Background & Purpose

Public buyers have previously faced difficult and time-consuming tasks when verifying background information on private companies. This created risks of public funds going to fraudulent businesses, tax evaders, or companies with serious financial problems.

Proposals & Debate

The government proposed creating a unified registry check system for public purchasing and user-choice welfare systems. The proposal enables government agencies to quickly check if a bidding company should be disqualified due to crimes, unpaid taxes, or bankruptcy.

The Decision

A single coordinated background check system is now introduced for public authorities across Sweden. This makes it easier to spot disqualifying issues early and stop illegal or insolvent companies from receiving public money.

Does this affect you?

  • Public sector procurement officers: They gain a streamlined tool to run background checks on companies before signing public contracts.
  • Private welfare and service contractors: Law-abiding contractors face fairer competition when tax-evading and fraudulent businesses are filtered out.

In Practice

  • Public authorities use a central system to check contractors before awarding public contracts.
  • Companies with tax debts, bankruptcy records, or criminal convictions are quickly identified for exclusion.
  • The new rules apply to both standard public purchasing and free-choice welfare services.
  • Government buyers save administrative time by using one unified registry instead of querying multiple sources manually.