The network covers Norway within the Northern Europe region. Payslips there are drawn up in NOK, and dealings with a local firm are conducted in Norwegian.
The business centres where the network is looking for a correspondent as a priority are Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger.
The country belongs to the European Economic Area or is covered by the agreement concluded with Switzerland. European social security coordination produces the same effects there as between member states, and the A1 certificate may equally be relied upon.
The answer to this question changes everything: it determines to whom you may entrust your payslips locally, and what you must ask for before signing. It has been verified country by country with the local authorities.
In Norway, running payroll on behalf of third parties is a regulated activity. It is carried on under the title of Autorisert regnskapsfører / autorisert regnskapsselskap, and a registration in force must be produced to you before any engagement.
La Norvège est, avec l'Autriche, l'un des pays du groupe où la prestation comptable pour compte de tiers est soumise à autorisation d'État. La regnskapsførerloven entrée en vigueur le 1er janvier 2023 a remplacé la loi de 1993 : l'autorisation est délivrée à la fois à la personne physique (autorisert regnskapsfører) et au cabinet (regnskapsselskap). Un cabinet qui traite la paie et produit la a-melding sans tenir la comptabilité doit être interrogé sur son statut au regard de cette loi.
Norway is not an EU member state but belongs to the European Economic Area: the EU social security coordination regulations apply, and the A1 certificate has the same effect as in a member state. This is an important nuance, often misunderstood by finance departments that treat Norway as a third country.
The Norwegian krone is the currency of pay, so a euro area employer carries a currency exposure on its wage bill. Norwegian is the language of the administration and of dealings with Skatteetaten, the tax administration; English is widely spoken but does not replace Norwegian in official documents.
Norway stands out for the status of accountancy services. Since the regnskapsførerloven came into force on 1 January 2023, providing such services to third parties requires a state authorisation issued by Finanstilsynet, the financial supervisory authority, covering both the individual, as autorisert regnskapsfører, and the firm. A provider handling payroll without keeping the accounts should be asked to explain its position under that statute.
The heart of the reporting system is the a-melding, a single monthly return transmitting remuneration, withheld tax, employer contributions and data for the social bodies in one filing. The architecture is highly integrated, and the provider must hold the corresponding technical access.
The choice is made beforehand between a subsidiary, a branch registered with Brønnøysundregistrene and registration as a foreign employer. All three routes exist, but they do not carry the same reporting obligations or the same treatment of business expenses.
The entity obtains an organisasjonsnummer, the key to every public service. The employee needs a Norwegian identity number or a D number, without which they cannot be properly identified in filings and will be taxed at the default rate. The employer must also obtain the tax deduction card, the skattekort, which supplies the individual parameters.
Written contracts are mandatory in Norway and their minimum content is set by law. Check whether your activity falls under a collective agreement and, more importantly, whether an extension order makes some of its terms binding: several sectors exposed to foreign labour are covered, with genuine enforcement.
Termination, finally, takes place in a country that protects employment strongly: the prior procedure, the meeting and the written statement of grounds are not formalities.
The network asks 8 documents of any firm wishing to represent it in Norway. The table gives, for each of them, the exact wording in use locally, the body that issues it and the period during which it remains admissible. These are the terms to use in an application to the local administration.
Of these 8 documents, 7 are required of every applicant and 5 have a limited period of validity, the shortest being 3 months.
| Local wording | Issuing body | Validity | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FirmaattestCertificate of registration (company certificate) La firmaattest porte l'organisasjonsnummer à 9 chiffres, l'objet social, le capital, les administrateurs et les personnes disposant de la signature (signatur) et de la procuration (prokura). Elle se commande gratuitement dans Altinn ou dans la boutique en ligne de Brønnøysund. | Brønnøysundregistrene — Foretaksregisteret et Enhetsregisteret | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Organisasjonsnummer og registrering i Merverdiavgiftsregisteret (MVA)Organisation number and VAT register registration La Norvège n'attribue pas de numéro fiscal distinct : c'est l'organisasjonsnummer, suivi du suffixe MVA une fois l'entreprise assujettie, qui tient lieu de numéro de TVA. L'assujettissement est obligatoire au-delà de 50 000 NOK de chiffre d'affaires et se vérifie sur le registre des entités. | Skatteetaten et Brønnøysundregistrene | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Skatteattest (skjema RF-1244)Tax certificate Document unique et central du dossier norvégien. Il atteste l'absence d'arriérés d'impôt sur les sociétés, de TVA et de retenues à la source. Dans les marchés publics norvégiens, il ne doit pas dater de plus de six mois. Il se commande soi-même dans Altinn et se délivre en quelques minutes. | Skatteetaten (administration fiscale norvégienne), délivrée via Altinn | 6 months Required | Official website |
| Skatteattest — del om arbeidsgiveravgift og forskuddstrekkTax certificate — employer's national insurance contributions section Il n'existe pas d'attestation sociale distincte en Norvège : l'arbeidsgiveravgift (cotisation patronale à la sécurité sociale) est déclarée mensuellement dans la a-melding et recouvrée par Skatteetaten. La skatteattest en couvre donc le volet. Ne demandez pas de document au NAV, il n'en délivre pas pour cet usage. | Skatteetaten | 6 months Required | Official website |
| Ansvarsforsikring og sikkerhetsstillelse for regnskapsforetakProfessional liability insurance and financial security for accounting firms Obligatoire pour tout regnskapsforetak autorisé : la loi impose une garantie couvrant la responsabilité liée aux missions. Un cabinet norvégien non autorisé n'y est pas tenu, mais son défaut d'autorisation est en soi un signal à examiner. | Assureur du cabinet ; exigence posée par la regnskapsførerloven et contrôlée par Finanstilsynet | 12 months Required | Official website |
| Autorisasjon som regnskapsfører og som regnskapsselskap (regnskapsførerloven, LOV-2022-06-17-56, i kraft 1. januar 2023)Authorisation as accountant and accounting company La Norvège soumet à autorisation l'exécution pour autrui de la pliktig regnskapsrapportering, c'est-à-dire la production des déclarations légales à partir des données comptables et de paie. Demandez le numéro d'autorisation et vérifiez-le dans le registre public de Finanstilsynet (Virksomhetsregisteret). | Finanstilsynet (Autorité norvégienne de surveillance financière) ; Regnskap Norge est l'association professionnelle | 3 months Required | Official website |
| Kopi av pass for daglig leder og signaturberettigetCopy of passport of the managing director and authorised signatory À recouper avec la firmaattest, qui nomme le daglig leder et précise qui détient la signature. La Norvège tient aussi un registre des bénéficiaires effectifs (register over reelle rettighetshavere) chez Brønnøysund. | Cabinet candidat (obligation de vigilance, hvitvaskingsloven) | No expiry Required | Official website |
| Behandlingsprotokoll etter personvernforordningen artikkel 30 / melding om personvernombudRecord of processing activities / DPO notification La Norvège applique le RGPD par l'accord EEE : aucune déclaration préalable des traitements. Seule la désignation d'un personvernombud, lorsqu'elle est requise, se notifie au Datatilsynet. | Datatilsynet (Autorité norvégienne de protection des données) | No expiry Where applicable | Official website |
The Norwegian file rests on two documents, both free and instantly available: the firmaattest from Brønnøysundregistrene, establishing the company's existence and representation, and the skatteattest issued by Skatteetaten through the Altinn portal. A firm slow to produce them is not comfortable with its own position.
Do not look for a separate social security certificate: the employer contribution, arbeidsgiveravgift, appears in the skatteattest, which therefore covers both strands in a single document.
The main point of vigilance remains the Finanstilsynet authorisation. Its existence is not in doubt; its precise scope as applied to a strictly standalone payroll engagement is worth confirming with the candidate, and if need be with the authority. We prefer to ask the question rather than assume the answer, and we require the firm to state its position in writing.
Le dossier norvégien tient en deux pièces gratuites et instantanées, la firmaattest de Brønnøysund et la skatteattest d'Altinn : un cabinet qui traîne à les produire n'est pas à l'aise. Ne cherchez pas d'attestation sociale séparée, l'arbeidsgiveravgift est incluse dans la skatteattest.
The network opens 3 partner slots in Norway, not one more. No firm is listed there yet: all 3 slots therefore remain open to applications.
No listed partner in Norway has asked to appear in the public directory. The contact details of a firm are passed on to the client only when an assignment is awarded.
Filing an application does not amount to admission: every request is reviewed one by one. There is no minimum turnover requirement, and the partner selected invoices its fees directly.
Submit an application: we review your file, we check the documents required on the ground and we give you an answer, whether it is positive or not.
Norway is one of the few countries where the network requires a public authorisation. We expect the Finanstilsynet authorisation, both as autorisert regnskapsfører for the signing professional and as regnskapsselskap for the firm, together with evidence of the liability insurance and financial guarantee required by the regnskapsførerloven. Membership of Regnskap Norge, the professional association, usefully rounds out the file. The routine documents are the Brønnøysundregistrene firmaattest and the Skatteetaten skatteattest, both recently issued and obtainable within minutes. We also expect a written answer from the candidate on the exact scope of its authorisation where it does not also keep the client's books.
Describe your requirement. No firm is listed in Norway yet: we review the request, then entrust it to a local firm that the network identifies and vets, or to the partner of a neighbouring country covering this territory. Your contact details are passed on to the selected firm alone.
Request a provider in NorwayMobility is rarely arranged one country at a time. The neighbouring profiles follow the same outline.
These countries account for most of the requests received: each one has, in addition to its profile, six pages devoted to a single aspect of local payroll.
The information gathered on this page comes from the registers, administrations and bodies listed below, consulted when the reference base was compiled. It is given for guidance and does not replace the advice of a professional established in Norway.