Questions and answers about certificates of publication
In the article below, we have collected together the most frequently asked questions regarding certificates of publication.
When it is not possible to use our e-services, PRV approves electronic signatures.
Application documents submitted to PRV must, as a rule, be signed. The same applies when documents need to be verified. For several types of cases, PRV provides e-services here on the website where electronic signing is included in the service. We want to encourage our users to use these tools as much as possible. It is especially important to use our e-services in cases where confidentiality is desired. PRV can not guarantee the confidentiality of documents sent by e-mail.
When it is not practically possible to use our e-services, PRV accepts electronic signatures as long as it meets the requirements for advanced or qualified signing in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation.
A certificate of publication is a certificate from PRV which applies to a periodical. The certificate of publication will state the name of the editor and who is responsible for the content of the periodical. An editor must always be a natural person.
A periodical is a newspaper, magazine or other printed publication which has a specific title and is published at least four times a year.
You must pay the fee when you submit your application or notification to PRV. Avoid paying the fee in advance. We do not send out invoices for fees relating to periodicals.
Example: In our parish in the Church of Sweden, we publish a parish magazine four times a year. Do we need to have a registered editor who is responsible or is this something that you choose yourself?
Reply: If you wish to publish a printed periodical, you must have a certificate of publication under the Freedom of the Press Ordinance (tryckfrihetsförordningen). You apply to PRV for this certificate. A periodical is a newspaper, magazine or other printed publication which has a specific title and is published at least four times a year according to a publication schedule. It is the owner of the publication who must apply for the certificate of publication. The application must include information on the owner, editor, title of the publication, place of publication and publishing schedule.
The periodical must state the name of the editor, the printing company and the place and year of printing.
Laws and regulations (in Swedish)
In our e-service for certificates of publication, you will find the certificates of publication which must be renewed within the next 12 months to ensure they do not lapse.
E-service for certificates of publication (external website)
You can renew your certificate of publication via our e-service. You must pay the application fee directly using your credit or debit card or via your online bank. You will find your certificate number on the certificate of publication or via PRV's periodical database (Tidningsregistret).
E-service for certificates of publication (external website)
You can fill in a form and submit the original to PRV by post. This form is called “Application for renewal of certificate of publication for periodical” and can be downloaded from the website. You must pay the application fee to PRV's bank giro when you send the application form to PRV. You will find your certificate number on the certificate of publication or via PRV's periodical database (Tidningsregistret).
PRV will send the registered owner of a certificate a reminder about 11 months before the last renewal date. The reason why the information is sent out so far in advance is that it is possible to renew a certificate of publication one year before it is due to expire. This enables the owner to renew his or her certificate in plenty of time. We also send out an additional reminder 1-2 months before the certificate of publication expires.
If the last date for renewal has passed without you having applied for renewal, the certificate of publication will expire.
Renewals and changes to editors or owners received after the last date for renewal will not take effect. This means that you will not be able to exert any influence on the status of the certificate of publication by submitting an application and notification or paying the fee once the certificate has expired.
You will normally receive a decision informing you that the certificate of publication is deemed to have expired one or more weeks after your certificate of publication expired, if we have your address. Otherwise, the decision will only be announced via our e-service for certificates of publication.
E-service for certificates of publication (external website)
In our e-service for certificates of publication, you can search amongst registered periodicals which are published in printed form, but not online periodicals. The database contains information on the periodical's title and the number of the certificate of publication. You should note that our database is not a complete list of current certificates of publication, as we update the database on a weekly basis.
E-service for certificates of publication (external website)
The periodical will continue to be deemed a periodical until it has been decided that the periodical has expired. Provided that at least four editions continue to be published every year, it will still be a periodical. It is a punishable offence to publish a periodical without a certificate of publication.
If you submit another application which is subsequently approved, you can start publishing your periodical again. If fewer than four editions of the periodical are published per year, it will not be considered a periodical. It can then be published without a certificate of publication.
You can read more about the applicable laws and regulations here
PRV will issue a certificate of publication when the case has been formally and materially concluded, which means that it has been confirmed there are no impediments to approval. An example of an impediment is where our database contains a title which could easily be confused with another one.
You can apply to PRV for a new certificate of publication. It will be treated as an ordinary application and reviewed before the title is approved. We will therefore assess whether any titles are already registered which could easily be confused with your title.
You will find the form to apply for a new certificate of publication here (PDF 69 kB)
No one other than the original owner can register the same title without consent. This applies for a period of two years from the date of issue of the certificate of publication.
The editor's responsibilities will cease on the date on which the certificate of publication expires. The owner will be liable for any freedom of expression offences committed in a periodical without a certificate of publication. In the case of non-periodic printed publications, the author is responsible for what he or she has written.
You must also notify PRV of your new postal address. Notification must be given in writing and signed by an authorised signatory on behalf of the owner of the certificate of publication. It is not enough to notify Svensk Adressändring, the Swedish Tax Agency or the Swedish Companies Registration Office of your change of address, because PRV does not automatically receive notifications of address changes from external address databases. Notifications of changes of address are given using a form.
The form “Notification of change to certificate of publication” (PDF 58 kB)
Example: I have been asked to act as the responsible editor of a periodical which I produce for a company via my sole proprietorship on a freelance basis. What does this mean as regards my personal financial responsibility, for me or my business?
Reply: In the case of a periodical, it is the responsible editor who in the first instance will be legally responsible for the periodical’s content. The responsible editor must be a natural person. Although this legal liability may have financial consequences, there is no financial liability associated with the role.
Example: We currently publish four editions of our periodical a year, but we want to increase this number to five. The certificate of publication states four times a year. Do I have to renew our certificate of publication?
Reply: No, you do not need to renew your certificate of publication. You only need to do this if it is about to expire. Certificates of publication are valid for ten years. However, you must declare that you have changed your publishing schedule, i.e. you have changed the number of editions per year. Use the form entitled “Notification of change to certificate of publication” and enter the new number of editions under the publishing schedule in point 4 of the form.
The form “Notification of change to certificate of publication” (PDF 58 kB)
A periodical may have one or more deputy responsible editors who are appointed by the responsible editor and approved by the owner. The same eligibility requirements apply to deputy responsible editors as apply to responsible editors. If a responsible editor ceases to perform this role, the deputy responsible editors will also cease in their roles. This means that, in the event of a change of editor where the deputy responsible editor is to remain in their role, the new responsible editor must register the deputy responsible editor again.
By signing the form, the registered editor confirms that they will continue to act as editor under the new owner. The registered editor can then also decide whether or not any deputy responsible editors should remain in their role. If the registered editor is not to remain as the editor of the publication under the new owner, a new editor must immediately be appointed and notified to PRV.
The previous editor does not need to sign the form for a change in editor if the previous editor has died. It is sufficient to note in the box for confirmation by the previous editor that the editor has died.
A certificate of freedom from trusteeship is a certificate which verifies that the editor does not have a trustee. You can order this certificate from the chief guardians committee in the municipality in which the editor has its registered address in the national population register at the time of application. The certificate may not be more than three (3) months old and must always be submitted as an original.
You should note that a birth certificate from the Swedish Tax Agency is not valid as a certificate of freedom from trusteeship.
If you plan to publish your periodical online, you must register a responsible editor for the online editions unless this person is the same as for the paper version. This is done via the Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority (MPRT). This authority is responsible for registering responsible editors on the web, certificates of publication for databases. You can contact them by phone 08 580 070 00 or via their website.
The Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority (external website)
PostNord has specific rules for periodicals which are distributed by post. In order to distribute your periodical as a postal periodical, i.e. for a lower postage cost, you must have a certificate of publication. If you have any questions or wish to register your publication as a postal periodical, you should contact PostNord on phone 0771 333310.
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Contact our customer support on phone: +46 (0)8 782 28 00