Keeping hens · National rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Sweden?

Registration is required for the keepers covered below. The national keeping rule, and the bird-flu and welfare rules, follow.

Read from 5 official sources23 passages quotedChecked October 27, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Registration required

National keeping rule

Rule with conditions

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule identified

A sourced reading of national law in Sweden, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Sweden

Applies to: Anyone responsible for a place with poultry, including hobby hens (Jordbruksverket: a place with hens must always be registered), and other captive birds except pet birds kept in private homes without a commercial purpose.

Outside this finding's scope

  • Birds kept as pets in private homes without a commercial purpose, such as canaries (Jordbruksverket); this does not cover hens, which must always be registered.

What the checked sources say

  • Register the place in Jordbruksverket's establishment register before you bring the birds there, whatever their number and whatever the purpose (Jordbruksverket).
  • Hobby keepers of hens and other poultry need no approval; registration is enough (Jordbruksverket).
  • Jordbruksverket gives the yearly fee for a registered establishment as 120 kronor for 2025 and for 2026.

Authority: Jordbruksverket

Fee: 120 kronor a year (2025 and 2026)

The official wording

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-11-08

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Rule identified for the scope below

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence.

Jurisdiction: Sweden

Applies to: High-risk areas for bird flu that Jordbruksverket designates.

What the checked sources say

  • Jordbruksverket decides which municipalities and counties become bird-flu high-risk areas, based on the National Veterinary Institute's (SVA) risk assessment, and decides what applies inside them.
  • In high-risk areas, poultry kept to produce meat, eggs for eating or other products sold to others must be kept indoors and may not go out into any kind of enclosure; ducks, geese and ratites that would suffer unnecessarily indoors may instead be kept in outdoor enclosures, with feed and water always given indoors or under cover (Jordbruksverket).
  • In high-risk areas, captive birds such as hobby hens kept by people who do not sell eggs or meat must be fenced in to prevent contact with wild birds and may not roam free (Jordbruksverket).
  • This page does not say whether any high-risk area applies now; check Jordbruksverket's bird-flu page.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

Small-flock welfare minimums

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Sweden

Applies to: Animals kept by people (Djurskyddslag, 1 kap. 2 §); the housing rule covers hens kept for egg production.

What the checked sources say

  • Treat animals well and protect them from unnecessary suffering and disease (2 kap. 1 §).
  • Give animals enough supervision and enough good-quality feed and water, adapted to their needs (2 kap. 4 §).
  • Housing and enclosures must give all animals enough protection, room to move freely and a suitable place to rest (2 kap. 6 §).
  • Hens kept for egg production must be housed so they can lay in a nest, perch and dust-bathe (Djurskyddsförordning, 2 kap. 1 §).
  • The Riksdag texts show the Act amended up to SFS 2026:1107 and the ordinance up to SFS 2026:1742.

The official wording

National rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Sweden

Applies to: Keeping hens at home.

What the checked sources say

  • Domestic animals and other animals kept in captivity must be kept and cared for so that they cause no nuisance to people's health (Förordning 1998:899, 36 §).
  • Where needed to prevent health nuisances, your municipality (kommun) may require a special permit from its committee to keep poultry that are not pets inside an area with a detailed development plan or area regulations (39 §). Check your municipality's local rules.

The official wording

  • 36 § Husdjur och andra djur som hålls i fångenskap skall förvaras och skötas så att olägenheter för människors hälsa inte uppkommer.

    Förordning (1998:899), 36 § · Checked

  • 39 § Om det behövs för att hindra att olägenheter för människors hälsa uppkommer, får kommunen föreskriva att 1. nötkreatur, häst, get, får eller svin, 2. pälsdjur eller fjäderfä som inte är sällskapsdjur, eller 3. orm inte får hållas inom område med detaljplan eller områdesbestämmelser utan särskilt tillstånd av den kommunala nämnden.

    Förordning (1998:899), 39 § · Checked

  • t.o.m. SFS 2026:1515

    riksdagen.se, Förordning (1998:899), amendment line · Checked

Selling eggs in Sweden? →License, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: License: depends

More countries we've checked

Every country on the map →

Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Sweden?
Registration: required. The finding covers: Anyone responsible for a place with poultry, including hobby hens (Jordbruksverket: a place with hens must always be registered), and other captive birds except pet birds kept in private homes without a commercial purpose. Outside this finding's scope: Birds kept as pets in private homes without a commercial purpose, such as canaries (Jordbruksverket); this does not cover hens, which must always be registered. Authority: Jordbruksverket.
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Sweden?
The national sources we read set the limits shown under “National rules on keeping poultry” on this page, and don't settle the rest. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Sweden?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

PoultryPal tracks your birds, eggs, hatches, sales, and expenses — so you can see exactly how your flock is doing. Free to download on iOS and Android.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play