Doing business in Oslo

Follow the steps below to open a company that is ready to trade in Norway.

Determine legal structure

The business structure will depend, among other factors, on:

• where your main company is located,
• what the nature of your business in Norway is,
• if your business is temporary or permanent,
• if you are going to have a main office in Norway,
• whether your main activities will be in Norway or abroad,
• whether you will have a board of representatives,
• if you are going to have employees in Norway

Choosing the right legal entity and structure

The most common legal entities for entrepreneurs are a private limited company (AS), a sole proprietorship or a general partnership. A Norwegian branche of a foreign company (NUF) also exists, but is less common these days. For foreign entrepreneurs, the AS is the most common legal entity. Besides the type of legal entity, you should also consider which structure is most suited for your company. If you will set up an AS limited company, it is usually more beneficial to set up a so-called holding structure.

Bank application

Once we have a clear picture of your needs in Norway we will produce the relevant legal documents prepare the forms for the financial institutions and the AML and KYC requirements that the banks will require in order to see that you are compliant to Norwegian regulations. The financial institutions bear the responsibility of checking that their clients are compliant to anti-money laundry regulations (AML). If the financial institution can not do satisfactory due diligence on the company they can not open a bank account. This is usually the main hurdle for clients who want to start up a company in Norway. Documentation has to be provided to complete the due diligence process. We have in-house experience establishing new companies from DNB, Norway's largest bank. We therefore know what the financial institution will require in each case so we can ease the process of bank account opening.

Select a trade name

At navnesøk.no, you can find out whether the name you want to use is available as a domain name, enterprise name and trademark in a single search. When you are about to register, we suggest you follow this sequence:

1. Register the domain name
2. Register the enterprise name
3. Register any trademark

Registering an office address

The company must have a Norwegian business address (i.e. a Norwegian physical address which is stated in the format: street/road, house number, postcode and postal town. Postbox addresses will not be accepted). This address can be a private residential address, but also a real office space or a shared office space. The address should obviously somewhat match the purpose of the business. A large industrial company will most likely not be registered at a private residence, but a small consultancy firm can be.

When the bank account is opened the share capital has to be transferred to the account. The required share capital in Norway is 30 000 NOK. When the capital is in the bank account the bank will issue a document to confirm that. This is the last document needed to apply for a an organization number at the company registry (Foretaksregisteret). We will provide, and fill out the necessary forms and fill them out before sending them for you by regular mail to the Business Registrar.

All of the individuals that are going to have any official roles in the company (director, board member, powers of procurement etc.), need to be registered in the citizen registry with an identification number. The identification number for foreign citizens is called a D-number. The D-number applications are sent together with the application for the organization number, to the Business Registry. The Business Registry first handles the application for the organization number, put the application on hold, then the case handler at the Business Registrar send the D-number applications to the Citizen Registry. Once the D-numbers applications are finalized, the Citizen Registry notify the business registry to finalize the registration of the company. The organization number will be available at www.brreg.no once the registration is finalized. The D-numbers are sent by mail to the registered address in the country in which the relevant individual resides.

The last part is to inform the financial institution that the company is registered to get access to the bank account and online banking. The banks will need the D-number and the organization number to finalize their registration. Note that the organization number is not the same as the VAT number (in Norwegian: MVA). The MVA registration can not be started until the company has reached an annual turnover of 50 000 NOK (about 5000 EUR), unless your company can fulfill certain requirements beforehand. We will help you to get access to the online government portal Altinn, where you can communicate and send online applications to the different registrars, deliver your income statement, communicate with the tax authorities and so on.

After this is all set up your company is now operational. Next up is setting up your administration so you will comply with the regulations from the Norwegian tax authorities. We can help you set this up.

Furthermore, you should check if you are fully compliant with all Norwegian rules and regulations in general and in your specific industry. We offer a wide variety of legal services to make sure your Norwegian business is fully compliant.