if the business goes bankrupt, and may not survive a change of owner. A gift card bought online can be withdrawn within 14 days; one bought in a shop cannot.
A Swedish shop refused my complaint and I’m back home. What can I do?
File with ARN, the National Board for Consumer Disputes, within one year of your first complaint. It costs 150 kr, accepts English if the business does not object, and takes about six months. Its decisions are recommendations, but most businesses follow them. EU, Iceland and Norway residents can also ask their home country’s European Consumer Centre for free help.
Related guides
- Shopping in Sweden — hours, card payment and the other till rules around a purchase
- VAT refunds for non-EU visitors — the other piece of paper to keep with your receipt
- Buying at a loppis or second-hand shop — your much thinner rights against private sellers
- Klarna and invoice payments — withholding payment when an invoice purchase is faulty
- Swedish sales seasons — when sale-item return exclusions bite
Facts verified 2026-10-06. Sources: Konsumentverket, Riksdagen/Regeringskansliet (Lag 2005:59, Konsumentköplag 2022:260), ARN, ECC Sweden, European Commission — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.