Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and has implemented the EU public procurement directives in Norwegian law. The rules govern how public bodies buy goods, services and works. This article gives suppliers and contracting authorities an overview of the legislation, the thresholds, publication, procedures, climate and environmental requirements, access to documents and remedies.
The rules were amended with effect from 1 July 2026. Check the current version on Lovdata before relying on a specific provision.
Legal framework
The Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven) sets out the basic rules. It is supplemented by regulations, mainly:
the Public Procurement Regulation (anskaffelsesforskriften), which implements Directive 2014/24/EU;
the Utilities Procurement Regulation (forsyningsforskriften), which implements Directive 2014/25/EU; and
separate regulations for concession contracts (Directive 2014/23/EU) and for defence and security procurement (Directive 2009/81/EC).
The Act applies to state, county and municipal authorities, bodies governed by public law and certain utilities (Section 2). Contracting authorities must comply with the basic principles of competition, equal treatment, predictability, verifiability and proportionality (Section 4).
Thresholds
The Act applies to contracts with an estimated value at or above a minimum value set in the Act, excluding VAT (Section 2). The Regulation then divides contracts into parts with different rules depending on their estimated value (Section 5-1):
Part I (general provisions) applies to all procurements covered by the Regulation.
Part II applies to contracts between the national threshold in Section 5-1 and the EEA thresholds.
Part III applies to contracts at or above the EEA thresholds in Section 5-3.
The applicable thresholds are set in Norwegian kroner, excluding VAT, and are adjusted from time to time. See Section 2 of the Act and Sections 5-1 and 5-3 of the Regulation for the current values. The estimated value must be calculated on the basis of the total payment, including options, and a contract must not be split to avoid the rules (Section 5-4).
Publication
Contracts covered by Part II and Part III must be published in Doffin, the Norwegian procurement database (Section 8-17 and Section 21-1). Doffin forwards notices for procurements above the EEA thresholds to the EU database TED (Tenders Electronic Daily).
Procurement procedures
Above the EEA thresholds, the open and restricted procedures are the main procedures. Competitive procedures with negotiation, competitive dialogue and innovation partnerships are available on the conditions set out in the Regulation.
Below the EEA thresholds (Part II), the contracting authority may use an open or restricted tender competition (Section 8-3). It may have a dialogue with tenderers, which may include clarifications and negotiations, if it has stated this in the procurement documents (Section 9-3).
Climate and environmental requirements
From 1 July 2026, contracting authorities must take climate and environmental considerations into account in all procurements (Section 5b). In procurements that must be published, an authority that weights its award criteria must give climate and environmental considerations a weighting of at least 30 percent. If the criteria are listed in order of priority instead, climate and environmental considerations must be among the three highest priorities. The award criteria may be replaced or combined with climate and environmental requirements in the specification where this gives a better effect.
The obligations do not apply where the procurement has an insignificant climate and environmental footprint, or where they would conflict with essential interests of health, security or preparedness. The reasons must be stated in the procurement documents. The obligations also do not apply where the authority must use standardised minimum climate and environmental requirements laid down in law or regulations (Section 5c).
Exclusion of suppliers
The contracting authority must reject a supplier that has been convicted by final judgement, or has accepted a penalty notice (forelegg), for certain criminal offences, such as corruption, fraud and participation in a criminal organisation (Section 24-2). In other words, the rule is not limited to criminal convictions.
Access to documents
The Freedom of Information Act (offentleglova) applies to procurement documents. Tenders and the procurement protocol may be exempted from access until the supplier has been selected (Section 23 third paragraph). Information covered by a duty of confidentiality, such as tenderers’ trade secrets, must not be disclosed. Which price information is a trade secret depends on the circumstances and must be assessed in each case.
Remedies
A supplier who believes the rules have been breached can:
Raise the issue with the contracting authority. This is often the quickest route before the contract is signed.
Complain to the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (KOFA). KOFA is an advisory body. Its opinions are not binding, but KOFA may impose an infringement fee (overtredelsesgebyr) on a contracting authority that has made an illegal direct award (Section 12 of the Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven), klagenemndsforskriften).
Bring the case before the ordinary courts (Section 8). The courts may grant an interim injunction, for example to stop the contract from being signed (Section 9), and may award damages (Section 10). In certain cases above the EEA thresholds, the court must declare a contract ineffective, for example after an illegal direct award (Section 13).
Remedies are subject to short deadlines, including the standstill period before the contract is signed. Get advice early if you are considering a complaint.
How we can help
Advokatfirmaet Sterk AS (org. no. 931 556 584, St. Olavs plass 3, 0165 Oslo, advokats.no) advises Norwegian and foreign businesses on public procurement, both as tenderers and in complaints and court proceedings. If you would like us to look at your situation, you can contact us. Information about our fees is available at advokats.no/priser.
This article provides general information as of 29 October 2026 and is not legal advice for your specific situation.
