State Register of Employers and Employees (Aa-registeret)
Owned and managed by NAV, the Aa Register is a basic data register of employment in Norway.
The Aa Register lists all employment relationships in Norway, with a few exceptions. The register was established in 1978 when the sick pay scheme was introduced.
The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration and others who need information on employment to accomplish public tasks can use the register.
Employers and contractors are obliged to report their employees and freelancers in the register via the a-melding (employee and payroll report). The register provides further information about each employment relationship.
Only employees, cf. Section 1-8 of the National Insurance Act and freelancers, cf. Section 1-9 of the National Insurance Act, shall be registered in the Aa Register.
Want to see information in the Aa Register?
If you are an employer, you can see what has been reported to the Aa Register via the a-ordning scheme in the transparency service at nav.no.
If you are a private individual, you can see what the employers and contractors have reported about your employment in a transparency service.
The transparency services only show employment relationships reported after 1 January 2015 and freelance assignments reported after 1 January 2020.
Information about employers in the Aa Register
The Aa Register is linked to the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities and all information about employers and contractors in the Aa Register is obtained from there. Employers and contractors must therefore be registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities before they are registered in the Aa Register. See more information about how to register your business in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities.
The main entity is assigned a unique organisation number in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities. One or more subunits are connected to the main unit with their own unique organisation number. The subunit shows the place of work, and the employment relationships in the Aa Register are always registered on a subunit.
See more information about the assigning of organisation numbers.
What has to be reported to the Aa Register?
The Aa Register has undergone changes since its establishment in 1978. On 1 November 2011, it was expanded from a land-based register to also include maritime employment.
On 1 January 201,5 the a-ordning scheme was introduced, which entailed joint reporting of employment and income information to the Norwegian Tax Administration, Statistics Norway and NAV. The register was simultaneously expanded with more information.
Freelancers became part of the register on 1 January 2021.
The guide to the a-melding describes what is to be reported to the Aa Register. In addition to the main unit's and subunit's organisation number, the report on employment shall contain information about
- the national identity number or D number of the employee or freelancer
- Employment ID
- type of employment (ordinary, maritime, freelancer)
- occupational code
- start date and end date, if applicable
- type of employment
- hours per week corresponding to a full-time position
- the employee's agreed working hours specified in employment percentage
- working hours arrangement
- reason for termination of employment
- date of last wage change and employment percentage for income earned in a country other than Norway
- leave of absence
- temporary lay-off
The duty of reporting relating to freelancers is limited to the first five points above: national identity number or D number, Employment ID, occupational code, start and end date of the assignment.
Exemption from the obligation to report
There are some exceptions to the reporting obligation to the Aa Register (Section 5-2 of the Aa Register regulations). See also instructions for the a-ordning scheme, exemptions for ordinary and maritime employment.
There is also an exemption from the reporting requirement when the employee (irrespective of his/her nationality) works at sea on an NIS-registered vessel and resides outside the EEA.
How and when reporting shall be done
All reporting relating to income, employment and tax deductions is combined into a single electronic report known as the a-melding.
Employers and other entities with a duty to disclose information must submit an a-melding at least once a month (on the fifth of the month).
For more information on deadlines and payment in the a-melding, see the Tax Administration's pages.
Missing or late submission of the a-melding
To ensure the quality of the information in the Aa register, NAV can check how employers fulfill their obligation to report.
Anyone who does not submit all the information by the deadline may be ordered to pay a penalty and/or enforcement fine, cf. Sections 10-11 of the A Information Act.
Who uses the Aa Register?
Most public authorities use the Aa Register, such as NAV, the Norwegian Tax Administration, the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, the Police Service, municipalities and counties.
NAV uses the information in the Aa Register to, among other things,
- process applications for benefits
- disburse and refund sickness benefits and parental benefits
- work to reduce absence due to sickness
- prevent and detect benefit fraud, and
- compile statistics
Employees must be correctly registered in the Aa Register to enable employers to apply for HSE cards for their employees in the building and construction industry and in the cleaning sector. In addition to issuing HSE cards, the Labour Inspection Authority uses the register for oversight of pay and working conditions.
The police use the register in police duties and in their role as enforcement officers in enforcement proceedings.
Pension providers have access to the Aa Register to calculate mandatory occupational pension (OTP) for employees in the business. Incorrect and/or inadequate registration in the Aa Register may result in errors and deficiencies in the pension payment and when calculating the pension itself.
Questions?
- The Norwegian Tax Administration answers inquiries about the a-ordning scheme
- If you have any questions regarding the Aa Register, please contact NAV Register Management.