Children born in Norway

Here you’ll find information about how to register your child with the National Population Register, about registering a name, about national identity numbers, and about parental responsibility for children born in Norway.

This is the process of how you register your child with the National Population Register and how to register your child’s name.

You can follow the entire process, or you can go directly to the part you’re most interested in.

After the child is born, a notification of the birth must be sent to the Tax Administration. 

When the child is born in Norway in an institution for childbirth or with health personnel present

The institution for childbirth or health personnel will notify the Tax Administration of the birth.

When the child is born in Norway without a doctor or midwife present

The child’s mother must do the following:

  • notify the Tax Administration about the birth, generally within one month of the birth
  • book an appointment at a tax office
  • bring valid identification and documentation of the relation to the child (maternity record)
  • complete and sign a notification of birth form, available at the tax office
  • if required, provide a DNA test for herself and the child at her own expense.

When the Tax Administration receives the notification of birth, the child will be assigned a Norwegian national identity number.

The national identity number consists of 11 digits and is used to identify individuals.

Read more about National identity numbers.

Parents who are married at the time of the birth do not have to do anything. The husband is automatically assumed to be the child's father. Married parents automatically receive shared parental responsibility.

If the parents are separated or unmarried, the father must declare his paternity.

Read more about paternity.

Once a national identity number has been assigned to the child, the Tax Administration will request the person or persons with parental responsibility to register a name for the child. The child’s Norwegian national identity number will be stated in this request.

If the parental responsibility for the child is shared between both parents, and if the notification regarding the registration of a child's name has been submitted by the mother, the other parent must approve the name.

The other parent can approve the name by logging on to My page

When the child’s name is registered, the parents will receive a confirmation of the name and national identity number via Altinn. If you do not have an electronic ID, you’ll receive this letter by post.

Once we have registered the information, you can see the child’s information on My page.