Lawyer
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.
The application can be submitted to tthe Supervisory Authority for Legal Services by the professional practitioner or by the employer.
If the applicant has earned their professional qualification in a country outside of the EEA or Switzerland, the application for authorization must be submitted by a principal/employer in Norway.
Please submit your application with attachments to TThe Supervisory Authority for Legal Services at post@tilsynet.no.
Establishment:
If you wish to establish yourself or work permanently in Norway within your profession, you must apply for recognition from the competent recognition authority before you can practice this profession in Norway.
Persons with a lawyer's license from another EEA-state or Switzerland can established themselves in Norway in two ways:
- Start as an EEA-lawyer in Norway and practice law (this also applies to Swiss lawyers)
- Apply for a Norwegian lawyer's license based on equivalent rights in another EEA-state or Switzerland.
Temporary provision of services:
You can work temporarily in this profession if you are already legally established in an EEA country or Switzerland and can practice the same profession in that country. You do not need to apply for recognition in order to work temporarily in this profession in Norway.
Guest lawyer
Foreign lawyers established in another state may provide legal assistance in Norway on an occasional basis.
A foreign lawyer who provides legal assistance in Norway as a "guest lawyer" shall use his or her professional title in the language or one of the languages from the country where the person holds the license.
Norwegian authorities and courts of law may require documentation verifying that the person in question is entitled to practice as a lawyer in a foreign state. When such documentation has been required, the person in question is not entitled to provide legal assistance in Norway before satisfactory documentation has been presented, unless the relevant authority or court of law gives its consent.
Common requirements for working as a lawyer in Norway:
- Confirmation that a general insurance company furnishes security in the amount of NOK 5 million to compensate for losses.
- Receipt for fees paid to the Supervisory Authority for Legal Services and the Disciplinary and Complaints Board for Lawyers.
- Declaration from an authorised/registered accountant confirming that he/she accepts the assignment as auditor for your lawyer practice.
- The Supervisory Authority may, upon request, exempt an employed lawyer from the responsibility for accounting, cf. Section 29 of the Regulation. Exemption from this obligation is not granted to those who are owners or board members in the law firm, or who are appointed as the firm's anti-money laundering officer. Exemption is also not granted to lawyer handling client funds on behalf of the firm. If you are granted exemption, you will also be exempt from the requirement to submit a self-declaration (egenerklæringsskjema) to the Supervisory Authority for Legal Services, cf. the section 36 of the Regulation, fourth paragraph.
- The legal practive must be connected to an enterprise in Norway. For 'lawyer groups' established in an EEA-state or Switzerland and intending to practice law in Norway from a branch or office, special rules on organization and company name apply. See Advokatloven (the 'Lawyers' Act'), chapter 7 and Advokatforskriften (the 'Lawyers' Regulation'), chapter 3, for further rules on the organization of legal practice.
Additional documentation that needs to be submitted with the application:
A citizen of an EEA-state, Switzerland or a third country-national who holds a residence permit in accordance with directive 2004/38/EC (Citizens' Rights Directive) and holds the lawyer's license in another EEA-state or in Switzerland are, if certain conditions are fulfilled, eligible to obtain the Norwegian practicing certificate.
The right to practice shall not be revoked, suspended or withdrawn in your home state.
Firstly, you must prove that you hold an equivalent/corresponding right in your member state of domicile.
To document this, the following documentation must be submitted:
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A copy of the lawyer's license/practicing certificate issued by the competent authority in your home state. Copies must be verified.
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A declaration from competent authority in your home state, confirming that you have a license to practice, and that there are no pending charges against you. (Normally we receive a declaration from the applicants Bar Association in original/as verified copy translated into English or in Norwegian by an authorized translator.) This declaration should not be older than three months.
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Verified copy of passport or other documentation which confirms that you are a citizen of an EU/EEA state or Switzerland. If you reside in Norway based on the Citizens' Rights Directive, you must provide documentation accordingly.
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Extended ordinary police certificate (Utvidet ordinær politiattest - criminal record) issued by the Norwegian Police. The Supervisory Authority must receive the certificate in original format or forwarded via one of the digital postal systems - either "Altinn", "Digipost" or "e-boks". The certification cannot be older than three months.
In addition, you must complete either one of the following options:
- Passed an aptitude test ("egnethetsprøven"). See information about the aptitude test above.
Before taking the test, you must obtain a declaration from the Supervisory Authority stating that you meet the formal requirements to take the test. To receive this declaration, you will need to submit documentation proving that you hold a valid lawyer's license from an EU/EEA state. - You must provide documentation stating that you have practiced as a registered EU/EEA lawyer or as a Swiss lawyer in Norway for at least three years and that you have primarily practiced Norwegian law. An exception to this requirement can be made if the applicant has otherwise acquired sufficient knowledge of Norwegian law. For further information, please contact the Supervisory Authority.
Register as an EU/EEA-lawyer or Swiss lawyer
You can register as an EU/EEA or Swizz lawyer in Norway. This will allow you to practice law in Norway, but you must use the professional title attained in your member state of domicile.
Working as an EU/EEA-lawyer for at least three years gives ground for obtaining the Norwegian practicing license, under the condition that you have mainly practiced Norwegian Law.
The right to practice shall not be revoked, suspended or withdrawn in your home state.
To be registered we do require the following documentation:
Processing the registration notice requires that you also register your legal practice. The Supervisory Authority will process such registrations in two steps.
To register as an EEA-lawyer, this form (oppstart som EØS-advokat) must be filled and submitted along with the required documentation. When the Supervisory Authority finds that the requirements are fulfilled you will be asked to provide information about employment relationships, as well as security for any professional misconduct, pay the annual contribution to the Supervisory Authority and provide a written confirmation from an auditor for acceptance of its appointment as auditor (alternatively apply for an exception from this duty if you are an employee).
Official translations must accompany any document in which the original language is not English or a Scandinavian language. We only accept translations from state-authorized translators.
Written notice must be submitted per e-mail to post@tilsynet.no. Alternatively, the applications along with the necessary documentation can be submitted by mail.
In order to be registered as an EEA-lawyer or Switzerland, we ask you to provide the following documentation for the first part of the registration process:
- A copy of the lawyer's license/practicing certificate issued by the competent authority in your home state. Copies must be verified.
- A declaration from competent authority in your home state, confirming that you have a license to practice, and that there are no pending charges against you. (Normally we receive a declaration from the applicants Bar Association in original/as verified copy translated into English or in Norwegian by an authorized translator.) This declaration should not be older than three months.
- Verified copy of passport issued by a member state or other documentation which shows Membership of state.
- Extended ordinary police certificate (Utvidet ordinær politiattest - criminal record) issued by the Norwegian Police. The Supervisory Authority must receive the certificate in original format or forwarded via one of the digital postal systems - either "Altinn", "Digipost" or "e-boks". The certification cannot be older than three months. This declaration can also be obtained from your home state if you have stayed in Norway for a shorter period of time.
Comments
- All copies submitted must be certified by a lawyer, court of law or a court-like body. Any documentation that was not issued in English, Danish or Swedish must be translated by a government authorised translator.
- If you hold a professional title from an EEA country, you can register as an EEA lawyer in Norway, but you have to use your title from your home country. You are not entitled to use the Norwegian title Advokat.
Language requirements:
Norwegian language skills are not a requirement for recognition of the professional qualification. However, it is expected that the professional has the language skills in Norwegian necessary to practice the regulated profession in Norway.
The Supervisory Authority can require that the applicant possesses the language skills necessary to practice the legal profession, cf. the Act relating to the recognition of professional qualifications section 15.
Criteria/conditions for recognition:
The statutory qualification requirements related to the practice of the profession are stipulated in Advokatloven (the 'Lawyers' Act').
The statutory requirements for being entitled to recognition of professional qualification from abroad are stipulated in the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications (Professional Qualifications Act) and the Regulation on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications (Professional Qualifications Regulation).
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:
Annual contribution to the The Supervisory Authority for Legal Services and Disciplinary and Complaints Board for Lawyers (Advokatnemnda) (bidrag): 7350 NOK
Aptitude test: 12 000 NOK
When a notification of the commencement of activities is received by the Supervisory Council, the professional will receive information about what needs to be arranged before the activities can start. A payment slip for fees to the Supervisory Council and the Disciplinary Committee will be sent out at the same time.
The applicant will be registered as a practicing lawyer once the payment has been registered, requirements for security has been met, and it has been clarified whether the lawyer should be subject to auditing requirements or if an application for exemption from the auditing requirement has been received and accepted by the Supervisory Council.
Right of appeal:
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the decision, you may appeal in writing, pursuant to Chapter VI of the Public Administration Act. If your application is processed in accordance with the Professional Qualifications Act, the right of appeal also applies if the competent authority has exceeded the case processing deadlines (see Case processing deadlines above).
Competent authority
The Supervisory Authority for Legal Services
P.O. Box 720 Sentrum,
NO-0106 Oslo
E-mail: post@tilsynet.no
Phone: (+47) 22 00 75 00
Visiting address: Rådhusgt. 23, third floor, 0158 Oslo