What is the correct Sweden address format? A Swedish address is written recipient-first, with the street name then the building number, and the five-digit postal code — grouped three-then-two with a space — placed before the postal town on the last line — for example: Anna Andersson / Roslagsgatan 10 / 113 51 Stockholm. From abroad the code takes the “SE-” prefix. If you are sending from the United States, add SWEDEN as the final line so USPS and UPS route the parcel to the right country.
Key Takeaways
- Order matters: recipient name → street name + number → POSTAL CODE + POSTAL TOWN. Country line last for international mail.
- The postal code goes before the postal town, not after it — the opposite of US ZIP placement. PostNord reads the code-then-town line as one routing unit.
- The postcode is five digits grouped 3+2 with a space — e.g.
113 51. The space between the third and fourth digit is the standard grouping. - For international mail the code carries the “SE-” prefix —
SE-113 51 Stockholm— the ISO country code that flags the item as Sweden-bound. - From the US, always add “SWEDEN” in English capitals as the last line — USPS and UPS sort international parcels by the country line first.
What Is the Correct Format for a Sweden Address?
A correctly formatted Swedish address stacks one element per line, running from the individual to the postal town. Following PostNord, which administers Sweden’s postcodes on behalf of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, the canonical structure is:
- Addressee’s name (given name then surname)
- Company or department name (business mail only)
- Street name + building number — e.g. Roslagsgatan 10
- POSTAL CODE then POSTAL TOWN on one line — e.g. 113 51 Stockholm
Unlike English, the Swedish street name and number are written together with the number after the name (Roslagsgatan 10, not “10 Roslagsgatan”), and the street word is usually built into the name — -gatan (street), -vägen (road), -torg (square). When a US shipper prepares a label through a platform like ParcelPath’s Sweden shipping page, that same order applies, with one addition covered below: the destination country on the final line.
What Are the Essential Components of a Sweden Address?
Each line does a specific job in the delivery chain. The line US senders most often get wrong is the code-before-town order and the 3+2 spacing.
| Line | What it is | Example | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recipient | Person or business receiving the item | Anna Andersson | Yes |
| Street line | Street name + building number | Roslagsgatan 10 | Yes |
| Postal code | Five digits grouped 3+2 with a space | 113 51 | Yes |
| Postal town | Delivery town, on the same line after the code | Stockholm | Yes |
| Country | Destination country for international mail | SWEDEN | Yes (from abroad) |
The single biggest surprise for people used to US addressing is that the postal code comes before the postal town, on the same line. PostNord treats that code-then-town line as the routing key — 113 51 Stockholm, code first, town second.
How Does the Swedish Postal Code System Work?
The Swedish postcode (postnummer) is the part that does the heavy lifting, and it has a strict internal grammar. Every code is five digits divided into a group of three and a group of two, separated by a single space:
- First digit — the broad geographic zone within Sweden.
- First three digits — the postal district, which pairs with the postal town.
- Last two digits — the specific delivery area or route.
The grouping is three-then-two with one space — 113 51, not 11351 and not the older double-spaced style. A single space is now the norm and the postal town no longer has to be capitalised, though capitals remain common and legible. For international mail the code takes the SE- prefix (the ISO 3166 country code), written SE-113 51 Stockholm. Sweden is written in the Latin alphabet with three extra letters — å, ä and ö — which sort at the end of the Swedish alphabet; keep them where they belong (Malmö, Gävle), though carriers will still route if a mark is dropped.
How Do You Address a Sweden Parcel From the United States?
Shipping into Sweden from the US adds exactly one rule to everything above: the last line of the address must be the destination country, written in English capitals — SWEDEN. USPS and UPS sort outbound international parcels by that country line first, before the postal code is ever read, so omitting it is the fastest way to have a package held or returned.
Practical points for US-origin Swedish shipments:
- Keep the postal code before the postal town. Write
113 51 Stockholm, never “Stockholm 113 51” — the reversed US order confuses automated sorting. - Preserve the 3+2 space. The single space inside the code (
113 51) is part of the standard grouping. - Add the “SE-” prefix if you like —
SE-113 51is the international form and does no harm even when the country line is present. - Both USPS and UPS reach every Swedish postal code. ParcelPath issues discounted USPS and UPS labels for the Sweden lane; the Sweden destination guide covers current transit windows and customs paperwork.
For the customs side of a Swedish parcel — the CN22/CN23 declaration, commodity codes, and the EU import-VAT threshold — see our international shipping hub, which walks through the documentation that keeps a parcel out of a customs hold.
What Are the Most Common Sweden Address Mistakes to Avoid?
Almost every failed or delayed Swedish delivery traces back to one of a short list of formatting errors:
- Putting the postal code after the town (“Stockholm 113 51”). Sweden writes the code first; the US-style reversal is the number-one avoidable mis-sort.
- Removing the space in the code (
11351). The standard grouping is113 51, three digits then two. - Putting the house number before the street (“10 Roslagsgatan”). Swedish writes the number after the street name.
- Confusing the postal town with a district. The postal town is the one tied to the postcode, which is not always the nearest big city — match the town the postcode data gives.
- Forgetting “SWEDEN” on mail sent from abroad. Without the country line, a US carrier can’t route the parcel internationally.
How Do You Handle the SE- Prefix, C/O Lines and Å/Ä/Ö?
A few Sweden-specific cases trip up international senders:
- The SE- prefix is optional when you already write “SWEDEN” as the country line, but it is the correct UPU international form. Never merge it into the digits as “SE11351” — keep the hyphen:
SE-113 51. - C/O addresses (care-of) go on their own line above the street, written
c/o Namn— common where the recipient is not the registered occupant. - Box addresses replace the street line with Box and a number (e.g. Box 1234); the code-then-town line stays the same, and large-volume recipients sometimes have a dedicated postcode for their box.
- The letters å, ä and ö should be preserved where possible, but the carrier’s Latin-script systems will still deliver if a mark is dropped — the postal code carries the real routing weight.
A point worth stressing is that the postal town is not the same thing as the municipality (kommun). The postal town is the delivery locality tied to the postcode, and it does not always match the administrative municipality a resident belongs to — several postcodes can share one postal town, and one municipality can span several postal towns. When a US sender copies an address, the safest move is to use exactly the postal town the recipient provides alongside the code, rather than substituting the name of the larger city or region it sits near.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the postal code go before or after the town in a Sweden address?
Before. Sweden writes the five-digit postcode first, then the postal town on the same line — for example 113 51 Stockholm. This is the reverse of the US ZIP-after-city order, and it is the single most important formatting rule for parcels to Sweden.
What does the “SE-” in front of a Swedish postcode mean?
SE is Sweden’s ISO country code, used as a prefix on international mail — SE-113 51 Stockholm. It flags the item as Sweden-bound. It is optional once you add “SWEDEN” as the country line, but it does no harm and matches the UPU international standard.
Why is the postcode written as “113 51” with a space?
Swedish postcodes are five digits grouped three-then-two, with a single space between the groups. 113 51 is correct; 11351 and the older double-spaced form are not. Keep the single space for clean automated sorting.
Do I add “Sweden” when shipping from the US?
Yes — always, as the last line in English capitals. USPS and UPS sort outbound parcels by the destination country first. Without “SWEDEN,” the parcel can be held domestically or returned before it ever leaves the US.
Does the house number come before or after the street name?
After. Swedish writes the street name first and the number second — Roslagsgatan 10, not “10 Roslagsgatan”. The street type is usually built into the name, such as -gatan (street) or -vägen (road).
Sources
- PostNord — addressing your consignments
- Universal Postal Union — Sweden addressing (S42) template
- Postal codes in Sweden — structure and 3+2 grouping
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Part of our Shipping to Sweden guide. Related: International Shipping hub · UK Address Format.
