Privacy Statement for the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV)

When you apply to NAV for a benefit or service, we use the information you provide in your application. In addition, we collect information from public and private parties to process your application.

NAV will only disclose personal data to a third part when we have the statutory authority to do so, such as to the Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen), the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and other pension funds.

Applications to NAV

Some applications are digital. In these cases, you will be informed, as you fill out the application, of which types of information we collect from or share with others. For other types of applications on nav.no, see the themed overview below for information on how we collect, use, and share personal data.

Select theme and click on the list (pdf). Information on collection and sharing is found in the far-right column. The lists are in Norwegian.

• Unemployment. See unemployment overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers unemployment benefit, employment scheme benefit, supplementary benefit, courses, wage guarantee, etc.
• Employment, health, and illness. See employment, health, and illness overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers work assessment allowance, sickness benefit, basic benefit and assistance allowance, care benefit, attendance allowance and training allowance, occupational injury, disability benefit, supplementary benefits, etc.
• Family. See family overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers child maintenance and advance child support, child benefit, single parent, cash-for-care benefit, parental benefit, care benefit, supplementary benefits, etc.
• Pension. See pension overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers retirement pension and contractual early retirement pension, child who has lost one or both parents, dependant supplement, survivor’s pension, supplementary benefits, etc.
• Assistive aids and adaptations. See assistive aids and adaptation overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers ordering scheme, mobility, car, hearing, vision, orthopaedic aids, travel expenses, etc.
• Death. See death overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers surviving spouse/partner, child who has lost one or more parents, funeral grant, funeral transport, etc.
• To or from Norway. See to or from Norway overview (pdf in Norwegian). Covers assessing and determining rights pursuant to the National Insurance Act. Calculating fees.

We require personal data about you to process your application and to provide you with services and benefits that you are entitled to.

Read more about personal data in applications to NAV.

We use personal data when distributing tasks between our employees, following up applications, and ensuring correct payments are made. We also require personal data to provide you with good user support and to correct errors in our IT systems.

We use personal data when we carry out checks to prevent and detect benefit fraud.

About benefit fraud (in Norwegian)

We use personal data to compile statistics and analyses. We require this to improve our services, and to provide insight to ministries and other parties about how many who use our services and how the services that we are responsible for function.

We also use personal data to develop and improve systems and processes to provide faster and more equitable case processing services.

NAV’s processing of personal data is primarily based on statute, such as:

• The Labour and Welfare Administration Act (arbeids- og velferdsforvaltningsloven (NAV-loven))
• The National Insurance Act (folketrygdloven)
• The Labour Market Act (arbeidsmarkedsloven)
• The Child Benefit Act (barnetrygdloven)
• The Children Act (barneloven)
• The Advance Payments of Child Support Act (forskotteringsloven)
• The Pension for Fishermen Act (lov om pensjonstrygd for fiskere)
• The Wage Guarantee Scheme Act (lønnsgarantiloven)
• The Cash Benefit Act (kontantstøtteloven)
• The Marriage Act (ekteskapsloven)
• Act on supplementary benefit for persons who have only lived a short period in Norway (lov om supplerande stønad til personar med kort butid i Noreg)
• Act on state subsidies to employees who receive contractual pension in the private sector (AFP Subsidies Act) (lov om statstilskott til arbeidstakere som tar ut avtalefestet pensjon i privat sektor)
• Act on contractual pension for the members of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (lov om avtalefestet pensjon for medlemmer av Statens pensjonskasse)
• Act on suspension of payments following child abduction (lov om stans i utbetalinga etter barnebortføringer)
• Act (No. 21 of 1946) on war pension for military people (lov om krigspensjonering for militærpersoner)
• Act (No. 22 of 1946) on war pension for home force personnel and civilians (lov om krigspensjonering for hjemmestyrkepersonell og sivilpersoner)
• The Act relating to the duty to pay wages during a temporary lay-off (the Mandatory Wages Act) (permitteringslønnsloven)

As a government agency, NAV has a statutory duty pursuant to the Norwegian Archive Act and Regulations on Financial Management in Central Government to store the data, including after processing has concluded.

Data which we do not have a statutory duty to store will be deleted when it is no longer required.

Everyone who works at and for NAV has a duty of confidentiality regarding all data pertaining to you. The duty of confidentiality also applies after an employee ceases working for NAV.

NAV only uses personal data about you when this is necessary for performing our tasks. There are strict access controls for which employees who are granted access to the data. When the employees work in computer systems, searches and changes are logged and can be subsequently traced.

There are many areas in which NAV enters into agreements with suppliers to perform tasks on behalf of NAV. This applies, for example, to IT providers and organizers of labour market measures.

We enter into agreements with the suppliers to regulate how they process personal data on behalf of NAV. This means that they cannot use the personal data for purposes other than what has been agreed to with NAV.

When we use external suppliers, we set strict requirements for security, controls, and documentation to protect your personal data. The suppliers have the same duty of confidentiality as NAV employees.

NAV manages large amounts of personal data, and this places high demands on security.

NAV has established a dedicated management system to safeguard information security requirements. This includes physical security, security in IT systems, risk management, and plans for emergency preparedness and crisis management.

You can request that data about you is corrected if the data is incorrect or misleading. You may also add data about you if it is incomplete. It is important that the data we have about you is correct and up-to-date to ensure, among other things, that your case is correctly processed.

In rare instances, you may be entitled to have the data about you deleted. For us to delete personal data about you, this presupposes that NAV does not have a statutory duty under the Norwegian Archives Act or other legislation to store the data.

In some instances, you have the right to ask us to restrict how we process your personal data. If you have this right, your data will be stored, but not used by NAV.

In some instances, you may have the right to object to our processing of your personal data. We will then be required to cease processing this data, and the data might be deleted.

You can request to transfer a copy of the personal data that is registered about you to yourself or another private or public body. This is known as data portability. We may only copy or transfer personal data when you have consented to this. As an alternative to transferring your data, you may request access (more information in the previous part concerning access) and receive a copy of your data.

To ensure efficient processing, NAV may automate the evaluation of some benefit applications. When you apply for or are granted benefits or financial support from NAV, you have the right to be notified if NAV uses automated processing based on your personal data to evaluate your application or make a decision.

Automated evaluations of applications may imply that no case worker has been involved in the assessment of your case. Your application may be processed based on the information you provided in your application and other relevant information we have registered about you.

The collection of information and the underlying logic behind automated decisions will be based on the conditions of the benefit in question, as defined by laws and regulations.

You cannot object to automated evaluations of applications, but if you disagree with the decision, you have the right to appeal it. Read more about your right to appeal.  

Your appeal will be processed by a case worker. You always have the right to demand access to the criteria on which the processing of your case is based.

Read more about automated evaluations of applications in NAV.