1975–76 was the first season that Division 1 operated as the second tier of ice hockey in Sweden, this due to the creation of Elitserien (now the SHL) as a new flight of the Swedish hockey system.
Division 1 was divided into four starting groups, based on geography. The top four teams in the group would continue to the playoffs to determine which clubs would participate in the qualifier for promotion to Elitserien. The bottom two teams in each group were relegated to Division 2 for the 1976–77 season.
The 16 teams (top 4 in the standings from each regular season group) that qualified for the playoffs all played two playoff rounds, leaving four surviving teams that continued to the 1976 Elitserien qualifier.
The format for the playoffs was a two-leg home-and-home series. Matches could end in a draw. If each team won one match, the result was decided by a sudden-death overtime, not by total goals over the two matches.
Björklöven, Mora, Örebro and Nacka won in the second round to continue to the 1976 Elitserien qualifier.
First leg: Örebro IK 2–4 BK Bäcken (1–1, 0–2, 1–1, attendance: 5,985)
Second leg: BK Bäcken 2–4 Örebro IK (0–2, 2–2, 0–0, attendance: 4,225)
Örebro IK wins in sudden-death overtime
Nacka SK defeats HV 71
First leg: HV 71 1–2 Nacka SK (1–1, 0–0, 0–1, attendance: 4,800)
Second leg: Nacka SK 3–2 HV 71 (1–0, 0–0, 2–2, attendance: 840)
Elitserien qualifier
The four playoff winners played a double-round robin tournament, with the top two teams being promoted to Elitserien for the 1976–77 season, replacing the two teams with the poorest records from the 1975–76 Elitserien.