How to bid for public tenders in Norway.

Norway at a glance

Norway applies the EU procurement directives through the EEA Agreement. DFØ, the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management, runs Doffin and the national guidance site anskaffelser.no. The July 2026 reform is the government’s “first phase” of simplification. A wholly new procurement act proposed by a government committee hasn’t been enacted; above-threshold reform awaits the EU’s revision of the directives.

Thresholds and procedures (2026, excluding VAT)

EEA thresholds in NOK (in force in Norway since 21 April 2026):

Procedures:

• Part II: open or restricted competitions, with negotiation allowed if the buyer said so in advance.
• Part III: open or restricted procedures are always available; negotiated procedures and competitive dialogue need specific grounds.

Minimum bid periods and validity:

• Above threshold: 30 days for an open procedure (35 without electronic submission). A restricted procedure gets 30 days to request to participate and 25 days for tenders.
• Below threshold: deadlines must be “reasonable”.
• Bid validity defaults to 30 days after the deadline if the buyer sets none.

Who can bid

• Rights under section 3 (from 1 July 2026). Firms established in Norway, the EEA, WTO GPA countries or other treaty partners have rights under the Act, as far as those agreements reach.
• Everyone else may take part, but has no rights under the Act. That means no enforceable equal treatment and no remedies. China, India, Brazil and Türkiye are GPA observers, not parties. The result is similar to the EU Court’s Kolin ruling; see how companies from outside the EU can bid for EU tenders.
• Language:
  • buyers may write all documents in Norwegian and require bids in Norwegian;
  • many accept attachments in English, Swedish or Danish, and if one bidder is allowed another language, all must be;
  • above-threshold notices are in Norwegian and an EU language, and the EU-language version is the authentic one.
• The ESPD is mandatory above the EEA thresholds, filled in inside the buyer’s e-tendering system. Consortium members and firms whose capacity you rely on each file one. Below the thresholds, buyers may ask for a self-declaration. The winner must supply current evidence before award.
• Tax certificates. The mandatory tax certificate (skatteattest) now applies only to Norwegian suppliers. Above the thresholds a buyer may ask a foreign firm for a home-country certificate on taxes and social security. It must accept the ESPD or a sworn statement where your country doesn’t issue one.

Norwegian pay, HSE and apprentice rules

From 1 July 2026, these “Norway model” rules are in the Act itself.

• Pay and conditions: in services and works contracts at or above the announcement threshold, buyers must require that staff of the supplier and its subcontractors get pay and conditions at least matching:
  • generally applicable collective agreements;
  • or the relevant nationwide agreement on hours, pay, overtime, allowances, travel, board and lodging.
• Works and cleaning contracts must also require:
  • HSE ID cards for everyone on building sites, ordered through hmskort.no, NOK 139.10 plus VAT per card;
  • a mandatory occupational pension;
  • wages paid through a bank;
  • at most two tiers of subcontractors below the supplier, unless the buyer allows more.
• Apprentices. Where the conditions are met, at least 10% of the work must be done by apprentices. Foreign suppliers may use apprentices from their home country’s scheme.
• Enforcement: the Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) enforces these rules.
• Registration and reporting for work in Norway:
  • you need an organisation number in the Central Coordinating Register (Enhetsregisteret);
  • the Norwegian client reports assignments given to foreign companies to the Tax Administration;
  • the foreign contractor reports its employees, within 14 days of starting work.

Bidding, step by step

1. Find notices on Doffin. Above-threshold notices also appear on TED.
2. Follow the link to the buyer’s e-tendering system and register there to download documents and bid. A buyer can’t demand an e-signature or eID just to access the documents.
3. Read the tender documents:
   • language rules;
   • qualification requirements;
   • award criteria and weights, including the climate weighting;
   • contract terms;
   • whether the buyer will negotiate.
4. Ask questions in the system before the deadline. Above threshold, the buyer must extend the deadline if it gives out new information less than 6 days before it.
5. Complete the ESPD above threshold, or the self-declaration below it.
6. Submit electronically before the deadline, with an e-signature if required. Buyers must accept advanced signatures backed by a qualified certificate on the EU trusted list.
7. Answer clarification or price-justification requests promptly. Clarifications can’t improve your bid.
8. Read the award notice. It gives reasons and the standstill period; challenge within it if needed.
9. If you win:
   • supply current evidence;
   • sign the contract;
   • set up EHF/Peppol e-invoicing;
   • for on-site work, arrange registration, HSE cards and tax reporting.

Securities and payment

• Securities are contractual. The regulation doesn’t regulate bid bonds or performance guarantees; they’re set in the contract terms, and buyers should use balanced standard contracts. In construction, the NS 8405 standard typically uses contractor security of about 10% until handover, then 3% during the warranty period.
• Financial evidence. Minimum turnover requirements can’t exceed twice the contract value unless justified.
• Payment: public buyers must pay within 30 days of the invoice. Longer is allowed only if expressly agreed and justified, and never more than 60 days. Statutory late-payment interest can’t be contracted away.
• E-invoicing is mandatory, in EHF or Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format (other EN 16931 formats are also accepted above threshold). A buyer can withhold payment until it receives a compliant e-invoice.

How bids are evaluated

• Above threshold: the best ratio of price or cost to quality. Lowest price or cost is allowed only where climate and environment aren’t used as an award criterion. Weights must be stated.
• The climate rule (from 1 July 2026 in the Act). Buyers must consider climate and environment in all procurements.
  • In announced procurements, climate and environment must weigh at least 30%; where criteria are ranked rather than weighted, they must be in the top three.
  • Buyers can use technical requirements instead if that works better, with reasons.
  • The rule doesn’t apply where the footprint is insignificant, or where health, security or preparedness would suffer.
• Unusually low bids: the buyer must ask in writing for an explanation. It must reject a bid whose low price comes from breaching environmental, labour or social obligations.
• SMEs: above threshold, buyers who don’t split a contract into lots must give brief reasons. The higher NOK 500,000 entry threshold is meant to make it easier to buy from small local suppliers.

Challenging a decision

• Standstill: above the EEA thresholds, at least 10 days after the award notice (15 if not electronic). Below them, a “reasonable” period.
• The district court (tingrett). An application for an interim injunction filed within the standstill period suspends signing until the court decides. Once a contract is signed, no injunction is possible, but damages are.
• Courts can act on unlawful direct awards. For above-threshold contracts awarded directly without a lawful basis, courts must declare them ineffective, or shorten them or fine the buyer up to 15% of the value. Claims are due within 2 years, or 30 days after an award notice.
• KOFA (Klagenemnda for offentlige anskaffelser, the complaints board in Bergen):
  • it’s advisory, and a complaint doesn’t suspend signing;
  • the fee is NOK 8,000 (NOK 1,000 for illegal direct awards), refunded if a relevant breach is found;
  • complaints are due within 6 months of signing, or 2 years for illegal direct awards;
  • KOFA must fine buyers for intentional or grossly negligent illegal direct awards, up to 15% of the value.

What changed in 2025–2026

• 21 April 2026: new NOK EEA thresholds for 2026–2027 (NOK 1.63 million / 2.5 million / 62.9 million).
• 1 July 2026, the main reform:
  • the entry threshold rose to NOK 500,000;
  • section 3 now defines which foreign firms have rights;
  • social rules moved into the Act: a procurement strategy duty, the 30% climate rule, security, the pay, HSE-card, pension, bank-pay, apprentice and supply-chain rules, human rights, universal design, innovation and sanctions;
  • the mandatory tax certificate became Norwegian suppliers only;
  • the old regulation on pay and working conditions was folded into the Act.
• Pending: a wholly new procurement act, which awaits the EU’s revision of the directives. The European Commission proposed one in September 2026.

Live Norwegian tenders

See also how companies from outside the EU can bid for EU tenders and how to bid for EU public tenders on TED.

Questions

Sources

• Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven), Lovdata
• Public Procurement Regulation (anskaffelsesforskriften), Lovdata
• Amending act LOV-2026-03-06-8 (in force 1 July 2026)
• 2026–2027 threshold regulation FOR-2026-04-21-623
• KOFA: the complaints board for public procurement
• Arbeidstilsynet: HSE cards in building and construction

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.