Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven)

The Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven, in full lov om offentlige anskaffelser) is the framework act for public purchasing in Norway. It applies when a contracting authority awards a supply, service or works contract, including a concession contract, or organises a design contest, with an estimated value of NOK 500,000 or more, excluding VAT. Contracting authorities include state, county and municipal authorities, bodies governed by public law and associations formed by them, and certain undertakings in the utilities sectors. Before 1 July 2026 the limit was NOK 100,000. Some procurements are exempt, and the social considerations in §§ 5a to 5p do not apply to defence and security procurement (§ 2). The § references on this page are to the Act unless another instrument is named.

The Act sets out its purpose, which is efficient and sustainable use of society's resources. It says who has rights, and it lays down the sanctions when the rules are breached. The details on advertising, time limits, qualification and award are in regulations, first and foremost the Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften).

The rights under the Act belong to businesses in Norway. Businesses in other EEA states, in states that are party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and in states that are party to another agreement Norway is bound by have rights to the extent the agreements give them. Other businesses may take part in competitions, but without the rights under the Act. This matters if your company is based outside Norway.

If the rules are breached, you have several routes. Before the contract is concluded, the district court (tingretten) can set aside decisions made in breach of the Act (§ 8). You can complain to KOFA (the Complaints Board for Public Procurement). The board is established under § 11, and the conditions for complaints are in the Regulations on the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (klagenemndsforskriften). You can claim damages for loss you have suffered as a result of a breach of the Act or the Regulations (§ 10); you must prove the breach, the loss and the causal link, and for lost profit the Supreme Court also requires a sufficiently serious breach and that you would clearly have won the contract. After the contract is concluded, the court must declare it ineffective, for example after an illegal direct award, or shorten its duration or impose an infringement fine when the conditions in §§ 13 and 14 are met, also if no party has asked for it (§ 15).

A contract can only be declared ineffective if it reaches the EEA thresholds, and only the court can decide that. Below the EEA thresholds, the court must shorten the contract or impose an infringement fine for an illegal direct award from the national threshold, which is generally read as NOK 1.3 million, the lower limit of Part II of the Regulations (§ 14). For an illegal direct award, KOFA can itself impose an infringement fine (overtredelsesgebyr) on the contracting authority. The fine must be imposed where there is intent or gross negligence, and may be imposed for negligence (§ 12), but not if the contracting authority published a voluntary ex ante transparency notice (intensjonskunngjøring) and waited at least ten days, counted from the day after the notice, before concluding the contract. It cannot be set higher than 15% of the value of the procurement.

As a main rule, legal action over these sanctions must be brought within two years after the contract was concluded. In some cases the time limit is 30 days, counted from the day after the contract award notice was published or from the day after the notification that the contract has been concluded was sent. A complaint to KOFA alleging an illegal direct award interrupts the time limits (§ 15).

From 1 July 2026, the limit for when the Act applies was raised from NOK 100,000 to NOK 500,000. Below NOK 500,000 the Act does not apply; a buyer that is a public administrative body (forvaltningsorgan) must still follow the Public Administration Act (forvaltningsloven) and the requirement of sound case handling, but these give you no right to complain to KOFA. From NOK 500,000, the Act and Part I of the Regulations apply; Part I holds the general provisions that apply to all procurements. The duty to advertise starts at a higher limit; see the page on threshold values.

From 1 July 2026, the social considerations are in §§ 5a to 5p. They bring together requirements that used to be spread across several regulations, among them the weight on climate and environment and the requirements on pay and working conditions. The contracting authority must also have a procurement strategy (§ 5a).

In a procurement that must be advertised, climate and environment must have a weighting of at least 30% where the contracting authority weights the award criteria, and be among the top three where the criteria are listed in order of priority (§ 5b). The contracting authority may replace or combine the weighting with climate and environmental requirements in the technical specifications if that gives a better effect, and there are exceptions, among others for procurements with an insignificant climate footprint and where the duty would harm essential interests of health, security or preparedness. Advice: describe your climate and environmental performance concretely in the tender.

In service contracts and works contracts, the contract must require pay and working conditions in line with a collective agreement that has been made generally applicable (allmenngjort) or a nationwide collective agreement (§ 5e). In building and construction and in cleaning, there are also requirements on pension, HSE cards (HMS-kort, the Norwegian HSE card), payment of wages through a bank and, as a main rule, no more than two levels in the supply chain (§§ 5f, 5g and 5k). These requirements apply from the threshold for the duty to advertise supply and service contracts, which is today as a main rule NOK 1.3 million excluding VAT, also in building and construction. They do not apply to utilities contracts or concession contracts. The contract must include sanctions for breaches (§ 5p).

On request, you must be able to document that you and your subcontractors meet the requirements (§ 5i), and the contracting authority must carry out checks. The selected supplier must present a certificate for tax and VAT (skatteattest) that is no more than six months old (§ 5l). This requirement applies to Norwegian suppliers.

A municipality advertises cleaning of its school buildings, with an estimated value of NOK 3 million over the contract period. The contract must require pension and HSE cards for the people who do the work (§ 5f), wages paid through a bank (§ 5g), as a main rule no more than two levels in the supply chain (§ 5k), and pay and working conditions in line with a collective agreement (§ 5e). It must also include sanctions for breaches (§ 5p). The winner submits a certificate for tax and VAT (§ 5l). If the municipality weights the award criteria, climate and environment must count for at least 30% (§ 5b). Advice: these requirements affect your costs, so read them before you set your price.