How to Get a Death Certificate in Norway

When someone dies in Norway, the death certificate process is largely automatic — but the details depend on where the death occurred and whether you're a Norwegian resident or a foreign national.

Here's exactly how it works, what documents you'll receive, and what to do if you're an English speaker navigating the system.

Deaths That Occur Inside Norway

If a person dies in Norway, the certifying physician handles the registration. You don't need to report the death yourself.

The doctor issues a medical death certificate (dødsattest) and transmits a digital notification directly to the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret), which is managed by the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten). This filing is automated — no next-of-kin action required for the initial registration.

If someone dies at home, call the emergency medical service (Legevakt) at 116 117, or emergency services at 113. A doctor will attend to certify the death and start the registration process.

Once Skatteetaten processes the death notification, several things happen automatically within hours:

• Banks freeze all accounts — savings, checking, joint accounts, credit cards, and online banking
• BankID is deactivated — the deceased's electronic identity stops working immediately
• The local district court (Tingretten) receives notification and sends a guidance packet to the contact person
• NAV (the welfare administration) is notified for any pension or benefit adjustments

Deaths That Occur Abroad

If a Norwegian resident dies outside Norway, the automatic registration does not apply. The surviving family must manually notify Skatteetaten by mailing the original foreign death certificate to:

Skatteetaten Postboks 9200 Grønland 0134 Oslo, Norway

The foreign death certificate must include an Apostille stamp (for Hague Convention countries) or consular legalization. Without this authentication, Skatteetaten will not accept the document.

If the death occurred in a country with unreliable civil registries — designated as a "Group 2" country by Skatteetaten — the foreign death certificate may be rejected entirely. In those cases, families must apply to a Norwegian district court for a formal judicial ruling to establish the death legally in Norway.

The Confirmation of Death Document

After registration, the district court issues a Bekreftelse av dødsfall (Confirmation of Death). This is the administrative document you'll use to notify banks, insurance companies, and utility providers.

This is different from the medical death certificate. The medical certificate records the cause and circumstances of death. The confirmation of death is the administrative proof you present to institutions when settling the estate.

What Foreign Nationals Need to Know

If you're a non-Norwegian dealing with a death in Norway, the biggest barrier is the digital access gap. Norway's probate system runs through BankID and the Altinn digital portal — but foreign heirs without BankID must use the paper-based process for everything.

You'll need to request documents by mail, present physical identification at the district court, and wait for certified paper copies of authorizations that Norwegian residents receive digitally in minutes.

The full process — from obtaining a death certificate to settling the estate, handling frozen bank accounts, and managing property transfers — is covered step by step in our Someone Died in Norway guide.