Aicraft Title & Registrations: Sweden

The authority in charge of the aviation registry in Sweden is the Swedish Transport agency (Transportstyrelsen). The authority is a part of the Ministry of Infrastructure which in turn is a part of the executive branch of the Swedish government. 

Technically, there is one aircraft registry and one supplemental registry in Sweden. However, the registry is to be viewed as single, as only Sweden has only one entry point and only one notice of registration can be filed regarding an aircraft. If a part of an aircraft is to be registered as collateral in accordance with the Cape Town Convention, such registration has to be filed in accordance with the convention and cannot be filed with the Swedish agency.  

Please note that when below it is referred to the Registry of right, it infers another register which deals with rights of ownership/lease/mortgages and security interests.  

In Sweden you are able to register both the owner of the aircraft and the operator separately in the Civil aviation registry.

In order to properly register an aircraft in the Civil aviation registry, the seeking party would need to present the following before the Transport agency: 

Further, if the party seeking registration is a company, the agency requires a certificatie of the company’s registration from a governmental national company registration office or an authentic incorporation document along with a statement issued by notarius publicus, confirming the existence and authorised signatories of the Company. The documentation needs to be submitted in original and can not be older than six months. 

If the party seeking registration is a natural-born citizen of another country the agency requires a birth certificate stating the person’s citizenship. The document needs to be an original or a certified true copy no older than 12 months. Further, the agency requires a certified true copy of the seeking party’s passport.  

Any registration of an aircraft in the Civil aircraft registry from a legal or natural-born citizen of another country  based outside the EEA, would require that the aircraft is being used within Sweden and has Sweden as its base of operations. 

There is no fee for registering an aircraft in the Civil aircraft registry per se, but there is an annual fee of 600 SEK (approx. $55 USD) for maintaining the registry. However, to receive the deed of registration there’s a fee of 1500 SEK (approx. $140 USD). 

There are no such restrictions. 

No it does not. In order to secure the ownership of the aircraft it has to be registered in the Registry of rights.  

If the ownership of the aircraft is transferred, the new owner has to notify the Authority of the transfer in order to change the registration in the Civil aircraft register. The new owner shall submit to the authority the following documents: 

Further, if the party seeking registreration is a company, the agency requires a certificatie of the company’s registration from a governmental national company registration office or an authentic incorporation document along with a statement issued by notarius publicus, confirming the existence and authorised signatories of the Company. The documentation needs to be submitted in original and can not be older than six months. 

If the party seeking registration is a natural-born citizen of another country the agency requires a birth certificate stating the person’s citizenship. The document needs to be an original or a certified true copy no older than 12 months. Further, the agency requires a certified true copy of the seeking party’s passport.  

Further, to secure the ownership of the aircraft, the seeking party would also need to change the registration in the Registry of rights.  

Rudimentary information about the entries in the Civil aircraft registry is available on the Authorities website (https://sle-p.transportstyrelsen.se/extweb/sv-se/sokluftfartyg Swedish only). This includes information such as aircraft type, serial number, manufacturing year, airworthiness expiration, date of registry and registered owner and operator (if applicable). 

More information, such as historic information and any liens or rights regarding the aircraft, can be requested from the Authority. If there are any payable fees, it depends on the volume of requested documents, but usually it’s a very small amount.  

When an aircraft is registered it is automatically eligible for private use. However, in order to use the aircraft for commercial air transport, an Air Operating Certificate and an Operating License are required.  

However, regardless of the use, the aircraft has to have an airworthiness certificate or a permit to fly issued by the Authority.  

Aircraft which operates in Sweden by way of executing transports in exchange for payment shall have a Swedish issued traffic permit or an equivalent issued by a recognized authority in another ICAO country if the operator is a foreign country which is a member of ICAO.  

Yes, there is a separate registry for liens, leases and security interests. This is the registry referred to below and above as the Rights registry.   

Please note; however, that a mortgage per se cannot be registered as a right. According to Swedish law, the mortgage does not come with any third-party obligations. It is a civil construction in force between the debtor and the creditor. However, the mortgage corresponding lien or security interest in the aircraft at hand are subject to possible registration. The answers below should be read with this in mind.  

Depending on what right is to be registered (ownership/lien/lease/security) the formalities and required documentations are different. A general requirement is that the party seeking registration of a right has to be the owner registered in the Civil aircraft registry. The rights which can be registered are the following: 

No, priority and securitization (of a lien, please see above) are achieved by way of registering the right in the Rights registry. The person who first registered his or her right gets priority.  

Yes, a lien encompasses the accessories even though not installed on the aircraft at the time of registration in the Rights registry.  

Please see the above notices that a mortgage cannot be subject to registration, only liens. However, a statutory lien which is a provisional attachment (freeze) issued by a court of law in litigation would rank prior to a mortgage lien (consensual lien) as the asset subject to the lien would be prohibited from realization.  

Regarding the first question, it depends on the lien. If the lien is registered in accordance with the Cape Town Convention and it is a right to reposse lien, a creditor can take possession of the aircraft. However, such a lien is not possible to register in Sweden, only liens which give the right to a part of the value of the aircraft can be subject to registration. If in that case the debtor defaults, the asset will be sold on auction and the creditor will receive a proportional amount against the creditor’s outstanding amount.  

The aircraft can be detained by the decision of the Authority to secure a third party right.   

Sweden does recognize foreign agreements and liens stemming from such agreement provided that they are registered in accordance with the Cape Town Convention as well as legally issued decisions of enforcement. Thus, if there’s a lien registered internationally upon a Swedish registered aircraft, which in turn is subject to a lien registered in the Swedish Rights registry, the internationally registered lien will have priority provided that it has been registered before the right registered in the Swedish Rights registry. However, this is only true for rights registered in Sweden before Sweden’s entry to the Cape Town Convention on March 1st, 2006. Rights that are registered in the Swedish Rights registry after that date is always subsequent to an international registration.  

Yes, and the lease can be registered in the Rights registry. 

A form (L 1737) has to be submitted to the authorities along with the attached lease agreement in original and two certified copies, a document proving the incorporation of the lessee and proof of competence to act for the company.  

Yes, Sweden has ratified the Convention and the aircraft protocol. Minor declaration has been implemented but they are of formal and minor importance.  

There are no requirements beyond applying for a deregistration. The application is done by submitting a form (L 1684) and the Certificate of Registration, both in original.  

There are no fees to deregister an aircraft.  

Yes, the Authority will hold deregistration as pending until consent is present to protect the third party’s rights to the aircraft.  

None which is known.  

If there is co-operation, it takes approximately two weeks. If there is no co-operation the application for deregistration can be pending until co-operation and consent is present.  

The creditor would have to apply for enforcement (if re-possession) or sue the debtor in court in order to obtain the asset or otherwise provoke an auction of the asset. The application for enforcement is submitted to the Swedish enforcement authority (Kronofogden).