Right to appeal

You must submit your appeal to the NAV office that processed your application. The term of appeal is 3 weeks from the date on which you received notice of the decision.

Find a NAV office

You may appeal NAV’s decisions relating to a labour market scheme. This type of case is regulated by the Public Administration Act.

You may appeal if you

• do not want to participate
• want to participate in a different labour market scheme
• are not offered participation in a labour market scheme you have requested

Verbal decisions

You may appeal even if you only received a verbal decision with no written justification.

Term of appeal

• The term of appeal is 6 weeks.
• If the labour market scheme involves an employer, the term of appeal is 3 weeks.

How to appeal

When you receive a decision relating to a labour market scheme, the notice will include information on how to appeal. You may write to us with your appeal. Specify the decision you are appealing, why you are appealing and describe your reasoning. 

Exceptions from the right to appeal

You may not appeal a decision to enrol you in labour market training (AMO). This is regulated by the Public Administration Regulations (Section 33) (text in Norrwegian).

You may submit a digital appeal against many different services or benefits provided by NAV. You may also submit additional attachments[ related to an appeal you have previously submitted. The complaint and appeal form is available at nav.no/klage.

If your appeal is successful, you may be entitled to compensation for any costs you incurred in connection with getting the decision changed. This includes legal costs.

Send your claim for compensation for legal costs to the unit in NAV that reversed the decision. You must send your claim in the form of a letter, and include documentation of your expenses.

• For many benefits, you can submit your appeal digitally to NAV Appeals. They will then reassess your case. The complaint and appeal form is available at nav.no/klage.

If your appeal is not successful 

If your appeal is not successful, NAV Appeals will prepare a letter to the National Insurance Court. Before this letter is sent to the National Insurance Court, you will have an opportunity to comment on the content of the letter.

The National Insurance Court will consider your case, make a decision and issue an order. The National Insurance Court will send you a copy of the order.

If your case can be heard by the National Insurance Court, the National Insurance Court must complete its assessment of your case before you can bring it before a court.

That is because you have to exhaust avenues of appeal with NAV and the National Insurance Court before you can bring your case before another judicial authority.

You must initiate legal action in a regular court within 6 months of receiving the order issued by the National Insurance Court.

If the National Insurance Court cannot hear your case 

The National Insurance Court cannot hear all types of cases. If your case is one of them, you need to see if you have exhausted all of your appeal options within NAV. Before you can bring your case before a court, this is something you have to do.

You must also check to see what the time limit is for initiating legal action before a regular court.

Parliamentary Ombud 

If you have exhausted all of your public administration appeal options, you can  file a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombud.

This could, for example, be an option if you believe that a decision is incorrect, or that your case has been handled  unfairly or inappropriately.

Free legal aid

In some types of cases, you may apply for free legal aid.

You can

• submit a claim through the service Write to us, or
• submit a signed claim on paper: use the form NAV 00-03.00

Your claim must include

• information on the error you believe NAV has made. Document, as well as you can,
• the economic loss you believe you have incurred as a result of the error. You must specify an amount and document it.

Damages concerning municipal services

If your claim for damages concerns municipal services, you must

• contact the NAV office in the municipality you believe made the error, or
• use the form NAV 00-03.00. Submit your claim to the NAV office.

Municipal services include financial assistance, temporary housing, the qualification programme and qualification benefit, individual plans or advice and counselling (economic counselling).

Damages on grounds of breech of privacy regulations 

If you are claiming damages on grounds of a breech of privacy regulations, 

• you must have experienced a breach of privacy
• you must have incurred costs as a result of the breach of privacy, or the breech must have constituted a violation severe enough that it would be reasonable for you to claim damages. This refers to a loss that cannot be measured in money, such as loss of something with sentimental value or pain and suffering. You can claim damages on both types of grounds
• there must be a connection between the breach of privacy and the loss or injury you have incurred

General conditions for being awarded damages

In order for NAV to award you damages, the following conditions, among others, must be met:

• The Labour and Welfare Administration must have made an error and must be liable for the error.
• You must have suffered an economic or non-economic loss.
• There must be a direct causal link between the Labour and Welfare Administration’s liability and your economic loss.