[4] The seal (Swedish sigill), used extensively in the Middle Ages, was instrumental in spreading heraldry to churches, local governments, and other institutions, and was the forerunner of the coat of arms in medieval Sweden.

[5] Heraldry in Sweden today is used extensively by corporations and government offices; the rights of these private entities and of official bodies are upheld by Swedish law.

[6] In order to become legally registered and protected under Swedish law, an official coat of arms must be registered with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV), and is subject to approval by the National Herald (Statsheraldiker) and the bureaucratic Heraldic Board of the National Archives of Sweden.

Additional animals that frequently appear in Swedish heraldry include griffins and (especially in the northern provinces) reindeer.

Examples include the use of Swedish blå and grön for blue and green, as compared to the French-derived azure and vert used in English blazon.

[10] Ermine likewise appears in the lining of the mantling over the greater national coat of arms, but is otherwise virtually unknown in Swedish heraldry.c Vair is also rare in Scandinavian heraldry, and other furs are unknown.d In the Middle Ages, heraldic arms in Sweden were granted by the Royal Council (kungliga kansliet), but this role was turned over to the College of Antiquities (antikvitetskollegiet) in 1660.

The National Archives Heraldry Board, established under Swedish statute 2007:1179,[14] is the highest heraldic body in Sweden.

The result in 1767 was a compromise in that granted the nobility the exclusive right to barred or open helmets, coronets, and supporters, while "the Town law of 1730 stated that burgher arms are accepted since they are not forbidden.

[21] Untitled nobility (others granted noble status by letters patent) also bore a barred helm and a coronet showing two pearls between three leaves.

[2] The earliest known achievements of heraldry in Sweden were the noble arms of two brothers, Sigtrygg and Lars Bengtsson, of the Boberg family, dating to 1219.

Any representation consisting of three crowns ordered two above one is considered to be the lesser coat of arms, and its usage is therefore restricted by Swedish Law, Act 1970:498.

[29][32] The earliest credible attribution of the three crowns is to Magnus Eriksson, who reigned over Norway and Sweden, and in 1330s, bought Scania from Denmark.

[33][34] Vladimir Sagerlund, heraldic artist at the National Archives since 1994, was critical of the decision, saying, "once upon a time coats of arms containing lions without genitalia were given to those who betrayed the Crown.

[36] The Nordic Battle Group's coat of arms was originally designed to incorporate heraldic elements and colours from all member nations, including "a lion that did not look Finnish, Norwegian, Estonian or Swedish.

By royal decree on 18 January 1884, King Oscar II granted all provinces the rights to the rank of duchy and to display their arms with a ducal coronet.

Gotland, as a free republic loosely associated with the Swedish crown, had already borne a ram with a banner (Agnus Dei) as a well-known city seal by 1280.

According to the Swedish Heraldry Society, the reindeer came to represent all lands west of the Gulf of Bothnia at that time, and Västerbotten's coat of arms received its stars in the 1590s.

According to the Swedish Heraldry Society, the arms were created for Gustav Vasa's funeral, and the choice of the griffin as charge may have been influenced by the name of Gripsholm (once home of Bo Jonsson Grip).

The Skåne coat of arms was created for the funeral of Charles X Gustav of Sweden in 1660,[49] and it is typically represented with a ducal coronet.

Blazon: Or, a Griffin's head erased Gules, crowned and langued Azure, when it should be armed.p Lappland itself was never considered a duchy, but was granted the right to use a ducal coronet, together with all the provinces, in 1884.

[51] Blazon: Argent, a savage statant gules, crowned and clothed with birch wreaths vert, maintaining in the right hand – and depending over the shoulder – a club Or.q

[58] The original city seal showed an eagle with three roundels placed one on each wing and the tail, and a letter "A" between two stars.

[59] Blazon: Argent, an eagle sable, beaked langued and armed gules, each wing charged with a mullet of six points Or.

[12][60] Malmö's City Archives still preserve the letter written April 23, 1437 by Eric, granting his own griffin head arms to the city.r[60] Blazon: Argent, a griffin head [erased] gules crowned Or; the same upon the helmet, issuing from the crown a bundle of ostrich feathers argent and gules.

[65] Blazon: Azure, a crowned lion passant gardant Or, fimbriated sable and langued and armed gules.

This device, displaying a hydrocarbon molecule, alludes to the area's petrochemical industry, and is also an example of distinctly modern arms.

The arms, registered with the PRV in 1977, display: Argent, a hydrocarbon molecule of three pellets conjoined with six bezants gules, over a base wavy azure.

[72] Krokom Municipality was formed in 1974 and bears arms granted in 1977, featuring a ram (gumsen) based on a 6000-year-old rock carving at Glösabäcken.

Blazon: Argent, a chevron gemel wavy inverted and diminished azure, beneath a ram in the manner of a rock carving gules.

Raneke also designed the arms of Jackelén's predecessor, Christina Odenberg, who was the first woman to be a bishop in the Church of Sweden.