Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in Sweden (2026)

This guide is the checklist behind a Swedish bid: each document and step in the order a procurement asks for it, and who is allowed to handle it. For how Swedish procurement works overall (thresholds, procedures, evaluation, review and payment), see How to bid for public contracts in Sweden.

Before you bid

1. Open an account on the system the buyer names. Every advertised Swedish procurement sits in one of the five databases registered with Konkurrensverket (e-Avrop/Pabliq, KommersAnnons, Mercell, Konstpool, Clira), and the bid goes in through whichever system the buyer chooses.

Cost and time: bidding is free for suppliers; platform subscriptions are optional. The account is ready the same day and stays open.
Who does it: your company registers first. In Mercell Sourcing Core, the first person to register becomes Organisation Administrator and adds users under Användarhantering → Lägg till användare. An adviser joins as a named user with their own email and password, never with your login.
From abroad: the same.

2. TendSign: decide whether you need Supplier Plus. TendSign, run by Mercell, is one of the main Swedish e-tendering systems. The supplier account is free (Skapa gratiskonto) and opens the same day; you don’t need a Swedish organisation number to create one. But two users can only work in the same tender if both have Supplier Plus, at 2,500 kr/year/user. Without it, your adviser prepares the bid outside the system and you upload it. You can also give TendSign support temporary access to your account.

3. Make your accountant your ombud at Skatteverket. The standard Swedish tax evidence, the SKV 4820 form, can be fetched by an accountant only once your firmatecknare has registered them as the company’s ombud in Skatteverket’s e-services. Do it before the first tender asks for it.

4. Check what kind of signature the buyer wants. Many procurements need no signature at all. Where the buyer requires an advanced electronic signature, it must accept foreign eIDAS signatures too. The usual options are BankID (which needs a Swedish personal number), Freja eID or any eIDAS trust service. TendSign’s signing tool, Visma Addo, is used mainly for contracts.

Who does it: your firmatecknare, or someone they authorise by fullmakt, signs with their own e-ID. Nobody else ever uses your BankID.
From abroad: use a foreign eIDAS signature, or submit through the platform’s own login.

With your bid

5. The ESPD. In an advertised procurement above the EU thresholds, the buyer must accept the European Single Procurement Document (europeiskt enhetligt upphandlingsdokument) as preliminary evidence. Unless the buyer insists on the ESPD, you may hand in full evidence instead. TendSign and Mercell have ESPD modules.

Cost and time: free; 1 day.
Valid: for the one procurement, and reusable in call-offs under a framework agreement as long as it is still accurate.
Who does it: an adviser fills it in as a named user. You confirm the answers on exclusion grounds, and the person entitled to sign approves it.

6. References (uppdragsförteckning). Most service and works tenders ask for a list of comparable assignments with referees. It is free, takes 1–3 days and is drafted from your own data; you confirm the references and that your customers agree to be named. References from abroad are accepted.

7. A commitment letter when you rely on others. If you bid jointly or lean on another company’s capacity, you must show that its resources will really be there: a commitment letter (åtagandebevis), plus that company’s own ESPD. It is free and takes days. It can be drafted for you, but each company signs its own letter.

8. A fullmakt when someone else signs. If the bid is signed by anyone other than the registered firmatecknare, buyers ask for a power of attorney. It is free and drafted the same day; your firmatecknare signs it, and it is valid for what it states. From abroad, it may need notarisation or an apostille.

9. The language. Look for the language rule before anything is translated. The default allows any official EU language, but many Swedish tenders accept only Swedish; then foreign documents go to a translator, which takes days.

10. Submit. Your own user submits the bid and signs it if the buyer requires a signature. An adviser may press submit only when your fullmakt names them and no personal e-signature is required.

If you’re in line for award

The buyer now checks that no exclusion ground applies. Some buyers ask for these documents with the bid.

Evidence	Issued by	Who can get it for you	Valid for	What only you do
SKV 4820 Begäran/Svar offentliga uppgifter (F-skatt, VAT and employer registration, employer contributions, Kronofogden debts)	Skatteverket	Your accountant as registered ombud, from Mina sidor under their own e-ID; the buyer can also request it directly	Set by the tender, usually recent	Register the accountant as ombud
Kronofogden debt information	Kronofogdemyndigheten	Anyone, by phone or email with your organisation number	—	—
Registreringsbevis (registration and firmatecknare)	Bolagsverket	Anyone can order this public certificate	—	—
Skattekonto account history (only if asked)	Skatteverket	Nobody else: only the firmatecknare may order it	—	Order it yourself and forward the file

The SKV 4820 form is the standard Swedish proof that no tax or social-contribution exclusion ground applies. The digital version is available immediately on Mina sidor; requests from buyers are answered by email. Some buyers on risk-assessed contracts also want the Skattekonto history to see late-payment charges and balances.

Coming later: Bolagsverket is building a coordinated register check (samordnad registerkontroll) so that buyers can retrieve exclusion-ground data from Bolagsverket, the Police, Kronofogden, Skatteverket and the county administrative boards themselves. Development runs 2025–2027 and it is planned to be operational in 2028; until then, you supply the evidence.

Before the contract and the first invoice

F-skatt. Approval that you pay your own preliminary tax. Without it, the buyer must withhold tax from payments for work physically done in Sweden, and Skatteverket recommends that buyers demand it. It is free, ongoing and can be revoked for non-payment. Swedish companies get it when they register. An accountant applies for a foreign company; you sign the application or fullmakt and obtain a debt-clearance certificate (skuldfrihetsintyg) from home.
VAT and employer registration (foreign winners delivering in Sweden). Needed for VAT-liable sales in Sweden and if you employ staff there, whether or not you are established in Sweden. Free; your accountant files it as your representative and you sign.
Labour conditions (arbetsrättsliga villkor). Where the buyer sets Swedish-level pay, holiday and working hours, you commit to them in the bid, pass them on to your subcontractors and show compliance on request during the contract. A payroll provider can prepare the evidence.
Posted-worker notification (foreign employers). Notify each posting to Arbetsmiljöverket’s register, name a contact person and give the buyer documentation of the notification. The employer is responsible; the data can be prepared for you.
A1 certificate. Shows that posted workers stay insured at home. You apply in your home country; Skatteverket recommends buyers require it unless employer contributions are paid in Sweden. From outside the EU/EEA, without a social-security convention, no certificate is issued for postings up to one year.
Construction sites: personalliggare and ID06. Construction operations keep an electronic staff register available for Skatteverket checks, with equipment provided by the property developer, and many sites use ID06 cards. You register your staff on site every day; records are generally kept for two years.
Security agreement (säkerhetsskyddsavtal). Security-sensitive contracts under the Protective Security Act need an agreement with the buyer and vetted staff; Säkerhetspolisen performs the register checks. You sign the agreement and nominate staff for vetting. A foreign supplier can receive classified information only if Sweden has a General Security Agreement with its home state, and from 1 January 2028 it also needs a foreign security certificate.
Peppol e-invoicing. Invoices under LOU, LUF, LUK and LUFS contracts must be electronic in the European standard format (Act 2018:1277, since 1 April 2019), and the rule can be enforced with a fine. You choose an accountant or e-invoicing provider, who connects you to a Peppol access point within days. Any Peppol access point works for a foreign firm.
A Swedish branch (filial), only if you want one. A foreign company may have one branch, with a Swedish address, separate bookkeeping and a VD holding a special fullmakt. A lawyer or accountant prepares Bolagsverket form 887 (Nyregistrering – filial), and the branch’s VD signs it. You don’t need a branch to bid.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
Account on Mercell, TendSign or another system	You register; advisers are added as named users	Become Organisation Administrator and add users; buy Supplier Plus if you need to share a TendSign tender
Ombud at Skatteverket	—	Your firmatecknare registers the accountant
E-signature	Your firmatecknare or a person they authorise by fullmakt	Sign with your own e-ID
ESPD	Drafted by an adviser as a named user	Confirm the exclusion-ground answers; approve
References	Drafted from your data	Confirm them and your customers’ consent
Commitment letter, fullmakt	Drafted for you	Sign, and collect the supporting company’s signature
Submission	Your own user; an adviser only if your fullmakt names them and no personal e-signature is needed	Submit or authorise submission
SKV 4820	Your accountant as ombud	Register the ombud
Kronofogden information, registreringsbevis	Anyone, as public information	—
Skattekonto history	Nobody else	Order it as firmatecknare
F-skatt, VAT and employer registration	Your accountant	Sign the application or fullmakt; get the home clearance certificate
Posted-worker notification, A1	The notification data can be prepared for you	File or authorise the notification; apply for the A1
Personalliggare	—	Register your staff on site daily
Security agreement	—	Sign it and nominate staff for vetting
Peppol	Your accountant or e-invoicing provider	Choose the provider

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Auktoriserad or godkänd revisor, or auktoriserad redovisningskonsult	Revisorsinspektionen (revisorer); FAR / Srf konsulterna (redovisningskonsulter, authorised by the trade bodies)	Act as your ombud in Skatteverket’s e-services and fetch the SKV 4820 form; issue a revisor statement on turnover or equity where a tender asks for audited figures; handle F-skatt, VAT and employer registration for a foreign winner
Anbudsskribent or anbudskonsult (bid writer)	Unregulated	Draft the bid and the ESPD in TendSign, Mercell or e-Avrop as a named user of your organisation’s account; manage questions and answers, deadlines and the document checklist

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a Swedish company to bid, though you should get F-skatt before working in Sweden; who may bid from abroad is covered in How to bid for public contracts in Sweden. For the paperwork:

Skatteverket can give only limited data on foreign companies, so instead of the SKV 4820 form you provide tax certificates from your home country. Kronofogden information doesn’t apply to you; your home-country equivalents do. Instead of a registreringsbevis, give an extract from your home trade register. Your references from abroad count, your ESPD is the same, and a fullmakt may need notarisation or an apostille. A Skattekonto history exists only once you are registered with Skatteverket. Then come F-skatt, VAT and employer registration, the posted-worker notification and A1 certificates, and an optional branch, as described above.

Pitfalls

Never hand over your BankID or Freja eID. Everything tied to a person’s identity, from firmatecknare signatures to the Skattekonto history, stays with you.
Never share your login. Advisers get their own named user from your Organisation Administrator.
Check the Supplier Plus cost before you plan to work on a TendSign tender together: the free account doesn’t allow sharing.
Read the language rule first. The default is any EU language, but a Swedish-only tender changes your timetable.
Sort out F-skatt before you price, or the buyer withholds tax from your payments.
Screen for sanctions before bidding. Russian nationals, Russia-established entities and entities over 50% Russian-owned can’t win contracts above EU thresholds, and China-origin operators are shut out of medical-device tenders worth €5 million or more under the EU’s IPI measure.

Doing it with askTender

In Sweden, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on Mercell and TendSign and works under their own login. You keep your own login, and sign what only you can sign: the ESPD answers, signatures as firmatecknare, fullmakter and anything that needs your own e-ID. The askTender Desk prepares the ESPD, references and commitment letters and assembles the bid; askTender Partners, such as an auktoriserad redovisningskonsult or revisor, do the steps their authorisation covers.

Questions

Which documents go in with a Swedish bid?

Usually the ESPD for an advertised procurement above the EU thresholds, a list of comparable assignments (uppdragsförteckning), a commitment letter and the other company’s ESPD if you rely on its capacity, and a fullmakt if someone other than your firmatecknare signs. Many buyers also ask for Skatteverket’s SKV 4820 form with the bid; others ask only the intended winner.

What is the SKV 4820 form and who can get it?

Skatteverket’s ‘Begäran/Svar offentliga uppgifter’ shows your F-skatt, VAT and employer registration, employer contributions and any debts at Kronofogden. The company, or an accountant registered as its ombud, downloads a pre-filled digital version from Mina sidor straight away; buyers can also request it themselves.

Do I need BankID to bid in Sweden?

No. A signature is needed only where the buyer requires one, and then a foreign eIDAS signature must be accepted. BankID needs a Swedish personal number; foreign firms can use another eIDAS signature or the platform’s own login-based submission.

When does a company need F-skatt?

Before work is physically performed in Sweden; without it the buyer must withhold tax from payments, and Skatteverket recommends that buyers require it. It is free. Foreign companies get it on the same terms if they have no unpaid taxes in Sweden or at home, and their application includes a home-country debt-clearance certificate (skuldfrihetsintyg).

Can an adviser work in my Mercell or TendSign account?

Yes, as a named user with their own email and password. In Mercell Sourcing Core your Organisation Administrator adds them. In TendSign the account is free, but sharing a tender between users requires Supplier Plus at 2,500 kr/year/user; without it the adviser prepares the bid offline and you upload it.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.