Application for a lawyer's licence and authorisation as a trainee lawyer

The application with attachments must be sent to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice, and it is the applicant who must submit an application for a licence to practise as a lawyer. The application must be sent to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice by post to the following address:  

Supervisory Council for Legal Practice
P.O. Box 720 Sentrum
0106 OSLO
An application can only be submitted when all the conditions for obtaining a lawyer's licence are met, including the requirement for practical training. In practice, the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice will process such an application in two stages. To start the application process, the form "Application for a lawyer's licence" must be completed and submitted to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice with the requested documentation. When the Supervisory Council has assessed and concluded that the basic conditions for obtaining a lawyer's licence in section 4, first paragraph, are met, the applicant will be asked to submit further information about the employer and the employment relationship, as well as clarify questions related to the provision of security and accounting and auditing obligations. In addition, the applicant must pay contributions to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice and the Disciplinary Board for Lawyers.. More information about what such an application must contain and how this application process is structured can be found here. 

The following documentation must be attached to the application:

Application for a lawyer's license: 

• Diploma, Master of Laws or law degree - Sent as a link via the Diploma Registry with a code to post@tilsynet.no. If necessary, diplomas must be sent by post, and be certified "true copy" by a practising lawyer, court or court-like body, with a place, date and signature (full name). If you have previously been registered in the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice's register, it is not necessary to resubmit your diploma.
• Extended ordinary police certificate of conduct pursuant to Section 40 and Section 41 no. 2 of the Police Records Act - If the certificate has been received in Digipost, it must be forwarded via Digipost to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice. If it has been received in e-Boks or Altinn, it must be sent through e-Boks or Altinn to post@tilsynet.no. If the certificate has been received by post, it must be sent to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice in original. The police certificate must not be older than one month at the time of application. A police certificate of conduct can be forwarded afterwards. Information on how to apply for a police certificate of conduct can be found on the police's website.
• Certificates from employers for the employment relationships relied upon to meet the requirement of two years' practice (the practice requirement), cf. Section 4 first paragraph (b) of the Lawyers' Act. The certificate must state the percentage of full-time employment, the nature and duration of the work, as well as whether there has or has not been absence from work for more than one month, such as leave of absence or sick leave. See more information about the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice's guidelines for the practice requirement below.
• Applicants who invoke practice as an associate must also submit documentation of litigation experience, cf. Section 2, second paragraph, of the Regulations for Lawyers. See more information about documentation requirements below. 
• Diploma from the lawyers' course

In cases where the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice receives an incomplete application or attachment that is not in line with the above requirements, the applicant will be asked to rectify the deficiencies. The processing of the application will be put on hold until the matter has been settled.

Please note that if incorrect information or incomplete information is provided in the application or its appendices, this may have an impact on the assessment of the application.

Special documentation - the procedural requirement for associates

Applicants who invoke the practice of an associate must submit court records and judgments in the cases he/she has litigated to the fulfilment of the procedural requirement. The procedural documentation must be submitted in its entirety, but must be anonymised by redacting names and other individualising characteristics. The case number and the names of the counsel must always be stated. If necessary, we will be able to obtain a non-anonymized version. If a case has been transferred to settlement negotiations, and the court records do not state the time when this happened, you must obtain a separate confirmation from the court stating the time.

As documentation of completed court mediation, the court mediation protocol and any ruling in the case must be attached to the application. 

Shared cases can be approved after a specific assessment of the scope and complexity of the case, and the tasks performed by the associate. A separate account must be submitted from the principal of which parts of the hearing the representative has carried out (introductory lecture, witness examination and procedure), and how long each part lasted.

Criminal cases will not be approved if the applicant has acted as a defence counsel pursuant to the alternative "other suitable person" in Section 95, second paragraph, second sentence of the Criminal Procedure Act. If it does not appear from the court record and judgment that the case has been conducted by the associate on behalf of his or her principal (lawyer v/associate), a copy of the court's appointment must be attached to the application. In the event that there is no appointment from the court because the assignment has been carried out as a privately retained defence counsel, confirmation must be obtained from the judge in the case that the principal has acted as defence counsel and that the associate has acted on their behalf.

If you invoke a court case examination pursuant to Section 3 of the Lawyers Regulations, the course organiser must submit documentation that the examination has been completed and passed. A court case examination arranged by the Centre for Legal Education (JUS) pursuant to section 3 first paragraph will be documented by JUS, and it is sufficient that you refer to the date on which you completed and passed the court case examination.

The conditions in Section 4, second paragraph, of the Lawyers' Act

When the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice has assessed the information that appears in the application form with associated documentation, and concluded that the conditions in section 4, first paragraph, are met, you will be contacted in writing and asked to provide further information about the employer and the employment relationship. At the same time, you will be asked to arrange security pursuant to Section 5 of the Lawyers' Act. However, the duty to provide security does not apply to lawyers who are employed by the state or municipalities and who only carry out assignments for their employer, cf. Section 73, third paragraph, of the Regulations for Lawyers. Furthermore, you must state whether you will be responsible for the implementation of the accounting and auditing obligation pursuant to Section 42, second paragraph, of the Act, or submit an application for exemption from this responsibility pursuant to Section 29 of the Regulations for Lawyers. You will also receive an invoice for payment of contributions pursuant to section 60 of the Act. Once these matters have been clarified and the contribution has been paid, the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice will grant the application. More information about this part of the application process 

Application for authorisation of an associate:

• Diploma, Master of Laws or law degree - Sent as a link via the Diploma Registry with a code to post@tilsynet.no. If necessary, diplomas must be sent by post, and be certified "true copy" by the practising lawyer, court or court-like body, with the place, date and signature (full name). If the person in question has previously been registered in the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice's register, it is not necessary to resubmit the diploma.
• Extended ordinary police certificate pursuant to Sections 40 and 41 no. 2 of the Police Records Act. If the police certificate has been received in Digipost, it must be forwarded via Digipost to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice. If it has been received in e-Boks or Altinn, it must be sent through e-Boks or Altinn to post@tilsynet.no. If the certificate has been received by post, it must be sent to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice in the original. The police certificate must not be older than one month at the time of application.

If the submitted application for authorisation is valid in the future, the person in question will have to expect to be asked to submit an updated police certificate closer to the start time.
A police certificate of conduct can be forwarded afterwards. Information on how to apply for a police certificate of conduct can be found on the police's website.

Sections 4 and 11 of the Act relating to Lawyers and Others Who Provide Legal Assistance (the Lawyers Act)

Regulations relating to lawyers and others who provide legal assistance (the Regulations for Lawyers)

In addition to processing applications for lawyers' licences and authorisation as associates, the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice also processes applications for lawyers' licences, authorisation as associates and authorisation to use the title of lawyer from persons from other EEA states, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, in accordance with the EEA Agreement and other international agreements. The Supervisory Council for Legal Practice also administers applications for permission to practise law on the basis of a foreign lawyer's licence on a permanent basis in Norway. 

Criteria/conditions:

ATo apply for a lawyer's license and authorisation as an associate, a law degree or a master's degree in law is required. The Supervisory Council for Legal Practice may grant authorisation as an associate to a person with a foreign legal education if the person in question is permitted to use the title of lawyer, cf. Section 62 of the Regulations on Lawyers. 

Additional requirements for law firms:

Legal activities may only be organised in accordance with Sections 20 to 25 of the Lawyers' Act.

Only persons who exercise a substantial part of their professional activity in a law firm may be owners of the law firm, see Section 21, second paragraph, of the Lawyers Act. A holding company may nevertheless own shares in a law firm if the holding company is owned by persons who carry out a substantial part of their professional activity in the owned enterprise, and the holding company complies with the conditions set out in Sections 20 to 22.

Owners, board members, the general manager and others who participate in the management of a law firm must be of good repute and not considered unfit as a result of criminal offences, lack of financial control, serious or repeated breaches of duties provided pursuant to law or other similar serious circumstances, see Section 22, first paragraph, of the Lawyers' Act. Law firms shall, at the request of the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice, document that persons as mentioned above without a lawyer's licence meet the requirements of good conduct and not be considered unsuitable. More information about requirements for owners and management in law firms can be found here.

The Lawyers Act and its regulations entered into force on 1 January 2025, with the exception of certain rules that only apply to in-house lawyers in sections 24, 41, third paragraph, and 42, second paragraph, second sentence. Transitional provisions have been laid down for in-house lawyers in Section 73, thirteenth paragraph, of the Lawyers' Act and Section 73, fourth paragraph, of the Regulations for Lawyers, which means that the previous regulations in Section 233, first paragraph, of the Courts of Justice Act apply until the above-mentioned provisions for in-house lawyers enter into force on 1 January 2028.

Special rules apply to the right to practise law in Norway from companies with their head office in another state, see Sections 9 and 10 of the Regulations for Lawyers.

Remarks:

Separate rules apply to people with education/permits from abroad.
This applies to separate requirements for changes and cessation of legal practice. More information can be found on the website of the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice 

The Supervisory Council for Legal Practice otherwise assumes that lawyers familiarise themselves with the applicable rules for legal practice and comply with these. We refer here in particular to:
"    The Lawyers' Act 
"    The Lawyers' Regulations 
"    The Money Laundering Act

Case processing deadlines :

Applications for a lawyer's licence, authorisation as an associate and for the right to practise law on the basis of a foreign lawyer's licence must be processed within one month, unless there are special circumstances, or special investigations or assessments are required to determine whether the conditions are met. However, the application must be processed within four months at the latest.

If an application for a Norwegian lawyer's licence with a foreign lawyer's licence has not been processed within four months, this can be appealed.

Fees:

No fee for application or case processing.

All lawyers are obliged to pay an annual contribution to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice and the Disciplinary Board for Lawyers. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security determines the annual contribution to the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice on the basis of a proposal from the Board of the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice and the annual contribution to the Disciplinary Board for Lawyers on the basis of a proposal from the Disciplinary Board for Lawyers. The contribution amount amounts to NOK 8,700 in March 2026.

Fee for aptitude test (for foreign lawyers who want to apply for a Norwegian lawyer's license and people who apply for approval to use the title of lawyer on the basis of foreign legal education) as of March 2026: NOK 12,000.

Right of appeal:

If the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice has rejected an application, the decision may be appealed to the Disciplinary Board for Lawyers., see Section 54, second paragraph, of the Lawyers' Act.  The administrative procedure rules of the Public Administration Act generally apply to the activities of the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice, unless separate procedural rules have been laid down where it is relevant to deviate from or supplement the procedural rules in the Lawyers Act or in the Regulations.