How do public tenders work in Norway?

Law and buyers

Norway applies the EU procurement directives through the EEA Agreement. The legal basis is the Public Procurement Act, Lov om offentlige anskaffelser (anskaffelsesloven), with the main regulation, Forskrift om offentlige anskaffelser (anskaffelsesforskriften), plus separate regulations for utilities, concessions and defence. Buyers include state agencies, municipalities, county authorities (fylkeskommuner), regional health trusts and publicly owned companies. DFØ (the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management) provides guidance on anskaffelser.no and runs Statens innkjøpssenter, the central purchasing body for the state. Amendments in force from 1 July 2026 raised the lower limit of the rules to NOK 500 000 and moved the rules on social considerations, such as climate and working conditions, into the Act.[1][2][4][11]

Where tenders are published

All contracts above the national threshold must be announced in Doffin, the national notice database run by DFØ. Searching Doffin and setting up alerts is free. Above the EEA thresholds the notice is also sent to TED, and under the regulation the notice must be published in Norwegian and in an official EU language. Tender documents and submissions are handled in the e-tendering system chosen by the buyer, most often Mercell, where suppliers register a free account. Below the national threshold buyers do not have to advertise publicly, but must still respect competition, equal treatment and transparency, and often invite a few suppliers directly.[2][6][13]

Procedures and thresholds

The regulation has three tiers. Part I sets basic rules for all purchases from NOK 500 000. Part II applies between the national threshold and the EEA thresholds and lets buyers choose between åpen tilbudskonkurranse (open competition) and begrenset tilbudskonkurranse (restricted competition), with negotiation allowed. Part III applies above the EEA thresholds and follows the directive procedures: åpen anbudskonkurranse (open procedure), begrenset anbudskonkurranse (restricted procedure), konkurranse med forhandling (competitive procedure with negotiation), konkurransepreget dialog (competitive dialogue) and innovasjonspartnerskap. In open and restricted tendering under Part III, negotiation is not allowed. Framework agreements (rammeavtaler) are widely used.[2][4]

Documents and language

Above the EEA thresholds, buyers must accept the European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) as preliminary evidence. Typical documentation includes a company registration certificate (firmaattest from Brønnøysundregistrene or the home-country equivalent), a tax certificate (skatteattest) showing that taxes and VAT are paid, financial statements or credit information, references, and quality or environmental certificates. For construction and cleaning services there are extra rules on pay and working conditions. Tender documents are usually in Norwegian, and buyers often require tenders in Norwegian or accept other Scandinavian languages or English; the tender documents state this. Foreign bidders may use equivalent documents from their home country.[2][12]

Deadlines, award and challenges

Above the EEA thresholds, an open procedure gives at least 30 days from the day the notice is sent to TED, or 35 days if the buyer does not accept electronic tenders, with shorter periods possible after a prior information notice or in urgent cases. Under Part II the buyer must set a reasonable deadline. Contracts are awarded on the best relationship between price or cost and quality, and the buyer must state the award criteria in advance. Above the EEA thresholds the standstill period (karensperiode) is at least 10 days. Complaints can be brought to KOFA (Klagenemnda for offentlige anskaffelser), whose opinions are advisory, or to the district court (tingrett) for an injunction.[1][2][5]

How to win a tender in Norway

Norwegian contracts are awarded on the best relationship between price or cost and quality, with criteria and weights stated in advance. A distinctive rule decides many tenders: in procurements that must be advertised, climate and environment must weigh at least 30% of the award criteria, now set out in section 5b of the Procurement Act since 1 July 2026. Buyers may replace this with strict environmental requirements, but must explain why, and the complaints board has found competitions unlawful when the weighting was missing. Your environmental answer is therefore often worth as much as a large part of your price. Ask questions through the tendering platform before the deadline; answers are shared with all bidders and become part of the documents. Learn about the buyer from its notice history on Doffin, its procurement strategy and earlier contracts, which you can request under the Freedom of Information Act. Write in Norwegian unless the documents accept another language, answer each criterion with measurable commitments and documented environmental effects, and include a recent tax certificate. Bids fail on late delivery, reservations against contract terms, missing qualification documents and abnormally low prices. After award you receive a reasoned notice and a standstill period of at least 10 days to question the evaluation or complain.[7][8][9][10]

1. Find the climate and environment criterion and its weight in the documents.
2. Back your environmental answer with measurable effects, not general policies.
3. Study the buyer's earlier notices on Doffin and request previous contracts.
4. Ask questions through the tendering platform before the question deadline.
5. Avoid reservations against contract terms and attach a recent tax certificate.
6. Read the reasoned award notice and act within the standstill period.

Clarification round: Spørsmål og svar / avklaringer (questions and clarifications)

Tips for bidders

Set up a free search profile in Doffin, because every contract above the national threshold must appear there. Remember that since July 2026 many purchases below NOK 500 000 fall outside the rules entirely, so getting known to local buyers matters for small contracts. Check early whether English is accepted, and budget for Norwegian translation if not. Prepare a recent Norwegian tax certificate or equivalent foreign evidence, as buyers often check this before signing. In construction, expect strict requirements on wages, apprentices and subcontractor chains. Use the question round in the e-tendering platform: clarifications are shared with all bidders and can change how you price the contract.[2][4][6]

Platforms in Norway

Share of the 7,215 TED notices from 2025 whose documents sit on this platform.

• Mercell (incl. TendSign, EU-Supply, ETHICS, Cloudia)95.7%

  Buyers using Mercell's tendering tools (TendSign, EU-Supply and others) publish openly; suppliers log in to submit, with country-specific support pages per market.

  How it works →Website

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Lov om offentlige anskaffelser (anskaffelsesloven), Lovdata
2. Forskrift om offentlige anskaffelser (anskaffelsesforskriften), Lovdata
3. Anskaffelser.no (DFØ): Oversikt over nye EØS-terskelverdier, April 2026
4. Regjeringen: Endringene i anskaffelsesloven trer i kraft (1 July 2026)
5. Klagenemnda for offentlige anskaffelser (KOFA)
6. Doffin
7. Anskaffelser.no (DFØ) – Veileder til regler om klima- og miljøhensyn (minimum 30 prosent, § 5b from 1 July 2026)
8. Regjeringen – Prop. 147 L (2024–2025), kapittel 8 Klima- og miljøhensyn
9. KOFA – Klagenemndas avgjørelse i sak 2026/1002 (missing 30% climate weighting)
10. Offentleglova, Lovdata
11. Statens innkjøpssenter | Anskaffelser.no
12. European single procurement document and eCertis
13. TED - EU Tenders, the Supplement to the Official Journal

Checked on 15 October 2026. Made by TenderRender from official sources. Not legal advice: check the notice and documents of each tender.

As data:MarkdownJSONllms.txtCC BY 4.0

Ask an AI:ChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle