If you have a foreign education or professional qualification and wish to practice your profession in Norway, you generally need approval or authorisation. You will find information about documentation requirements, the application process and regulations here. The competent authority will assess whether you meet the requirements to practice the profession and use the professional title in Norway. If you intend to establish in Norway and work permanently in your chosen profession, the rules below apply to you. However, if you wish to work in Norway for shorter periods of time within your chosen profession, the rules for temporary provision of services apply.
If you do not already have a Norwegian national ID-number, you will need to register a user account for the Altinn services. Please access the registration procedure here.
Start serviceAbout this form
The form should only be used by applicants who do not have a Norwegian ID (birth number or D- number). The application must be sent by the person who has a professional qualification as a statutory auditor from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. You must have approval from the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway before you can undertake audit engagements in Norway. It is not a legal requirement to have the professional title in order to conduct audit work in an audit firm.
Please use application link above to submit your application with attachments to the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway.
If you have a Norwegian national ID-number, please use the Altinn form KRT-1019.
Establishment:
If you wish to establish or work for an extended period in Norway within your profession, you must apply for approval/authorization from the responsible approval authority before practicing this profession in Norway.
Temporary/occasional provision of service:
You can work temporarily in this profession if you are already legally established in an EEA country or Switzerland and are allowed to practice the same profession in that country. To work temporarily in this profession in Norway, you must submit a prior notification to the approval authority.
- Documentation of approval/license as a statutory auditor from the home country. The documentation must be valid on the date of application. The approval shall be registered in a public register, the address of this register should be given in the application.
- Copy of original diploma, including a transcript of grades, showing the subjects and number of years of education.
- If relevant, the educational documentation translated into Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, or English.
- Employer’s confirmation of at least three years of practical training, of which at least two years of audit practice.
- If applicable, a transcript of grades for a passed aptitude test.
- Copy of transcript of police records or other equivalent documentation of good repute.
- Printing of latest tax return or other form of documentation of your financial situation.
Comments
Documents that are not in English, Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish must be translated into English or Norwegian.
The Statutory Audit Directive applies in all EU/EEA states and stipulates conditions for recognition of auditors. The Professional Qualifications Act must be seen in conjunction with the Statutory Audit Directive and the Act on auditing and auditors (Auditors Act). Applicants who are authorised auditors in another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, can be granted recognition in Norway subject to certain conditions.
Aptitude test
The legal part of the education required in Norway will normally differ significantly from the foreign qualification within Norwegian rules on tax law and company law. In practice, this means that applicants with approval as auditor from another EU/EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom will normally be required to take an aptitude test. If the applicant has auditing experience from Norwegian enterprises, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway will consider whether the applicant’s work experience can compensate partly or completely for the deficiencies in the foreign professional qualification. In this consideration, importance will be attached to the scope of the practice as well as to what extent it includes legal assessments pursuant to the Norwegian regulatory framework (typically tax and company law).
How to take the aptitude test
The aptitude test consists of exams in tax law and company law in accordance with the study program description for master’s degree programs in auditing and accounting (MRR) adopted by the individual educational institution. The grade C or better is required in all the exams in order to pass the aptitude test. Applicants have to register for the exams themselves. Students have to pay an exam fee. The courses offered and the exam fee varies between institutions.
Educational institutions that offer Master's degree programs in accounting and auditing (subject to changes): the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), BI Norwegian Business School (BI), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the University of Stavanger (UiS), the Nord University, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), OsloMet, University of Stavanger (UiS) and the University of Agder (UiA).
Language requirements:
No. No language skills are required to obtain approval. It is assumed that the professional has the language skills in Norwegian that are necessary to practice the legally regulated profession in Norway.
Criteria/conditions for recognition:
If you acquired your professional qualifications in an EEA country, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, you may have the right to have your application processed in accordance with the Act on auditing and auditors (Auditors Act) of 20 November 2020 No. 128, cf. Professional Qualifications Act and Regulations on the approval of professional qualifications.
The Statutory Audit Directive (Directive 2006/43/EC) applies in all EU/EEA states and stipulates conditions for recognition of auditors. The Professional Qualifications rules must be seen in conjunction with the Statutory Audit Directive. Applicants who are statutory auditors in another EU/EEA state. Switzerland or the United Kingdom can be granted recognition in Norway subject to certain conditions.
Case processing deadlines:
The competent authority must acknowledge receipt of your application within one month of receiving it and inform you of any missing or incomplete documentation.
Following the submission of a complete application, the competent authority should complete processing your application within three months.
Fees:
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway does not charge a fee for processing applications for recognition.
The examination fee varies between the different schools or campuses.
Right of appeal:
You have the right to appeal against the recognition authority’s decision. The decision can be appealed pursuant to the provisions of the Norwegian Administration Act Chapter VI. The right of appeal also applies if the competent authority has exceeded the case processing deadline (see Case processing deadlines above).
Competent authority
The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway
P.O. Box 1187 Sentrum,
NO-0107 Oslo
E-mail: post@finanstilsynet.no
Phone: (+47) 22 93 98 00
Office address: Revierstredet 3, 0151 Oslo
