Licence to serve food

If you are planning to open an establishment where food and/or drinks are served, you need to have a licence to serve food. There are a few cases where you do not need a licence to serve food. Altinn.no is a good source for information on the general process of starting and running a business in Norway. Use the E-guide for the food and beverage industry to get more specific guidelines for your business plans.

• The general manager of the establishment must have passed the Food Services Act knowledge test in order to be eligible to apply for a licence to serve food. Make an appointment to take the test (etablererprøven). The licence is granted to the company that owns the establishment.
• The Food Services Act requires that licence holders are of spotless repute.
• In some cases, we may need a floor plan of the food-service area and a financing plan, in which case we will contact you.
• In the event of a change of ownership, the new owner must apply for his/her own licence to serve food within 30 days after signing an agreement on transfer.

Use the electronic application form below. If you log in, the application form can be saved before submission so that you can return to your application at a later time. You will be asked to upload attachments at the end of the form.

• Confirmation that you have passed the Food Services Act knowledge test.
• Certificate of registration from the Brønnøysund Register Centre (firmaattest)
• Description of the location of the establishment

Apply for a licence to serve food here (available in Norwegian only) 

Applications for a licence to serve food shall be processed within 60 days. Applications are sent to the police and the Norwegian Tax Administration for a background check and feedback. Processing may take longer if the consulted bodies spend a long time or have any objections to the application, or if you make changes during the application process.