Foreign professional qualifications for forklifts, cranes and earth-moving machinery

Select this scheme if you are moving permanently to Norway and will be working here with foreign professional qualifications for work equipment.

• You must apply for recognition by establishment to the Labour Inspection Authority.
• You cannot use the work equipment until the application has been approved.
• You will receive a reply by text message and email.
• You will be notified if your application is incomplete.
• Use the form further down this page to submit your application.

Select this scheme if you are going to work in Norway for a limited period with foreign professional qualifications for work equipment.

• You must submit a declaration of temporary work before you start work.
• The declaration is usually processed automatically. You will be notified if the Labour Inspection Authority needs to process the declaration manually.
• You will receive a reply by text message and email.
• The declaration must be renewed after 12 months.

Use the form further down the page to submit the declaration.  

The declaration or application requirement applies if you have foreign professional qualifications and intend to use the following work equipment in Norway:

• Gantry cranes and overhead travelling cranes (if their use may pose a risk to life or health)
• Tower cranes
• Mobile cranes
• Portal cranes
• Offshore crane
• Cranes with a capacity exceeding 2 tm mounted on a lorry or trailer
• Forklifts with a fixed driver's seat – your certificate of competence must confirm that you are qualified to use such forklifts.
• Earth-moving machinery with a power output exceeding 15 kW (20.4 hp) – your certificate of competence must confirm that you are qualified to use such machinery.

You can send a declaration of temporary work or apply for recognition by establishment if you have professional qualifications for the use of work equipment from

• an EEA country or Switzerland
• the United Kingdom (only for applications for recognition by establishment)

The Labour Inspection Authority does not approve professional qualifications from countries outside the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

You must also be one of the following:

• a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland
• a family member of a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland
• a worker posted to Norway from a company in an EEA country (applies if you are not a citizen of an EEA country or Switzerland)*

* the right to reside in Norway is determined by the Norwegian immigration authorities

You can send a declaration or an application yourself by submitting the form below. Another person or a company, such as your employer, can also do this for you.

Power of attorney

In the form, you will be asked whether you are submitting on behalf of another person. If you are submitting the form for another person, you must also attach a power of attorney (fullmakt) for the person you are registering or applying for. The power of attorney must include consent to share information in a declaration or an application.

To submit the form, you must log in to Altinn via ID-porten – see above.

Logging in to ID-porten requires that you

• have or create an Altinn user (if you do not have a Norwegian national identity number or D number), or
• have a Norwegian electronic ID that you can use to log in to ID-porten
  • MinID, BankID on mobile, BankID, Buypass or Commfides
• have the correct role or access if you are submitting the form on behalf of another person for a company

Read more about how to create an Altinn user (altinn.no)

Read more about electronic ID and login (altinn.no)

Read more about how to change roles and access in Altinn (altinn.no)

Attach a copy of your passport or national ID card.

Attach a copy of all pages of your original qualification certificate from the EEA, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

You must attach a certificate of practical training/work practice to the form if

• your profession is not regulated in the country where you gained your qualifications
• you are an EEA citizen with a qualification certificate from the United Kingdom issued before 1 January 2021

The certificate of practical training/work practice from your employer must show

• at least one year of practical work experience with the relevant work equipment in an EEA country or Switzerland (within the last 10 years)
• the work experience may have been gained in the UK if you are an EEA citizen with a qualification certificate from the UK issued before 1 January 2021
• the period during which the work experience was gained (with dates)
• the work equipment to which the practical training/work practice relates
• whether you have worked full-time or part-time (state the percentage of a full-time position)

The practical work experience cannot have been gained in Norway.

• The normal processing time for an application recognition by establishment is 1–30 days.
  • Some applications are processed automatically.
• You will be notified if your application is incomplete or if there is a delay in processing.
• You will receive a reply by text message and email.
• The Labour Inspection Authority shall decide on the application within three months of receiving complete documentation.
• You cannot start work until you have received a decision on approval from the Labour Inspection Authority.
• You can appeal to the Directorate of Labour Inspection if the Labour Inspection Authority has not decided on your application within the deadline.
• You can appeal against a rejection of the application from the Labour Inspection Authority. The deadline for appeal is three weeks from the date you receive the letter with the decision.

• Normally, declarations are processed automatically and you will receive a reply stating that you are entitled to practise your profession (provided your declaration contains sufficient documentation).
• You will be notified if we need to process your declaration manually.
• You will receive a reply by text message and email.
• The Labour Inspection Authority must respond to the declaration within two months of receiving complete documentation.
• You are entitled to practise your profession in Norway if the Labour Inspection Authority does not meet the deadlines.

Automatic case processing of declarations

When processing declarations automatically, the Labour Inspection Authority does not manually check the documentation you have submitted before sending confirmation that you have the right to practise your profession in Norway.