Buying goods and services in Norway

If you want to take out a contract for a telephone, Internet or electricity in Norway, most suppliers will require you to have a Norwegian national identity number. Contact the suppliers of the services you want to find out about their procedures and what they can offer for customers who are not registered in the National Registry in Norway.

Mobile phone and broadband contracts

A pay-as-you-go card for a mobile phone is one alternative to a contract for people who do not have Norwegian national identity numbers. Buying a pay-as-you-go card does not require a Norwegian national identity number or registration in the National Registry, and you pay in advance for your mobile phone use. You can buy pay-as-you-go cards on the websites of mobile phone companies or in kiosks and petrol stations.

Since January 2020 Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) has been financed through the National Budget, so you no longer pay for a licence to watch NRK.

If you are an electricity consumer in Norway, you may freely choose both electricity supplier and type of agreement for electricity where you live. You may also enter into an agreement for network rental for electricity to be supplied to your housing. You cannot choose your network operator, so you must use the operator that is connected to your address. 

You do not need to be registered in the National Registry in Norway to take out electricity and network contracts. If you are not registered in the National Registry, the electricity supplier may require that you present a salary slip or other documentation to prove that you have an income.

Contact the electricity supplier that you want to use when you want to arrange an electricity contract. The electricity supplier will then contact the network operator on your behalf.

If you move from your house or flat, it is important to terminate your contracts so that you do not end up paying for electricity and network rental that later residents use. You can terminate your network rental and electricity agreements by notifying the network operator. The agreements must be terminated 14 days before you move, to ensure that you do not pay for use after you have moved. If you forget to terminate the agreements, you may be held responsible for use up until a new agreement is in place with the next resident, or until the network operator has read the meter.

In Norway, you can contact the Norwegian Consumer Council if you have questions regarding use and purchase of goods and services, and want to submit a complaint. The Norwegian Consumer Council is an interest organisation for all consumers of goods and services in Norway. The Norwegian Consumer Council also handles complaints between consumers and suppliers of goods and services. 

If you have purchased goods and services across national borders in Europe, it can be useful to take a look at the ECC Norway (ForbrukerEuropa) pages. This is the Norwegian Consumer Council’s own section on buying goods and services across the European national borders.