Dissemination authorisation

Before disseminating surveys, photographs and other material depicting conditions on or under the seabed within Swedish territory, you need to apply for a dissemination permit from the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA). The purpose is to protect information that is important for Sweden’s total defence.

If you have collected data, photographed or filmed information depicting conditions on or under the seabed that you want to share, publish or sell, you need to apply for dissemination authorisation. The authorisation requirement also applies to compilations of geographical information relating to the seabed.

If your material contains photographs, videos or other material depicting Sweden's land areas from the air, you need to apply for a dissemination permit from the Swedish Land Survey, Lantmäteriet.

Applying for a dissemination permit is free of charge

Applying for a dissemination permit

The application for a dissemination permit is done via the form below. When you submit the form, it is registered as an incoming document to SMA by our registry. An e-mail is then sent out with the case number for your case and information on how to submit the material to be reviewed. The e-mail is sent out manually during office hours. Please double-check that you have entered a correct e-mail address before submitting your application.

*If the e-mail is delayed, check your spam before contacting SMA.

Liability

Anyone who intentionally or negligently disseminates a compilation of geographical information without the required authorisation can be sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of one year, unless the offence is subject to the same or more severe penalty under the Penal Code.

The following applies to films and photographs taken from the air by drone

If you have photographed or filmed with a drone over the sea and you can see the seabed, the image requires authorisation from the Swedish Maritime Administration. However, if you only see the surface of the water, the image does not require authorisation.

You can retouch your image so that the seabed is not highlighted, in which case no authorisation is required. If you have taken an image or film sequence completely without geographical references (no land surface or geotags in the metadata), the image is also not subject to authorisation.