November 2, 2026. Sweden lets a company cold call a private person unless that person has said no, and it is now asking whether to reverse the rule. On 9 July 2026 the government announced an inquiry into telephone sales that will examine an opt-in requirement and a possible ban, with a report due by 15 January 2027. These are the rules today. Under section 21 of the Marknadsföringslag, a trader may use live calls to a natural person "om inte den fysiska personen tydligt motsatt sig att metoden används," and the practical form of that objection is the industry register NIX-Telefon, which NIX-Telefon says marketers must, with certain exceptions, check before calling. Automated calls, email and fax to a natural person need prior consent under section 19. Under chapter 2, section 3 a of the distance contracts act, a sale made on a call the trader initiated is valid only if the consumer "efter samtalet skriftligen accepterar näringsidkarens anbud," and a contract not concluded that way "är ogiltigt." A market disruption fee runs from 10,000 kronor to four percent of turnover. Here is each rule as the Riksdag's consolidated texts state it, what NIX-Telefon costs, and what the inquiry could change.
Key numbers
| Item | Number |
|---|---|
| Validity of a clean NIX-Telefon check (from the register version's update date) | 2 months |
| Web scrub price per number checked (VAT excluded; minimum load SEK 1,000) | 17 öre |
| Large-user annual licence (at least 800,000 checks a year) | SEK 110,500 |
| Reseller registration fee (plus 13 öre per number checked or 17 öre per NIX-free number delivered) | SEK 5,000 |
| Market disruption fee, minimum (Marknadsföringslag 31 §) | SEK 10,000 |
| Market disruption fee, maximum (or up to 2 million euro where turnover is estimated) | 4% of turnover |
| Consumer right of withdrawal after a distance sale (distance contracts act 2 kap. 10 §) | 14 days |
| Government inquiry announced (opt-in or ban under review) | 9 July 2026 |
| Inquiry report due (Ministry of Finance) | 15 January 2027 |
Marknadsföringslag (2008:486) and Lag (2005:59) on riksdagen.se, NIX-Telefon home, business and news pages, and the government press release of 9 July 2026 on regeringen.se, read on 2 November 2026.
Opt-out for live calls, consent for machines: sections 19 and 21
Section 19 of the Marknadsföringslag (2008:486) covers the automated channels: "En näringsidkare får vid marknadsföring till en fysisk person använda elektronisk post, telefax eller sådana uppringningsautomater eller andra liknande automatiska system för individuell kommunikation som inte betjänas av någon enskild, bara om den fysiska personen har samtyckt till det på förhand." Calling machines not operated by an individual, email and fax all need advance consent from the natural person. The second paragraph carries the usual soft opt-in for email to the trader's own customers about similar products, with a free and easy objection route at collection and in every message, and section 20 requires every marketing email to carry a valid address for stopping it, "även vid marknadsföring till en juridisk person." For the email side, see is cold email legal in Sweden.
Section 21 is the live-call rule: "En näringsidkare får använda andra metoder för individuell kommunikation på distans än sådana som avses i 19 §, om inte den fysiska personen tydligt motsatt sig att metoden används." A human-dialled, human-spoken call to a private person is lawful until the person clearly objects. Note the subject of both sections: "en fysisk person," a natural person. A call to a limited company about a business service is outside both; a sole trader counts as a natural person.
On the statute's wording, the dividing line for an AI voice agent is the phrase "som inte betjänas av någon enskild." A system that places calls and speaks without an individual operating it is an automatic system for individual communication, which puts an outbound AI cold call under section 19's consent requirement rather than section 21's opt-out. The texts we read do not say whether a dialer connecting calls to a live agent counts as operated by an individual.
NIX-Telefon: the register and its price list
The objection mechanism is NIX-Telefon, run by the association NIX. Its home page states the duty: "Enligt Marknadsföringslagen är en marknadsförare skyldig ... att kontrollera om en privatpersons telefonnummer finns i NIX-Telefon innan samtal i försäljnings-, marknadsförings- eller insamlingssyfte rings till denne," with the ellipsis standing for the page's own words "med vissa undantag," with certain exceptions. Consumers register free, mobile numbers included, and the block stays until revoked. The register covers private persons; it is not a business register.
| Access route | Price, VAT excluded | Terms on the business page |
|---|---|---|
| Webbtvätt (web scrub) | 17 öre per number checked | Account loaded with at least SEK 1,000 per top-up |
| Storanvändare (large user) | SEK 110,500 a year | For companies making at least 800,000 checks a year; own access; the group's own marketing only; no other fixed or variable fees |
| Återförsäljare (reseller) | SEK 5,000 registration fee, then 13 öre per number checked or 17 öre per NIX-free number delivered | Reseller agreement |
The validity rule matters more than the price: "När du fått konstaterat att ett nummer inte finns med i spärregistret kan du ringa till det kontrollerade numret i två månader innan ny kontroll måste göras. Tiden räknas från uppdateringsdagen av den använda versionen av spärregistret." A clean check buys two months, counted from the register version's update date, not from the day you dialled. Checking existing customers is not required but is recommended. The business page also carries older text about discounts dated 2020, 2021 and 2023, which we have left out because the page does not say whether they still apply.
The written-acceptance rule for phone sales
Chapter 2, section 3 a of the Lag (2005:59) om distansavtal och avtal utanför affärslokaler is the provision that changes how a Swedish telesales script has to end. When a trader "på eget initiativ kontaktar konsumenten per telefon i syfte att ingå ett distansavtal," the consumer must be told at the start of the call the trader's identity, the purpose of the call, the name of the person calling and that person's relationship to the trader. If a contract is to follow, the trader "ska ... bekräfta sitt anbud i en handling eller i någon annan läsbar och varaktig form som är tillgänglig för konsumenten." Then the decisive sentence: "Ett avtal ingås genom att konsumenten efter samtalet skriftligen accepterar näringsidkarens anbud. Ett avtal som inte har ingåtts på detta sätt är ogiltigt och konsumenten är då inte skyldig att betala för några varor eller tjänster." The confirmation itself must tell the consumer this. The provision carries the reference Lag (2018:1321).
So on a cold call to a consumer, a verbal yes does not form a contract. The sale closes when the consumer signs or otherwise accepts in writing after the call, and the 14-day right of withdrawal in chapter 2, section 10 still runs from the date the Act specifies. For a team used to closing on the phone, the operational change is a two-step flow: call, send the offer in a durable form, wait for the written acceptance, then fulfil.
The market disruption fee
One sanction under the Marknadsföringslag is the marknadsstörningsavgift (sections 29, 31 and 32). It can be imposed on a trader, or on someone acting on the trader's behalf, who intentionally or negligently breached the Act, and on a trader who materially contributed to the breach. Section 31 sets the range: "lägst tio tusen kronor och högst fyra procent av näringsidkarens omsättning räkenskapsåret innan överträdelsen upphörde." Where the breach happened in the trader's first year, or turnover figures are missing or deficient, turnover may be estimated and the fee set "till ett belopp i kronor motsvarande högst två miljoner euro." Section 32 lists the factors: the seriousness of the breach, remedial measures, previous violations, profit made, and sanctions imposed in other EU states for the same conduct. The fee goes to the state.
The inquiry: opt-in, a ban, or neither
The government's press release of 9 July 2026, from the Ministry of Finance, opens with the finding: "Det finns behov av att stärka skyddet för konsumenter som kontaktas av telefonförsäljare. En ny utredning ska se över dagens regler och undersöka skarpare åtgärder, inklusive ett möjligt förbud." It says the Swedish Consumer Agency's reviews show recurring failings, that older people, people with cognitive impairments and people with limited Swedish are especially exposed, and that "Problemen orsakas inte bara av oseriösa aktörer utan också av etablerade företag." Civil affairs minister Erik Slottner is quoted: "Telefonförsäljning upplevs av många som både missvisande och påträngande. Vissa grupper i samhället riskerar också att hamna i kläm, inte minst äldre. Vi behöver se över frågan grundligt och om det kan vara motiverat med ett förbud."
The inquiry's scope has three parts: better protection where companies themselves call consumers, including whether to strengthen "dagens självregleringsmodell med registrering i spärregister"; whether to introduce opt-in "som vissa EU-länder har"; and whether a ban should be introduced, and if so whether a ban limited to certain sectors or products would be enough. It is a bokstavsutredning, an inquiry inside the ministry, and "Uppdraget ska redovisas senast den 15 januari 2027."
NIX-Telefon's response, published on 28 July 2026, welcomes a thorough review and argues that Sweden already has tools that work: NIX-Telefon "utgör tillsammans med skriftlighetskravet och Konsumentverkets tillsyn en beprövad ordning." Its stated position is to strengthen self-regulation rather than adopt "ett generellt opt-in-krav eller förbud." Nothing changes in law until the inquiry reports and the Riksdag acts on it; the section 21 opt-out and the written-acceptance rule are the law today, alongside the self-regulatory NIX-Telefon register.
What a team calling Sweden should do now
- Scrub private numbers against NIX-Telefon and record the register version date, because each clean result is good for two months from that date.
- Script the opening to the statute. Identity of the trader, purpose of the call, the caller's name and their relationship to the trader, at the start.
- Close in writing after the call. Send the offer in a durable form and treat the sale as made only when the written acceptance arrives; tell the consumer in the confirmation that this is how the contract is formed.
- Keep automated and AI voices on consented numbers. Section 19 requires advance consent for systems not operated by an individual. See our AI calling setup; the best AI voice agents in 2026 compares platforms.
- Plan for 2027. If the inquiry recommends opt-in or a sector ban, the consent records and inbound channels built now are what survive. Cold calling laws by country tracks which European markets have already moved.
We found no statutory calling hours in the Marknadsföringslag text we read, and we did not read the Swedish Consumer Agency's own telesales guidance today; so we make no claim on either. This is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes for live calls to private persons, on an opt-out basis. Section 21 of the Marknadsföringslag allows a trader to use distance communication methods other than the automated ones in section 19 unless the natural person has clearly objected. In practice the objection is registration in NIX-Telefon, which NIX-Telefon says marketers must, with certain exceptions, check before calling. Automated calls need prior consent under section 19.
NIX-Telefon is Sweden's industry opt-out register for private telephone numbers, run by the association NIX. Consumers register free. Businesses pay 17 öre per number checked through the web scrub, with a minimum account load of SEK 1,000, or an annual licence of SEK 110,500 for large users making at least 800,000 checks a year; resellers pay a SEK 5,000 registration fee plus 13 öre per number checked or 17 öre per NIX-free number delivered, all excluding VAT.
Two months. Once a number is confirmed not to be in the register, the business page says it may be called for two months before a new check is required, counted from the update date of the register version used.
Not on its own. Under chapter 2, section 3 a of the distance contracts act, when a trader initiates the call, the contract is formed only when the consumer accepts the trader's offer in writing after the call. A contract not concluded that way is void and the consumer owes nothing, and the trader's confirmation must say so. The consumer also keeps a 14-day right of withdrawal.
One penalty is a market disruption fee under sections 29, 31 and 32 of the Marknadsföringslag, set at a minimum of 10,000 kronor and a maximum of four percent of the trader's turnover in the financial year before the breach ended. Where turnover cannot be established, it may be estimated and the fee capped at the kronor equivalent of two million euro.
No. On 9 July 2026 the government announced an inquiry into telephone sales that will examine an opt-in requirement and a possible ban, including a ban limited to certain sectors or products. The report is due by 15 January 2027. NIX-Telefon has argued for strengthened self-regulation instead.