QUICK ANSWER
If you have an active insurance policy but still received a fee, it's usually because of one of five things: the policy was actually cancelled without you noticing – often after a missed payment – or one of four other reasons: the start date didn't match the ownership change, a wrong registration number was entered, the insurer failed to report it, or the policy is in someone else's name.
This is one of the most frustrating situations: you're sure you have valid insurance, and yet an invoice from TFF turns up. TFF never sends a fee if its records show everything was in order – so somewhere there's an explanation. It almost always traces back to one of five things.
The five most common reasons
You actually haven't paid for the insurance: if a direct debit failed because of insufficient funds, or an invoice from the insurer went unpaid, the company has the right to cancel the policy after a while. They then hand the unpaid period over to TFF, which both collects the missed premium and starts charging the daily fee for the time the vehicle was uninsured. This is the single most common cause of this exact situation, and the easiest to miss – you're convinced you're covered, because you never cancelled anything yourself. Want to get covered again as fast as possible? See new insurance after a cancellation.
A gap in the start date: the policy was taken out a few days after the ownership change actually took effect, often because you were waiting for the registration certificate or a confirmation before signing up. See insurance when changing ownership for how that date is set.
A wrong registration number was entered: a single mistyped letter or digit when taking out the policy, for example an O instead of a 0, means the insurance covers the wrong vehicle. Your own car is then still listed as uninsured, even though you're paying a premium every month.
The insurer failed to report it: insurance companies are required to continuously report valid policies to the vehicle register. A technical glitch or a missed report on their end means the Transport Agency sees no insurance, even though it exists.
The policy is in the wrong person's name: see insurance in someone else's name – the policyholder has to be the same person as the registered owner.
How to fix it
Read your insurance documents carefully: check exactly which registration number, start date, and policyholder are listed. If the registration number or start date doesn't match reality, contact the insurer – they can correct it in their system and send an updated report to the vehicle register. TFF pulls its data from that register automatically, so once it's corrected there, the fee is updated or dropped.
Want to estimate the cost in your situation? Use the TFF fee calculator. New to a term here, like the vehicle register or off road notification? Check the glossary.
Sources: Swedish Motor Insurers' Committee, about vehicle insurance. Swedish Transport Agency, vehicle insurance. Last checked: 2026-09-21.