Information in English
The Supervisory Council for Legal Practice (Tilsynsrådet for advokatvirksomhet) is responsible for the recognition of advocates and other legal professions in Norway. It is also the official body supervising advocates practising in Norway.
How to become a lawyer or trainee lawyer in Norway:
Procedures of recognition
- Foreign Lawyer
- Trainee/assistant lawyer
If you wish to work as a lawyer or as a trainee lawyer in Norway, you must first obtain authorization/recognition of your professional qualifications. The competent authority in Norway is The Supervisory Council for Legal Practice (Tilsynsrådet for Advokatvirksomhet).
Lawyer (Advokat)
Application process (for all legal professions)
If you hold the professional title of lawyer from an EU/EEA member state and you are a citizen of an EU/EEA member state, you then have two options for practicing as a lawyer in Norway:
- Register as an EU/EEA lawyer. You can register as an EU/EEA 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. In order to be registered we do require the following documentation:
A declaration from competent authority in you 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 or other documentation which shows Membership of state.
The conditions for starting up legal practice in Norway are listed below. - Apply for a Norwegian license to practice as a lawyer
As an EU/EEA lawyer you may apply for a Norwegian license to practice as a lawyer. In order to do so you will need to provide us with the following documents:
A declaration from competent authority confirming that you have a lawyer license, 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 cannot be older than three months.
Verified copy of passport or other documentation which confirms that you are a citizen of an EU/EEA state.
A declaration from the Norwegian police stating that you have no criminal record. This declaration can also be obtained from your home state. The declaration must be received by The Supervisory Council in original or sent to us through a digital post system called "Digipost" or “e-boks” and it cannot be older than three months.
In addition, you will then need to have completed one of the following options:
a) Passed an aptitude test ("egnethetsprøven"). The test is arranged by the faculty of law at the University of Oslo. The test consists of a language component which tests your language skills and a part covering Norwegian law and legal subjects. Before you take the test, you must receive a declaration from The Supervisory Council stating that you fulfill the formal requirements to take the test. To get this declaration you will need to send us documentation that you hold a valid lawyer license from an EU/EEA state.
b) You are able to provide us with documentation stating that you have practiced as a registered EU/EEA lawyer in Norway for at least three years and that you have mainly practiced Norwegian law.
Common requirements for starting up as lawyer in Norway
You must:
- Provide a guarantee/security of NOK 5 million to cover claims for damages
- Pay contribution to The Supervisory Council and the Disciplinary Board
- Engage an accountant, or as employed lawyer you can apply for an exemption from this duty.
If you have a law degree, but do not hold the professional title of lawyer from an EU/EEA member state and wish to obtain a Norwegian license to practice as a lawyer, you may apply to work as a trainee lawyer in Norway:
To obtain a Norwegian license as lawyer, you need to be an EU/EEA citizen and you must have completed a law degree in an EU/EEA member state. If The Supervisory Council recognizes your legal education, as equal to the Norwegian law degree, you may start up as a trainee lawyer. To become a trainee lawyer, you will need to find a Norwegian lawyer who will hire you and apply on your behalf for authorization as a trainee lawyer. After a minimum of two years of practicing law in Norway as a trainee lawyer and having completed a course in litigation, legal proceedings and ethics, you may apply for a Norwegian license as lawyer.
If you hold the professional title of lawyer from a country outside the EU/EEA and wish to practice as a lawyer in Norway:
With this background you can apply for a permission to practice as a foreign lawyer in Norway. This means, however, that you may only practice international law and the law of your home country. You will not be able to practice Norwegian law. You will also be required to always use your professional title from your home country and to indicate the name of your home country. You will have to present the following documentation to the Supervisory Council:
- A declaration from competent authority in you 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 a passport or other documentation which confirms that you are a citizen of a state. Documentation from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) stating that you have been granted permission to stay or to work in Norway.
- A declaration from the Norwegian police stating that you have no criminal record. This declaration can also be obtained from your home state. The declaration must be received by The Supervisory Council in original or sent to us through a digital post system called "Digipost" or “E-boks”, and cannot be older than three months.
- You will also need to register a business enterprise in Norway or be employed by a law company in Norway.
You hold a law degree from a non-EEA member state and wish to work as a trainee lawyer (advokatfullmektig) in Norway:
If you have obtained your qualifying law degree in a country outside the EEA-area, and you wish to work as a trainee lawyer in Norway, there are certain limitations and conditions you must be aware of.
Since there are no provisions giving a person with a law degree from outside of the EEA-area the right to work as a trainee lawyer, your employer (prinsipal) must, along with the application to authorize you as a trainee lawyer, also apply for equating your legal education with the Norwegian qualifying law degree (master i rettsvitenskap/juridisk embetseksamen), cf. Courts of Justice Act section 223 and 241 second paragraph, the Lawyer’s Regulation section 9-7 and The Courts of Justice Act section 241 first paragraph.
For granting such an application, the candidate must meet the special conditions as stipulated in the provision. The conditions for equating a candidate’s legal education and background with the Norwegian Master’s of Law (Master i rettsvitenskap) are strict and only given in exceptional cases.
The provision can only be applied in ‘special cases’ (“I særlige tilfelle”) if the candidate has proven that he/she holds sufficient knowledge within Norwegian law.
The decision is made after an overall assessment of the law degree obtained in the respective country and previous relevant legal work experience of the candidate, particularly in Norway, and within what field of law. If the Supervisory Council finds it necessary, the assessment can also be supplemented by an aptitude test that the candidate must pass.
Brexit – Information to British lawyers (solicitors, barristers)
The United Kingdom left the EU and the EEA on the 31st of January 2020 (Brexit), which has affected British lawyer’s access to the legal profession in the EU.
However, the EEA/EFTA member states Iceland, Liechenstein and Norway on one side, while The United Kingdom on the other side, agreed in June 2021 on a free trade agreement (Frihandelsavtalen), which entered into force in September 2022. In the agreement, there is a chapter relating to recognizing professional qualifications, which per today is implemented in the Regulation relating to the Recognition of Professional Qualifications (Forskrift om godkjenning av yrkeskvalifikasjoner) chapter 11.
This means, as a barrister or solicitor, you may apply for a Norwegian license to practice as a lawyer. To do so you need to provide the following documentation:
- A Practicing Certificate provided by the competent authority depending on your title (SRA for instance). You must also provide a certificate of Good Standing confirming that there are no pending charges against you. The Declaration cannot be older than three months.
- Verified copy of passport or other documentation which confirms that you are a citizen of the UK or an EU/EEA-state.
- A declaration from the Norwegian police that you have no criminal record. This declaration can also be obtained from your home state. The declaration must be received by The Supervisory Council in original or sent to us through a digital postal system called "Digipost" or “e-boks” and it cannot be older than three months.
In addition, you must pass an aptitude test arranged by the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo. The test consists of a language component which tests your language skills and part covering Norwegian law and legal subjects.
Before taking the test, you must receive a declaration from the Supervisory Council stating that you fulfill the formal requirements and therefore eligible to take the test.
Please contact the Supervisory Council for further information
Brexit – Information for students who have obtained their law degree in the UK and wish to work as a trainee lawyer (advokatfullmektig) in Norway
The Brexit has also affected students access to the profession after graduation.
According to the Lawyer’s Regulation section 9-1 A second paragraph, a lawyer could apply to authorize you to work as a trainee lawyer if you started studying for qualifying as a solicitor/barrister before the 31st of December 2019 (“under utdanning”). The education is considered to have started from the first day of teaching.
Thus, if you began studying after this date, you are no longer eligible to become an authorized trainee lawyer in accordance with section 9-4 of the Lawyer’s Regulation.
Options for foreign lawyers to provide legal assistance and to appear during litigation in Norway as "Guest lawyer" on occasional basis
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.
Regulations for lawyers
Read more about the titles in the legal profession in Regulations for lawyers with comments, chapter 9 (pdf) and chapter 10 (pdf)