Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in Norway (2026)

This guide is the checklist behind a Norwegian bid: each document and step in the order a competition asks for it, and who may lawfully handle it. For how Norwegian procurement works overall (thresholds, the July 2026 reform, evaluation, challenges and payment), see How to bid for public tenders in Norway.

Before you bid

1. Open an account in the system linked from Doffin. Every announced competition points to the buyer’s e-tendering system (KGV): Mercell, Mercell TendSign or EU-Supply/CTM. That account is where you download the documents, put questions to the buyer, fill in the ESPD and deliver the tender.

Cost and time: free to bid; the account is ready the same day and stays open.
Who does it: your company registers itself and becomes administrator. Under Tilgangsstyring og brukeradministrasjon, the administrator then registers each adviser as a new user with their own login. You keep the administrator role.
From abroad: the same; registering takes no Norwegian ID.

2. Set up Altinn fullmakter for your accountant. Government reporting, from the skatteattest to RF-1199 and VAT, runs through Altinn. The daglig leder and styreleder have access automatically and can give a fullmakt to individuals, either a whole access package (tilgangspakke) or a single service; accounting and audit firms act through a registered client relationship. It is free, takes effect the same day and lasts until revoked. Your accountant then works under their own login, never yours. People without a Norwegian ID number can only log in with Email login, a one-time code, and acting for a business needs delegation.

3. Find out whether the buyer wants a signed tender. Many buyers require the tender to be e-signed at delivery. Norwegian options are BankID, Buypass and Commfides, or a Commfides enterprise certificate held by the company. A buyer that requires a signature must accept an advanced signature backed by a qualified certificate on the EU trusted list. Getting a new e-ID can take a few days.

Who does it: a person with the right to sign for the company signs in Mercell (Start signering) with their own e-ID, or the company uses its own enterprise certificate. Nobody else ever holds it.
From abroad: use a qualified foreign eIDAS certificate from the EU trusted list.

4. Construction: StartBANK and sentral godkjenning, when asked. Some construction buyers want more than the tender itself.

StartBANK, run by Achilles, is a Nordic supplier register for the construction industry with about 10,000 suppliers, used mainly by private construction and property buyers to assess suppliers. Membership costs NOK 2,920/year with turnover under NOK 10m, or NOK 5,840/year above it, VAT included, and is renewed annually. The registration data can be prepared for you; you accept the Achilles terms and pay.
Sentral godkjenning from DiBK is a voluntary central approval for firms taking responsibility (ansvarsrett) in building projects, often asked as a qualification in construction tenders. Its transitional arrangement runs to 1 July 2027. The application can be prepared for you; you apply and sign with your own ID.

With your bid

5. The ESPD (det europeiske egenerklæringsskjemaet). Above the EEA thresholds it is mandatory and filled in inside the KGV. Below them, the buyer may require a self-declaration as preliminary proof (FOA § 8-10). Either way, the supplier the buyer picks gives updated documentation before award.

Cost and time: free; 1 day. Valid: for the one competition.
Who does it: an adviser drafts it in Mercell’s ESPD module as a named user. You confirm the exclusion-ground answers. Each consortium member, and each company whose capacity you rely on, files its own.

6. eBevis consent, where the buyer uses it. If the buyer activates eBevis, you give consent in the ESPD and DFØ’s service fetches your evidence from Norwegian registers once the deadline passes: tax and VAT certificate, bankruptcy or insolvency status, firmaattest, the last 3 years’ accounts, establishment date and headcount. It is free, and a Norwegian company uploads nothing. Only you can consent, because it releases your own data. Foreign suppliers upload evidence from home instead.

7. References. Most competitions assess technical qualification on your relevant experience. A reference list of comparable deliveries is free and takes 1–3 days to draft; you confirm it is accurate. Foreign references are valid.

8. Signing right, prokura or fullmakt. A personal e-signature binds the company only if the signer has the right to sign for it, which the firmaattest shows. Anyone else needs a fullmakt or a prokura. It is free, drafted the same day and valid for what it states; those with signing right sign it. A foreign company may need notarisation or an apostille.

9. The language. The buyer may require the tender and other documents in Norwegian (FOA § 7-7), though many accept attachments in English, Swedish or Danish. Check before anything is translated; a translator needs days.

10. Deliver. An adviser uploads the documents as a named user. If the buyer requires a signed tender, your authorised signatory signs at delivery with their own e-ID or the company’s enterprise certificate.

If you’re in line for award

The buyer now wants current evidence, unless eBevis has already fetched it.

Evidence	Issued by	Who can get it for you	Valid for	What only you do
Skatteattest (tax and VAT; Norwegian suppliers)	Skatteetaten, ordered in Altinn under Bestill attester og utskrifter	Your regnskapsfører under their own login, once delegated; or eBevis	No more than 6 months old	Delegate the Altinn right (your daglig leder and styreleder hold it)
Firmaattest (registration and signatories)	Brønnøysundregistrene	Anyone, as it is public; or eBevis	Recent, as the tender sets	—
Annual accounts, last 3 years, or a credit rating	Regnskapsregisteret (Brønnøysund); credit agencies	Fetched for you from the public register, or by eBevis	Latest years	Supply foreign accounts or an auditor’s statement if you aren’t Norwegian
ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 or an environmental scheme such as Miljøfyrtårn	Accredited certification bodies	Existing certificates are uploaded for you	3 years	Pass the audit

The skatteattest is free. Since 1 July 2026 buyers must demand it only from Norwegian suppliers. In construction, Norwegian subcontractors on contracts over NOK 500,000 provide one too. A firmaattest is issued the same day.

Certificates may be required under FOA § 8-7, and buyers accept equivalent certificates. They carry more weight now that climate and environment must count for at least 30% in announced competitions.

Before the contract and the first invoice

Pay and working conditions (lønns- og arbeidsvilkår). On service and construction contracts, staff and hired workers of the supplier and its subcontractors get pay and conditions under the generally applicable or national collective agreement (Act § 5e). The buyer checks (§ 5i) and Arbeidstilsynet supervises. You pay on those terms and document it on request; a payroll provider or accountant can prepare the documentation. It covers foreign suppliers’ staff working in Norway.
Seriøsitetskrav in construction and cleaning. A mandatory occupational pension, HSE cards (§ 5f) and no more than two tiers below you in the supply chain (§ 5k). You structure your subcontracting and pension to fit, and document it.
HMS-kort. Every worker on a building and construction site, Norwegian or foreign, needs an HSE card. A person at the employer who is registered in Enhetsregisteret orders them on hmskort.no with electronic ID, at NOK 139.10 + VAT per card. A foreign employer needs a Norwegian organisation number first.
Apprentices (lærlingordning). On qualifying service and construction contracts you must be linked to an apprenticeship scheme, with apprentices doing at least 10% of the work and at least one on the contract (§ 5h). You document the link, for example as a godkjent lærebedrift. Foreign suppliers may use apprentices from their home country’s scheme.
NUF registration (foreign winners working in Norway). A Norwegian-registered foreign business is entered in the Central Coordinating Register, and the Register of Business Enterprises where required, using the PDF coordinated register notification; the Altinn form can’t be used for a new NUF. Processing starts within ten working days. Attachments are proof from your home register no more than 3 months old, your articles, a board decision and declarations of acceptance with original signatures, in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish or English. A lawyer or accountant prepares the form; the contact person, general manager or Norwegian board signs; d-number applications go by post.
RF-1199 and the OAR register (foreign contractors). The Norwegian client reports the assignment to Skatteetaten, and you report your employees within 14 days of starting work. It is free; your accountant files it in Altinn under a delegated fullmakt, and you provide the employee data.
Contractor security under NS 8405, 8406 or 8407 (construction). There is no statutory bid bond; security is set in the contract and runs through the warranty period. You apply to your bank or a guarantee insurer and provide collateral; the guarantee wording can be prepared for you. A buyer may require a Norwegian or EEA issuer.
EHF e-invoicing. Invoices to public buyers go in EHF or Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format. Your accountant or invoicing provider connects a Peppol access point within days; you choose the provider. A foreign supplier can use any Peppol access point.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
Account on Mercell, TendSign or another KGV	You register; advisers are added as users with their own login	Register the company, add users and keep the administrator role
Altinn fullmakt	—	Your daglig leder grants and revokes it
E-signature	Your authorised signatory	Sign with your own e-ID or enterprise certificate
StartBANK, sentral godkjenning	The data and application are prepared for you	Accept terms and pay; apply and sign with your own ID
ESPD	Drafted by an adviser as a named user	Confirm the exclusion-ground answers
eBevis	—	Give consent in the ESPD
References	Drafted from your records	Confirm them
Prokura or fullmakt	Drafted for you	Sign, by those with signing right
Translations	A translator	—
Skatteattest	Your regnskapsfører under an Altinn fullmakt, or eBevis	Delegate the Altinn right
Firmaattest, Norwegian accounts	Anyone, from public registers; or eBevis	—
Pay terms, seriøsitetskrav, apprentices	A payroll provider or accountant prepares documentation	Pay, structure the supply chain, take on apprentices
HMS-kort	—	Order the cards with your own electronic ID
NUF registration	A lawyer or accountant prepares it	Sign the notification and declarations of acceptance
RF-1199	Your accountant via Altinn	Delegate the right and provide employee data
NS security	A bank or guarantee insurer	Apply and provide collateral
EHF	Your accountant or invoicing provider	Choose the provider

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Autorisert regnskapsfører, or statsautorisert or registrert revisor	Finanstilsynet	Act for your company in Altinn through a registered client relationship and personal fullmakter; obtain the skatteattest and tax data; file NUF, VAT and employer reporting, including RF-1199; confirm financial figures where a tender asks for audited accounts
Tilbudsskriver or anbudsrådgiver (bid writer)	Unregulated	Work in Mercell or TendSign as a named user your administrator adds; draft the tender response, the ESPD and the climate and environment answers

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a Norwegian company to bid, though on-site work in Norway takes a Norwegian organisation number; who may bid from abroad, and which firms have rights under the Act, is covered in How to bid for public tenders in Norway. For the paperwork:

Instead of a firmaattest, give an extract from your home register. The skatteattest isn’t mandatory for you; above the thresholds a buyer may ask for a tax and social-security certificate from home, or accept the ESPD or a sworn statement. eBevis can’t reach foreign registers, so you upload your evidence, including home-country audited accounts. Your ESPD is the same, foreign references count, and a fullmakt may need notarisation or an apostille. Sign with a qualified eIDAS certificate on the EU trusted list, and use Email login for Altinn. If you win work on site: NUF registration, HMS-kort, RF-1199 reporting and, where the contract demands it, apprentices from your home scheme.

Pitfalls

Never hand over a BankID, Buypass, Commfides or enterprise certificate. Your own authorised signer signs the tender.
Give Altinn access by fullmakt only, from your daglig leder or styreleder to your adviser’s own login.
Check the seriøsitetskrav before you price construction or cleaning work: at most two subcontractor tiers, HSE cards, pension and apprentices.
Know whether you have rights. Since 1 July 2026, bidders from outside the EEA, the WTO GPA and Norway’s other treaty partners can take part but have no rights or remedies under the Act.
Never skip the climate and environment answer. Since 1 July 2026 it weighs at least 30% in announced competitions.
Check whether the tender must be in Norwegian (FOA § 7-7) before anything is written.

Doing it with askTender

In Norway, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on Mercell and TendSign and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: the ESPD answers and eBevis consent, Altinn fullmakter, prokura or fullmakt, and any signature that needs your own e-ID. The askTender Desk prepares the ESPD, references and environment answers and assembles the tender; askTender Partners, such as an autorisert regnskapsfører or a revisor, do the steps their authorisation covers.

Questions

Which documents go in with a Norwegian bid?

Above the EEA thresholds, the ESPD, filled in inside the buyer’s e-tendering system; below them, a self-declaration if the buyer asks for one. Add a reference list where the tender sets technical requirements, an ESPD from each consortium member or company whose capacity you rely on, and a fullmakt or prokura if the person signing has no signing right of their own. Tax certificates and accounts come from the supplier the buyer picks, unless eBevis fetches them.

What is eBevis?

A DFØ service linked to the ESPD in Mercell. Once you give consent in the ESPD, it fetches your tax and VAT certificate, bankruptcy status, firmaattest, the last 3 years’ accounts, establishment date and headcount from Norwegian registers, so a Norwegian company uploads nothing. It is free for suppliers and runs automatically after the deadline. It only works on Norwegian registers; foreign suppliers upload evidence from home.

Who can order the skatteattest?

A person with the right role in Altinn, or with an Altinn fullmakt for the company. The daglig leder and styreleder have the right automatically and can delegate it, so your regnskapsfører can order the certificate under their own login. It is free and must be no more than 6 months old. Since 1 July 2026 it is mandatory only for Norwegian suppliers.

Do I need BankID to bid in Norway?

Only if the buyer wants a signed tender, and even then not necessarily BankID: Buypass, Commfides, a company enterprise certificate or a qualified foreign certificate on the EU trusted list also work. The signer must have the right to sign for the company, and signs in Mercell with their own e-ID.

What does a foreign winner need before working on site in Norway?

A Norwegian organisation number through NUF registration with Brønnøysundregistrene, which starts processing within ten working days. Workers on building sites need HMS-kort, and the contractor reports its employees to Skatteetaten within 14 days of starting work (RF-1199). Expect Norwegian pay terms, and on construction and cleaning contracts an occupational pension and no more than two subcontractor tiers.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.