If you sell goods at markets in Sweden, even part time, you’re operating in a tightly regulated environment. New and experienced traders alike can often misunderstand the specific rules regarding cash registers. You need to know what counts as a compliant setup, whether occasional pop-up sales are exempt, and whether the type of payments you accept affects anything. Getting these questions wrong can lead to fines and other consequences.

Below is a detailed explanation of cash register regulations in Sweden and how to follow their requirements.

What’s in this article?

• What is market square trading in Sweden?
  
• When is a cash register required for market trading?
  
• Are mobile card readers enough to meet cash register rules?
  
• What are the risks of not using a certified cash register at a Swedish market?
  
• How do you report a cash register for temporary market use?
  

What is market square trading in Sweden?

In Sweden, selling goods in public spaces rather than at a permanent storefront is considered “market square trading.” These spaces include street stalls, open-air markets, flea markets, seasonal fairs, festivals, and temporary events. If you set up a booth at any of those, you’re considered a market trader.

When is a cash register required for market trading?

In Sweden, if you run a business and take payment in person, Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) requires you to use a certified cash register. That applies equally to traditional storefronts and market traders that sell at booths, fairs, festivals, and street stalls.

Accepting card or mobile payments doesn’t change that. Swedish tax rules treat card and Swish (the mobile payment system) payments the same as cash when it comes to cash register requirements. If money is exchanged at the point of sale (POS), it needs to go through a certified system that records the sale and issues a receipt.

That said, there are a few narrow exemptions; but they’re limited, specific, and closely watched. Here are the situations when a business or seller doesn’t have to use a certified cash register.

Minimal cash and card sales

If your total revenue is low enough, you might be exempt. As of 2025, Skatteverket defines “insignificant” sales as those that do not exceed 235,200 Swedish kronor (SEK), including value-added tax (VAT), per year. If you’re running a small business that takes only a few payments in person each year and the total stays under that limit, you can operate without a cash register. But if you’re a regular vendor, even at small events, it’s unlikely this exemption applies.

You also can’t segment your business to avoid compliance. If your total sales (across all business activities) exceed the exemption threshold, then all of those activities—including small-scale market sales—require a certified cash register. Even if your market presence is restricted to just a few Saturdays each year, your market sales must be recorded through an approved cash register when sales from other parts of the business exceed the threshold.

Hobbyists and private sellers

If you’re not trading as a business, you’re not subject to cash register requirements. For example, private individuals who are casually selling personal items (e.g., clearing out their attic at a flea market) don’t need a cash register; neither do temporary sales in a limited scope (e.g., fundraising by school students). The primary question is whether you’re engaged in economic activity. If you’re registered for VAT or operate with the intent to make profit—even without a physical shop—you’re considered a business, and these exemptions no longer apply.

Self-service sales

If no one is physically present to manage sales, the cash register rule doesn’t apply—regardless of the amount sold. For instance, a farm stand where customers take what they want and leave payment in a box is explicitly excluded from the requirement.

Invoiced sales

If you invoice customers rather than accept payment in person, those sales don’t need to go through a cash register. This sometimes applies to B2B market sellers, when deals are made at an event but payment is handled by invoice later. If no money is taken on-site and the invoice is managed through your accounting system, a register isn’t required.

This exemption works only if there’s truly no immediate payment. If a customer uses a card or Swish to pay on the spot—even if you plan to send a receipt or summary later—that counts as a POS transaction and must go through the cash register.

Special exemptions

It’s possible to apply for an individual exemption, but it’s not easy to qualify. Skatteverket allows businesses to apply for an exemption if using a cash register would be unreasonable. Selling outdoors is not considered a valid reason for an exemption, nor is a lack of electricity. The agency expects you to adapt—for example, by using a mobile POS system. Unless your operation is highly unusual, you should assume the standard rules apply.

Are mobile card readers enough to meet cash register rules?

A mobile POS system—such as a tablet or a card reader—can qualify as a cash register in Sweden, but only if the system as a whole meets the specific technical requirements set by Skatteverket.

To qualify as a compliant cash register in Sweden, your setup must:

• Store the data in a tamperproof way using a certified control unit
  
• Issue a receipt for every transaction
  
• Be declared as compliant under Skatteverket’s standards by the manufacturer
  

Simply accepting card payments on your phone or tablet doesn’t mean you’re compliant. What matters is how those transactions are recorded and secured.

What a certified cash register setup looks like

In practical terms, a compliant cash register involves two core components:

• One is a POS system that handles transactions, tracks inventory, and issues receipts. This can be a software app that runs on a mobile device.
  
• The other is a control unit that logs each transaction in a tamperproof format. This can be physical hardware or a cloud-based service, as long as the manufacturer has certified that it meets Skatteverket’s requirements.
  

Historically, this meant you needed to have a physical register connected to a separate black box–style control unit. But cloud-based control units increasingly fulfill the same function and are now officially recognized as long as they pass certification.

What to look for in a compliant setup

If you’re using or evaluating a mobile POS system, ask the following:

• Does the POS system connect to a certified control unit that’s built on either hardware or the cloud?
  
• Does the system automatically log transactions in a secure format?
  
• Are receipts automatically issued?
  
• Have you reported your system to Skatteverket?
  

If any part of that chain is missing, your setup is noncompliant.

What are the risks of not using a certified cash register at a Swedish market?

Selling without a certified cash register is a serious compliance problem with real consequences. Market traders are subject to the same scrutiny as brick-and-mortar retailers, and the enforcement mechanisms are well defined and actively used.

Here are the risks of noncompliance.

Fines

Skatteverket can issue first-time fines of up to 12,500 SEK if:

• You don’t have a certified cash register when one is required
  
• You haven’t reported the device properly
  
• You’re not offering receipts to customers
  

If you’ve previously been cited and are caught again within a year, the fee doubles to 25,000 SEK. This can make noncompliance expensive.

Tax agency scrutiny

The cash register rules exist to prevent off-the-books sales. Bypassing the system suggests to Skatteverket that you might be underreporting income.

That suspicion can lead to:

• Audits into your business records and bookkeeping practices
  
• Criminal investigations for tax evasion or accounting fraud
  

Penalties for proven tax fraud can include substantial fines or jail time, depending on the severity. The reputational and legal damage far outweighs the hassle of setting up a certified system.

Unannounced inspections

Skatteverket doesn’t need to warn you before it inspects your stall, and markets can be an obvious target for drop-in compliance checks. When officials arrive, they can:

• Conduct test purchases
  
• Ask to see your receipts and cash register
  
• Count your cash and compare it to sales records
  
• Confirm whether every transaction is being logged
  

If you’re not compliant, officials can fine you immediately or ask you to halt trading for the day—especially if you can’t produce valid receipts or if your equipment isn’t reported. In more serious cases, officials might seize your register or documents as part of an investigation.

Reputational damage

If a market vendor is found breaking the rules, some events might ban them to protect themselves from increased Skatteverket scrutiny. If you develop a reputation for noncompliance, you could lose access to some of Sweden’s more lucrative or high-profile markets altogether.

Many Swedish customers also expect to be offered a receipt—even at a small outdoor stall. If you’re unable (or unwilling) to provide one, that signals to the customer that your business might not be trustworthy. While the reputational risk might seem less severe than the legal consequences, it can still cost you customers.

How do you report a cash register for temporary market use?

You need to report your cash register with Skatteverket before you use it, and you also need to be prepared to handle outages and recordkeeping. Here’s how to get your setup ready for business.

Reporting your cash register

If your business is subject to the cash register regulations, you must report your register to Skatteverket before you use it for sales.

Reporting links the specific register and control unit to your business. This is true whether you trade from a fixed location or a folding table at a street market. You can report your register quickly via Skatteverket’s e-services.

Once you’ve reported your setup, Skatteverket will confirm receipt within one week and send a certificate of registration, usually within a month. Keep the certificate available. If tax inspectors visit your stall, they might ask to see it.

If you replace your cash register or stop using one altogether (e.g., if you stop market sales or shift to invoicing only), you must report the change to Skatteverket within two weeks.

Setting up your cash register

Selling from a temporary setup means you’re responsible for making your cash register work—regardless of the environment. Skatteverket expects you to plan accordingly.

Power

If the venue doesn’t provide electricity, you must bring your own power source, such as:

• A battery-powered POS device
  
• An external battery pack
  
• A portable generator
  

You are not required to bring a backup register, but you must ensure your main system works the entire day. A lack of power is not considered a valid excuse for noncompliance.

Internet

If your POS system depends on an internet connection (e.g., a cloud-based control unit, a receipt printer), ensure you have offline capability built into your POS app or a mobile data plan or hot spot as backup. Connectivity issues won’t exempt you from cash register rules.

Using your cash register on-site

Even after setup, proper use matters. Inspectors check small details, too. You must produce either a paper or digital receipt for every transaction, even if the customer declines, and the receipt must show the payment method used. Your system should produce Z reports (end-of-day summaries), too. You have to keep these reports—along with all your accounting records— for at least seven years.

If your cash register breaks and you can’t fix it the same day, you must report the incident to Skatteverket. You’re still allowed to trade during this time, but you must either issue invoices for each transaction, or manually log every sale in a dedicated receipt book or ledger and offer handwritten receipts to customers. You must not enter those sales into the cash register later. Those manually logged sales become part of your official records and must be saved accordingly.