Promissory note

A promissory note is evidence of a claim. An oral promise to repay a debt is of course valid, but it may be difficult to prove such a claim. A promissory note creates an assumption for the existence of a claim. The person responsible for paying the debt must present evidence that contradicts the promissory note in order to escape his obligation to pay.

There are no formal requirements when drawing up a promissory note, but the rules on promissory notes are only applicable to one-sided obligations and they can only concern money.

There are two types of promissory notes, simple promissory notes (enkelt skuldebrev) and running promissory notes (löpande skuldebrev). A simple promissory note is issued to a specific person and therefore specifies who should receive the payment. A running promissory note is transferrable and it is the possessor of the note the day when payment is due who will be paid. A running promissory note may be drawn up as an order promissory note (orderskuldebrev) which is issued to a specific person and order. Every time the order promissory note is transferred, this is noted on the document.  A running promissory note may also be drawn up as a possessional promissory note. It is issued to the possessor and no notes have to be made in connection with transfers. The person who can present the possessional promissory note is the one who has the right to be paid.

Which type of promissory note you should choose depends on the nature of the dept and whether you want the promissory note to be transferrable. 

Ordering a promissory note

We would be happy to give you advice and help you draw up your promissory note. Our fixed price is 800 SEK. Send us an  e-mail and describe you matter and we will contact you as soon as possible. If you prefer to discuss your matter over phone, call us at +46(0)8 559 25 309. Any advice you may need in connection with the drawing up of your document is included in the price. If your matter is very complicated, it is possible that the fixed price listed above is not applicable. In that case we will give you a new proposal for a fixed price that reflects the added complexity. 

This article describes promissory notes as regulated by Swedish law. It is for information purposes only, and neither contains any legal advice, nor should be construed as such. Every case depends on its specific facts, so if you are planning to prepare a promissory note, contact us or another lawyer.