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Information produced or collected by authorities often has areas of use outside the public administration. Various actors in society can further utilize the information to create commercial or non-profit services. Map information and other geographical information can be used, for example, to create GPS services.
A revision of the PSI directive is underway and Lantmäteriet was given a government assignment on 13 May 2019 to analyze the consequences of this change. Read more about the government assignment and the new proposal .
This type of re-use of government information is regulated in the PSI Act. PSI stands for Public Sector Information.
The PSI Act regulates the re-use of documents from the public administration. Re-use means that the documents are used for purposes other than those for which they were originally produced or collected. The PSI Act should therefore not be confused with the principle of public access, which gives every citizen the right to take part in public documents.
PSI law in brief
Re-use refers to the use of documents for purposes other than those for which they were originally intended. The PSI law contains provisions on conditions for the re-use of documents held by authorities. The law does not regulate the actual provision of documents or whether re-use per se is permitted. The rules on and which documents may be disclosed are found in other statutes, e.g. the Freedom of the Press Ordinance, the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009: 400) and the Property Register Act (2000: 224). The PSI law does not apply to documents that an authority may not disclose, nor to such restrictions on re-use that an authority is obliged to decide on or that otherwise follow from any constitution.
The exchange of information by authorities is not covered by the law, except in cases where it is clear from the context that the authority must use the documents in its business activities.
The PSI law stipulates a ceiling for income from fees that an authority charges for the re-use of documents. The main rule for the fee ceiling is based on a marginal cost principle, which means that the fees for the provision of documents may not exceed the costs of reproducing, providing and disseminating the documents. If, on the other hand, an authority is obliged to charge fees for the re-use of documents to cover a significant part of the costs of an activity, the income may not exceed the costs for collecting, producing, reproducing and distributing the documents and a reasonable return on investment.
According to the PSI law, the conditions set by an authority for re-use must be relevant and non-discriminatory for comparable categories of re-use and must not unnecessarily limit the possibilities for re-use. The authority shall inform about the fees and other conditions that apply to the re-use. The authority shall provide on its website what information may be re-used by external users.
An authority may only grant someone an exclusive right to re-use documents if this is necessary to provide a service of general interest.
A request for re-use of documents must be processed promptly. An authority's decision on conditions for re-use according to the PSI law shall, as a general rule, be appealed to the administrative court.
Questions and answers
To Lantmäteriet, submit a request for access to the document you want and a request for re-use. Lantmäteriet first examines your request for access based on the legal basis that applies to your request, for example the Freedom of the Press Ordinance, the Real Estate Register Act or the Apartment Register Act. If your request for access is granted, your request for re-use is also normally granted. Subsequently, it may be necessary to sign a license agreement with Lantmäteriet on the re-use in accordance with the PSI law.
If you want to submit a request for access to documents for further use, you are welcome to contact us.
E-mail: geodatasupport@lm.se Phone: 0771-63 63 63
LantmäterietCustomer support and delivery, Division Geodata 801 82 Gävle
Written copy:
If Lantmäteriet is to provide the document in accordance with the Freedom of the Press Ordinance, the form of disclosure in accordance with ch. Section 12 of the Freedom of the Press Ordinance. Lantmäteriet provides documents in accordance with the Freedom of the Press Ordinance in the form of a written copy.
Document in electronic form:
If the geodata product is to be provided in accordance with another law other than the Freedom of the Press Ordinance, it can be disclosed in electronic form. Disclosure in electronic form must, however, be compatible with rules on, for example, protection of personal data or protection of the total defense. Geodata products that Lantmäteriet provides directly, in electronic form, are available in the e-service GeoLex. However, this does not apply to geodata products that are protected in accordance with the Act (1960:729) on copyright in literary and artistic works, and which are added to third parties.
The license fee refers to the right to use the basic data product and varies depending on factors such as the time of lease, the degree of use, the number of users and the basic data product in question.
The delivery fee is intended to cover the cost of delivering the information and varies depending on the amount of data to be delivered and which basic data product it is.
The handling fee is charged for the processing that takes place at Lantmäteriet. Processing means contract writing, ordering, product support, financial follow-ups and other contact with the customer.
Lantmäteriet's fees are published in LMFS (Lantmäteriet's regulations on fees for basic geographical information and real estate information) which are usually updated every year. Read more about Lantmäteriet's regulations.
Contact information
If you would like more information on how we apply the PSI law, please feel free to contact us.
Email: geodatasupport@lm.se
Phone: 0771-63 63 63