Regi­stration of new plant varieties and plant breeders' rights

Search in the Swedish list of plant varieties

Register varieties of plants and plant breeders' rights

What is a list of plant varieties?

A list of plant varieties is the official list of the varieties of vegetables, agri­cultural plants and fruit­plants that may be marketed. The list of varieties also indicates under the name which the varieties may be marketed. There is a list of varieties for every EU Member State. The variety list is available as an e-service and in our Plant Variety Gazette.

• E-service: Swedish List of Varieties

• Plant variety Gazette 2026

EU’s lists of plant varieties

EU’s common list of plant varieties is a compilation of all the EU Member States’ lists of species varieties for agri­cultural species, vege­tables and fruit plants. The common lists of plant varieties are contained in a database.

• The EU Database of Registered Plant Varieties (ec.europa.eu)
•  

Varieties which may be included in a list of varieties

Varieties in a list of varieties belong to one of the species covered by EU legislation for marketing of seeds of agri­cultural plants, vegetables and fruits.

Assess­ment of charac­teristics

Ordinary varieties of agricultural species and vegetables in a list of varieties have been assessed and approved for their charac­teristics. This entails that the variety

• has a unique variety denomination for the species or similar species
• is distingui­shable from other known varieties
• is stable
• is uniform.

This also applies to certain varieties of fruit­plants.

A genetically modified variety may only be registered during the period which the genetic modi­fication that the variety consists of is approved.

Different require­ments for different plant groups

The stringency of the require­ments placed on the variety depend on the plant groups that it belongs to. There are also different approaches for regi­stration of new varieties in the different plant groups.

The different plant groups are

• ordinary varieties of agri­cultural species or vege­tables
• conser­vation varieties of agri­cultural species or vege­tables
• amateur varieties of vege­tables
• fruit­plants.

Varieties that are not included in a list of varieties or are not regulated in the seed legislation

You may cultivate a variety of a regulated species that is not included in any list of varieties, but you may not sell or give away seed or plants of that variety.

If a species is not regulated in EU seed legislation, you may sell propagating material of it even if the species is not included in a list of varieties. Examples of species that are not regulated are dill, buckwheat, smooth brome grass and sea-buckthorn.

Registration of an agri­cultural or vege­table variety

You can apply to register a new variety of an agri­cultural species or vegetable in our e‑service. The registration is valid for 10 years. Application costs SEK 4,950 per variety. You pay directly in the e‑service or via an invoice. You will subsequently pay an annual fee of SEK 3,330 per variety.

• E‑service: Register plant varieties

The variety needs a denomina­tion or a name

In order to be able to register the variety in the list of varieties, it must also have an approved variety denomina­tion, i.e. a name. The name of the variety must be unique. We check whether the name of the variety is unique in the EU Database of Variety Denomina­tions, CPVO Variety Finder.

If you wish to give your variety a name after you have submitted the application for addition in the list of varieties, you must send a supplementary application with the denomina­tion of the variety.

• E‑service: Supplementary application with denomination of variety

Technical testing of new varieties

All new varieties of agri­cultural species or vegetables must be tested before they can be registered in the list of varieties. This means that a technical examination of the variety in cultivation is made for at least two years. One part of the technical testing is referred to as DUS examination.

The results from the DUS examination should show that

• it is possible to distinguish the variety from other known varieties in the EU
• the variety does not change from year to year in propagation
• the individuals within the variety are uniform.

The DUS examinations are made by the examination offices in Europe that are approved by the Community plant variety office (CPVO). We order the DUS examination in a country as close to Sweden as possible. If you have a completed DUS report, you should attach it with the application. If the DUS report is not ready, you should attach a preliminary description of the variety with the application for addition to the list of varieties. We can also order a complete DUS report from a examination office if the country’s cultivation conditions are similar to that in Sweden.

• CPVO’s form for preliminary description of a variety (online.plantvarieties.eu)

It is important that you send in the correct quantity of seed at the right time. For certain species, you should also send in spikes. We must also order the DUS examina­tion before a particular date for the respec­tive species. It is there­fore important that your application is submitted to us before that date.

• Dates for application for DUS examinations in Denmark and seed quantities (tystofte.dk)
• Dates for application to DUS examinations in Finland (ruokavirasto.fi)
• Dates for application to DUS examinations in Estonia (pta.agri.ee)

Assess­ment of value for cultivation and use of new varieties of agri­cultural species

The second part of the technical testing consists of an examination of the value for cultivation and use of agricultural species. If you wish to register a new variety of an agricultural species, the variety must have at least one characteristic which is better than other varieties of the same species on our list of varieties. We therefore compare the new variety with the varieties already included in the Swedish list of varieties in a test for “value for cultivation and use”. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is responsible for testing the value for cultivation and use in Sweden.

You can reach SLU via the e-mail adress

• sortprovning@slu.se

SLU's website for field trials (slu.se)

The fee for testing the value for cultivation and use depends on the variety and the area in which it is to be tested. Contact sortprovning@slu.se.

The value for cultivation and use lasts for at least 2 years. During this period, the following are tested, among other things

• if the variety gives a higher yield of good quality than other registered varieties
• how the variety matures in relation to other varieties
• how the variety’s internal quality characteristics relate to other varieties, such as raw fat content, protein content and starch content
• if the variety is resistant to common plant diseases.

In Sweden, no test for value for cultivation and use is made of grass for green areas (turf grasses). In the case of vegetables, the test for value for cultivation and use is only made for Cichorium intybus L. (chicory).

You will find results from the test for value for cultivation and use in SLU's searchable database sortval.nu, where you can search and compare the properties of different varieties from different trials.

• Sortval (slu.se) – in Swedish

Contact SLU for information about the final date for application for the test for value for cultivation and use.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture and SLU have together produced minimum requirements for the test for value for cultivation and use in Sweden.

• Division of responsibility between SLU and the Swedish Board of Agriculture for the Swedish examination of value for cultivation and use – in Swedish pdf, 303 kB.
• Annex: Minimum requirements for the Swedish examination of value for cultivation and use – in Swedish pdf, 210.2 kB.
• Sub-annex: Parameter description – in Swedish pdf, 270 kB.

Conserva­tion varieties

A conservation variety is a landrace variety, or another variety that was cultivated in Sweden before 1950. Our old varieties are a cultural heritage that there are many reasons to preserve. The characteristics of older varieties may, for example, be useful in the future when the climate and environments change.

In order for a variety to be considered as a conservation variety, it must be naturally adapted to the location and region where it has been found, and it must be worth preserving. It should be documented that the variety has been cultivated for a long time in Sweden.

The difference between a conser­vation variety and an amateur variety is that a conser­vation variety is of plant genetic interest and may also be cultivated by professional growers. An amateur variety is usually cultivated by not professional growers and may only be sold in small packages. A conser­vation variety may only be produced and marketed in its country of origin while an amateur variety does not have this national limitation.

Conserva­tion varieties in the Swedish list of varieties

It is possible to register conser­vation varieties of agri­cultural species and vegetables in the Swedish list of varieties. This means that it is permitted to produce and market these varieties in Sweden.

• Varieties that are registered as conservation varieties in Sweden – in Swedish pdf, 53.6 kB.

In order for the conservation varieties to be included in the list of varieties, it must not already be listed in the regular list of varieties as a common variety, for example, Blue Congo is listed as an ordinary variety in the EU list of varieties and can therefore not be accepted as a conservation variety in the Swedish list of varieties. The variety must also not be protected by any plant breeders' rights.

The variety may not be entirely new, it must have been cultivated in Sweden before 1950. For the conservation variety to be included in the list of varieties, the Swedish Board of Agriculture must have assessed it worth preserving. In our assessment, we primarily base it on the criteria set out in the Programme for Diversity of Cultivated Plants (POM).

• The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences’ information on the Cultivated Diversity Program (slu.se) – in Swedish

The rules for including a conser­vation variety in the list of varieties differ from the rules for ordinary varieties:

• The conser­vation varieties may have greater variation within the variety than ordinary varieties are allowed to have.
• The conser­vation varieties do not need to undergo technical testing.
• There should be a carefully detailed descrip­tion of the variety.
• There must be documen­tation showing that the variety is worth preserving.

Registering a conserva­tion variety

You can apply to register a conser­vation variety in our e‑service. The registration is valid for 10 years. The application costs SEK 1,320 per variety. You can pay directly in the e‑service or by an invoice. There is no annual fee for conser­vation varieties.

• E‑service: Register amateur and conservation varieties on the list of varieties

You must attach a carefully detailed description of the variety and documen­tation on the variety’s conser­vation value with the application. Use the CPVO’s question­naire for the species and supple­ ment it with your own experiences.

• CPVO’s form for description of a varieties (online.plantvarieties.eu)

Before you send in your applica­tion, you should check with us whether anyone else has sent in an applica­tion for the variety. It is sufficient with one applica­tion for each variety.

You should have a sufficient quantity of seed to enable the Swedish Board of Agri­culture to cultivate it if necessary to see whether it differs from other varieties of the species known in the EU.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture decides on whether the variety is worth preserving and if we can include it on the list of varieties as a conser­ vation variety. If we approve the registra­tion of the conservation variety, you can produce and market seed of the variety in Sweden.

Seed from the conservation variety shall comply with the material of the variety held by NordGen. If NordGen does not have your variety, you should send seed of the variety to them.

• The Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen.se)

You can read more in the brochure Amateur and Conser­vation Varieties about the rules for produc­tion and marketing of different conser­vation varieties.

• Brochure: Amateur and Conservation Varieties – rules on seed cultivation and marketing – in Swedish

Amateur varieties

An amateur variety is a vegetable variety without value for com­mercial cultivation, but has been developed for cultivation under special circum­stances. This means that the variety has been developed to, for example, be cultivated in a special climate or in special soils. In order to market seed of an amateur variety, it must be included on a list of varieties.

The rules for amateur varieties differ from the rules for other kinds of vegetables:

• The amateur varieties are allowed to have greater variation within the variety than other varieties may have.
• There must be a careful detailed descrip­tion of the amateur variety.
• It must be documented that it is an amateur variety.
• An amateur variety may have more than one variety denomination, if there is historical evidence for this.
• There are limits on the quantity of seed that may be sold in the packages of an amateur variety.
• Amateur varieties must be labelled in a specific way.

If you market seed from an amateur variety, you must report to the Swedish Board of Agri­culture each production season on how much seed you have sold.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture will make random checks on seed of amateur varieties. We check, for example, that it is the correct variety and that there are no weeds in the seed.

Register an amateur variety

You apply to register a new variety as an amateur variety via our e-service. The registration is valid for 10 years. The application costs SEK 1,320 per variety. You can pay directly in the e‑service or by an invoice. There is no annual fee for amateur varieties.

• E‑service: Register amateur and conservation varieties in the list of varieties

You should attach a carefully detailed description of the variety. Use the CPVO’s question­naire for the species and supple­ment it with your own experiences.

• CPVO’s form for description of a variety (online.plantvarieties.eu)

Before you send in your applica­tion, you should check with us whether anyone else has sent in an application for the variety. It is sufficient with one application for each variety to market seed of the variety in the EU.

In order for the amateur variety to be approved, it must not be included in the list of varieties as an ordinary variety or be protected by plant breeders' rights.

Amateur varieties do not need to be tested technically in the same way as an ordinary variety.

It takes a couple of months from our registration of an amateur variety in the list of varieties before the variety is published in the common catalogue of varieties for vegetables.

You can read about the rules for marketing and production of seed from different amateur varieties in the brochure Amateur and conservation varieties (in Swedish).

• Brochure: Amateur and conservation varieties – rules around seed cultivation and marketing – in Swedish

Fruit and berry varieties

Fruit and berry varieties, including root stocks, may have two types of descrip­tions

• official descrip­tion
• officially recognised descrip­tion.

Fruit and berry varieties with a Swedish official descrip­tion must be registered in the following lists:

• The Swedish list of plant varieties
• The EU Database of Registered Plant Varieties (EU PLANT VARIETY PORTAL)

Fruit and berry varieties with a Swedish officially recognised descrip­tion must be registered in the following lists:

• Old varieties which are to be marketed in the EU must be registered in the Swedish list of plant varieties and in the EU Database of Registered Plant Varieties (EU PLANT VARIETY PORTAL).
• New varieties may only be registered in the Swedish list of plant varieties.

Even rootstocks with an officially recognised description must be registered in the respective list of varieties.

Before you submit your application, you should check that the variety is not already registered or that someone else has submitted an application for registration of the variety. It is sufficient with one application for each variety. It must not be protected by plant breeders' rights or be the object of an application for plant breeders' rights. You can search in the Swedish list of plant varieties and in the EU Database of Registered Plant Varieties (EU PLANT VARIETY PORTAL).

• Swedish list of plant varieties
• EU Database of Registered Plant Varieties (EU PLANT VARIETY PORTAL)

Plant Breeders' right

If you have developed a new plant variety or act as a representative for a plant breeder, you may apply for plant breeders' rights for the variety. You can obtain a plant breeders' right for all kinds of plant species, but only for a new variety.

The plant breeders' right means that you alone have the right to propagate, process, sell, import, export and store the plant variety for the purpose of propagation. If someone else wishes to use the plant variety, they must compensate the infringement to you. However, it is free to use protected varieties for research, trials and development of new varieties.

In Sweden, the Swedish Seed Trade Association, Svenska Utsädesföretagens Förening (SVUF) is responsible for collecting the remuneration.

• The Swedish Seed Trade Association (svuf.se) – in Swedish

The plant breeders' right applies for 25 years. In the case of potatoes, trees and wine, it applies for 30 years. The plant breeders' right can not be renewed or extended.

Require­ments for the variety to be protected

In order for a variety to be protected, it must

• be new
• undergo a technical examination of the variety (DUS examination)
• have an approved unique variety denomination.

You must not have sold or given away seed or other products from the variety for more than one year in Sweden before submitting an application for plant breeders’ rights. For marketing in other countries, the limit is four years, and for vines and trees, it is six years.

Applying for a plant breeders' right

You can apply for a plant breeders' right in our E‑service. The application costs SEK 4,950 per variety. You can pay directly in the E‑service or by invoice. Sub­sequently, you pay an annual fee of SEK 4,950 per variety.

• E‑service: Registering a plant breeders' right

You must attach the annex Assurance of novelty and any power of attorney with your application.

• Form: Assurance of novelty – plant breeders' right
• Form: Power of attorney– addition to list of varieties and plant breeders' right

You should also include the report from the technical examina­tion of the variety, the DUS report. If you do not have a completed report, you should attach a preliminary description of the variety. You can find the form for the preliminary description of the variety on CPVO’s website.

• CPVO’s form for description of a variety (online.plantvarieties.eu)

Applying for a plant breeders' right in the EU

You can also apply for a plant breeders' right that is valid throughout the EU.

• Applying for a plant breeders' right in the EU (cpvo.europa.eu)

The DUS examination takes place at examination offices that are approved by CPVO. You can find information about examination offices and the cost of examination on CPVO’s website.

• CPVO's information on the testing centres for DUS testing
• Fees for application for DUS examination and CPVO plant breeders' right