This article is part of our Doing Business in Norway guide.

The Legal Framework

Norway is not an EU member, but participates in the European Economic Area (EEA). Its procurement regime is therefore largely aligned with the EU procurement directives, implemented through the Act on Public Procurement and regulations covering public procurements, utilities, defence and security contracts, and concessions.

The substantive content of the Norwegian procurement regime will be familiar to EU suppliers, but Norwegian law also includes certain national rules, terminology and procedural features. In particular, procurements below the EU/EEA thresholds are subject to specific Norwegian procedural rules. These rules are, as a main rule, more flexible than the procedures that apply above the EU/EEA thresholds.

Buyers and Opportunities

The main public buyers are state entities, county authorities (fylkeskommuner), municipalities (kommuner), and state-owned enterprises and utilities. They procure goods, services and works contracts in sectors such as defence, ICT, healthcare, transport, construction, infrastructure, education, waste management, energy and welfare technology.

Doffin (doffin.no) is Norway’s national procurement portal. Notices above the relevant publication thresholds must be published there, while procurements above the EU/EEA thresholds are also published on TED. Suppliers should monitor relevant CPV codes and keywords, framework-agreement renewal cycles, Prior Information Notices and market dialogues. Once a competition is published, the Q&A function should be used early to clarify unclear tender documents.

Thresholds and Procedures

The applicable procedure depends mainly on the contract type and estimated value. With effect from 1 July 2026, the threshold for application of the Act was increased from NOK 100,000 to NOK 500,000 excluding VAT. Contracts below this threshold fall outside the Act, while contracts above it must comply with the general procurement principles and the applicable regulations.

For procurements above the national threshold but below the EU/EEA thresholds, the principal national procedure is the “tilbudskonkurranse”. Under this procedure, the contracting authority may conduct clarification, dialogue or negotiations after tenders have been submitted. Foreign suppliers should therefore not necessarily assume that such competitions operate like an EU open procedure.

Qualification and Award

Qualification requirements normally concern economic and financial capacity, technical and professional capacity, and quality or environmental management systems. Foreign suppliers should prepare documentation of tax compliance, financial standing, comparable project references, key personnel and relevant certifications. Norwegian or Nordic references are not required where the supplier can demonstrate that foreign references are comparable in relevant respects, such as scope, value and complexity. Equivalent documentation may generally replace specified certifications, but equivalence must be substantiated.

Compliant tenders are evaluated against the published award criteria to identify the most economically advantageous tender, based on price, cost or the best price-quality ratio. Common criteria include quality, methodology, price or lifecycle cost, and sustainability.

From 1 January 2024, climate and environmental criteria must generally be given a weighting of at least 30%, unless environmental requirements are instead incorporated into specifications and requirements, were demonstrably more effective. Competitive submissions should explain in concrete, contract-specific and binding terms how environmental requirements will be met.

Employment, HSE and Supply Chains

Norwegian public contracts commonly include requirements concerning wages and working conditions, apprenticeship schemes, subcontractor governance and HSE cards. Suppliers may need to ensure that employees and subcontractors receive applicable wages, allowances and pension contributions. For certain service and works contracts, suppliers must be affiliated with an apprenticeship scheme and ensure that apprentices carry out part of the contract work. This requirement applies only where the relevant thresholds for contract value and duration are met, and where the contract concerns a sector in which apprenticeship schemes are applicable.

Subcontractors are often subject to disclosure requirements, tier restrictions and chain-liability rules. In construction, cleaning and certain other sectors, workers must hold valid HSE cards. Obtaining these cards requires prior registration and a Norwegian organisation number. Foreign suppliers should assign responsibility for employment standards, HSE and supply-chain compliance before tendering.

Language and Access to Documents

Tender documents are usually in Norwegian, and bids and annexes may also be required to be submitted in Norwegian. Translation should therefore be planned as a separate workstream, with the final submission checked by a Norwegian-speaking reviewer for terminology, nuance and context. Norway also has strong transparency rules. Successful and unsuccessful tenders may be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act. Suppliers should be ready to provide a redacted version in which trade secrets, sensitive technical information and commercially sensitive pricing are specifically identified and the need for confidentiality is justified.

Exclusion, Standstill and Remedies

A supplier may be rejected for failing to satisfy the qualification requirements or excluded on grounds such as relevant criminal convictions, insolvency, material tax arrears, professional misconduct or serious failures under previous contracts. A tender may be rejected if it is non-binding or contains material deviations, or because of an abnormally low price or reservations concerning fundamental contract terms. Where available, a supplier may avoid exclusion by documenting adequate self-cleaning measures.

For contracts above the EU/EEA thresholds, a standstill period of at least ten days normally follows the award notice. An unsuccessful supplier may complain to KOFA, which generally issues advisory opinions but makes binding decisions in cases concerning unlawful direct awards. Disputes may also be brought before the ordinary courts. An unlawful direct award may result in the contract being declared ineffective and an administrative fine of up to 15% of its value.

Next Steps

Brækhus assists foreign companies with pre-qualification strategy, tender preparation, compliance following contract award, complaints before KOFA and court proceedings.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss how these requirements may affect a planned or ongoing procurement process.

Last updated: 05 October 2026