# Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften)

The Regulations have six parts. Every purchase from NOK 500,000 follows Part I; most add Part II from NOK 1.3 million, or Part III from the EEA threshold.

Canonical URL: https://tendline.no/en/glossary/public-procurement-regulations

In Norwegian: [Anskaffelsesforskriften](https://tendline.no/ordliste/anskaffelsesforskriften.md)

## Definition

The Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften, in full forskrift om offentlige anskaffelser) give the detailed rules for public purchasing in Norway: what must be advertised, which time limits apply, how suppliers are qualified and assessed, and when a contract can be concluded. They are issued under the Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven), among others § 16, and apply from an estimated value of NOK 500,000 excluding VAT. The § references on this page are to the Regulations unless the Act is named.

The Regulations are divided into six parts. Part I, §§ 1-1 to 7-9, contains general provisions that apply to all procurements, among them scope, exemptions, cooperation within the public sector, definitions, thresholds, mixed procurement and calculation of the estimated value. Part II, §§ 8-1 to 11-2, is a separate set of rules for contracts from NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA threshold (health and social services excepted), and for special services (særlige tjenester). Part III, §§ 12-1 to 29-2, applies from the EEA threshold for supply, service and works contracts and is the most detailed part.

Part IV, §§ 30-1 to 30-10, applies to health and social services from NOK 8.7 million. Part V, §§ 31-1 to 31-4, applies to design contests. Part VI contains the final provisions. Utilities, concessions and defence have their own regulations.

## Why it matters for suppliers

Three things decide which part applies: the estimated value excluding VAT, the type of contract and who the contracting authority is. Part I applies in addition to the part that fits the value (§ 5-1 (1)).

Below NOK 500,000, no part applies. From NOK 500,000 up to NOK 1.3 million, only Part I applies: there is no duty to advertise, there are no procedural rules and there is no standstill period. From NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA threshold, Part II is added, and the competition must as a main rule be advertised in Doffin, Norway's national database for public procurement notices (§ 8-17). At or above the EEA threshold, Part III applies.

Health and social services follow only Part I until they reach NOK 8.7 million, and Part IV at or above NOK 8.7 million. Special services follow Part II from NOK 1.3 million with no upper limit, with a fixed standstill period above NOK 8.7 million.

The EEA thresholds are NOK 1.63 million for supply and service contracts awarded by central government authorities, NOK 2.5 million for supply and service contracts awarded by contracting authorities other than central government authorities, and NOK 62.9 million for works contracts. All amounts are excluding VAT.

The parts give you different rules of the game. In Part II, the time limits have no fixed minimum length: the contracting authority must take into account the complexity of the contract and the time suppliers need to prepare their tenders (§ 8-14), and the standstill period must be reasonable (§ 10-2). In Part III, the tender deadline in an open procedure (åpen anbudskonkurranse) is as a main rule at least 30 days from the date the notice is sent to TED, the EU's database for procurement notices, and 35 days if tenders are not submitted electronically. The standstill period is at least 10 days, or 15 days if the contracting authority has made an exception from electronic communication (§ 20-2 and § 25-2). The time limits can be shortened in some cases.

If the estimated value is not stated in the notice, you can ask the contracting authority. The value is calculated under § 5-4: the total payment excluding VAT, including options. For service contracts that state no total price and have no fixed term or a term of more than 48 months, the value is the monthly value multiplied by 48 (§ 5-4). The contracting authority may not split a contract to exempt it from the Regulations.

## Legal basis

Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften) § 1-1, §§ 5-1 to 5-4 · § 8-14, § 8-17, § 10-2 · § 20-2, § 25-2 · Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven) § 16

## Example

Four contracts, each with an estimated value excluding VAT over the whole period. A municipality buys consultancy services for NOK 800,000: only Part I applies. A municipality buys IT operations for NOK 1.8 million: Parts I and II apply, and the competition must as a main rule be advertised in Doffin. A central government agency buys goods for NOK 2.1 million: Parts I and III apply, because NOK 2.1 million is above the NOK 1.63 million threshold for central government authorities. A municipality buying the same goods would be below NOK 2.5 million and would follow Parts I and II.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which part of the Public Procurement Regulations applies to the competition I am looking at?

Look at the estimated value, the type of contract and the contracting authority. From NOK 500,000 up to NOK 1.3 million, only Part I applies. From NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA threshold, Part II also applies, except for health and social services. At or above the EEA threshold, Part III applies. Health and social services follow Part IV from NOK 8.7 million. Design contests follow Part V from NOK 1.63 million (§ 5-1 (5)). The EEA threshold is NOK 1.63 million for supply and service contracts awarded by central government authorities, NOK 2.5 million for other contracting authorities and NOK 62.9 million for works contracts.

### What is the difference between the Public Procurement Act and the Public Procurement Regulations?

The Act is the framework, with the purpose, rights, damages and sanctions. The Regulations contain the detailed rules for the competition. Both apply from an estimated value of NOK 500,000 excluding VAT. The Regulations are issued under the Act, among others § 16.

### What happened to § 7-9 on climate in the Regulations?

§ 7-9 was repealed with effect from 1 July 2026. The rule is now in the Public Procurement Act § 5b: in procurements subject to a duty to advertise, climate and environment must be weighted at least 30% when award criteria are weighted, unless the contracting authority uses climate and environmental requirements in the specification instead or an exception applies. From the same date, § 7-2, § 8-12a and § 8-13 were also repealed.

### Do the Regulations apply to all public purchases?

No. Purchases below NOK 500,000 are outside them. Utilities, concessions and defence have their own regulations. Chapter 2 of the Regulations also contains exemptions, for example for procurements covered by other rules (§ 2-1).

### What is the difference between a tilbudskonkurranse and an anbudskonkurranse?

Both are Norwegian names for open and restricted competitions. Part II uses the terms open and restricted tilbudskonkurranse (§ 8-3 and § 9-2). Part III uses open and restricted anbudskonkurranse (§ 13-1), which is the open and restricted procedure. The time limits and rules differ between the two parts.

## In Tendline

[Tendline goes through the terms and the grounds for rejection in each competition before anyone writes](https://tendline.no/en#how-we-work)

## Sources

- [Lovdata: Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften) (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2016-08-12-974)
- [Lovdata: Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven), § 16 (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2016-06-17-73)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 5 Thresholds and the different parts of the Regulations (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/5-terskelverdier-og-de-ulike-delene-i-anskaffelsesforskriften)
- [DFØ: Thresholds for public procurement (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/anskaffelsesregelverk/terskelverdier-offentlige-anskaffelser)
- [EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, Articles 2, 4, 5, 27 and 78 (English terminology)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/24/oj/eng)

Last checked against the sources: 13 October 2026

## Related terms

- [Threshold values](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/threshold-values.md)
- [Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven)](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/public-procurement-act.md)
- [Contract notice](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/contract-notice.md)
- [Direct award](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/direct-award.md)
- [Standstill period](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/standstill-period.md)
- [Open and restricted procedure (anbudskonkurranse)](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/open-and-restricted-procedure.md)
- [KOFA (Complaints Board for Public Procurement)](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/kofa.md)
- [Framework agreement](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/framework-agreement.md)
- [Contracting authority](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/contracting-authority.md)
- [Utilities Regulations (forsyningsforskriften)](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/utilities-regulations.md)