QUICK ANSWER
Your insurance has to be valid in your name from the exact date the ownership change applies – not from the day you see it show up in the app. The seller's policy ends on that same date. Take out cover before you go your separate ways.
The fee almost always arises in the gap between two dates: the date you became the owner, and the date you took out insurance. Every day in between counts toward the fee, even if the vehicle never moved.
Which date counts as the ownership-change date?
If you report the change through the app or e-service, it applies from the day you make the report. If you use the paper registration certificate, it applies from the date written on it, provided the report reaches the Transport Agency within ten days of the sale. If it arrives later, the arrival date is registered instead.
An ownership change reported over a weekend can take until Tuesday to show up in the register, but it still applies from the day it was reported. Wait for confirmation before taking out insurance, and you've already racked up fee days.
Why a fee arises
The Swedish Transport Agency sees that the vehicle was active and registered to you during those days, and that no insurance company reported a valid policy for it in your name. That information goes to TFF, which charges per day. There's no grace period, and it doesn't matter whether you actually drove the vehicle.
How to avoid it
Take out the insurance the same moment the ownership change is reported, with the same date. Most companies can be signed up with online, any time of day. Selling? Check that the ownership change was actually reported, or the vehicle stays in your name and the fee comes to you.
Want to estimate the cost in your situation? Use the TFF fee calculator. New to a term here, like the vehicle register? Check the glossary.
Sources: Swedish Transport Agency, changing ownership. Swedish Motor Insurers' Committee, about vehicle insurance. Last checked: 2026-09-21.