Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Norway Requires

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Country requirements change. This page is re-checked periodically, and nothing on it replaces confirming the position with the Norwegian body that will receive your document.

For Norway the authentication answer is short: an apostille. What makes Norway different is that the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), which runs the national population register and checks the right to marry, publishes exact rules for foreign documents — and two of them catch Australians out: a four-month age limit, and a rule that an Australian divorce must be recognised in Norway before you can remarry there. The good news is that Norway accepts documents in English, so an Australian document usually needs no translation.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Convention membership is a live fact. Confirm Norway's status against the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention on the day you start. Norway has been a party since 1983, so an apostille is the expected route for documents within the Convention's scope.

The usual chain

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is a private one (a power of attorney, an affidavit)
2. DFAT apostille

Australian public documents such as birth certificates may be able to go to DFAT directly without a notary. Confirm with DFAT. For Norway's civil status purposes, the Tax Administration asks for originals, so a notarised copy of a birth certificate is generally not what it wants.

Marrying in Norway

Before a wedding in Norway, the Tax Administration must check that both of you meet the legal requirements and issue a marriage licence (prøvingsattest). For a foreign citizen, its guidance asks for:

• A certificate of no impediment to marriage from your home country, in the original. For an Australian, that is the Certificate of No Impediment issued by DFAT or an Australian mission. The Australian Embassy in Copenhagen, which covers Norway, issues them and notes that you may also need to legalise the certificate. Ask the Tax Administration whether yours needs an apostille.
• No older than four months. The Tax Administration says original supporting documents such as this certificate must be no older than four months. Apply for it late enough that it is still within that window when your application is assessed.
• Proof of name, age and citizenship if you have no Norwegian national identity number. A passport colour copy will do; a birth certificate must be the original, with an apostille.
• Originals by post. It says it does not accept electronic certificates.
• A second country's evidence if you live elsewhere. If you live in a country other than your country of citizenship, it also asks for proof of civil status from the country where you live.

The licence, once issued, is valid for four months.

An Australian divorce must be recognised first

This is the point people miss. If you were divorced under foreign law — which includes an Australian divorce — the Tax Administration says the divorce must be recognised by the County Governor (Statsforvalteren) before the marriage can proceed. There is an exception only for certain divorces within the Nordic countries.

So an Australian divorcee planning to marry in Norway has an extra step, and time to allow for it. Ask the County Governor what it needs to see. Expect the answer to include the divorce order itself, and very possibly an apostille on it. An Australian divorce order is a court document, which can generally go to DFAT for an apostille without a notary; confirm with DFAT.

If you have been married before, the Tax Administration also asks for a declaration about the division of property from the earlier marriage. The form is in Norwegian only.

Translation: often not needed

The Tax Administration says certificates must be in English or a Nordic language. Australian documents in English therefore usually need no translation for this purpose. If a document is in another language, it must be translated by a certified translator, and a translation made outside Norway must itself be apostilled or legalised. For Australians with documents from a third country, that is worth knowing before ordering a translation here.

Powers of attorney and property

For property, inheritance or company matters in Norway, ask the Norwegian lawyer, bank or registry for the wording and for how the signature must be authenticated. An Australian notary can witness and certify your signature and DFAT can apostille the notary's certificate. Whether that is what the Norwegian side wants, or whether it will accept something simpler, is its decision.

Australians already in Norway

The Australian Embassy in Copenhagen handles notarial services for Norway, in person in Copenhagen or by mail for services that do not need you to attend. If it asks you for a certified copy of a document, it says certified copies (rett kopi) can be made in Norway at a district court, a local police station or the municipality, and that it accepts domestically recognised certified copies from Norwegian copy shops that use an official stamp or seal.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Norwegian embassy need to legalise my document? Not for a document within the Convention's scope. The apostille replaces embassy legalisation.

Can I email scans to the Tax Administration? Not for original supporting documents. It says originals must be sent by post and it does not accept electronic certificates.

How long does it take? It depends on DFAT processing, the Tax Administration and, for a divorcee, the County Governor. Do not plan to a figure quoted on a blog, including this one.