D number
A Norwegian D number is a unique identification number that will often be relevant when you have a temporary connection to Norway.
This could be when you’re working in Norway for a few months, if you’re an asylum seeker, a foreign citizen or have a board position in a Norwegian company.
D number requirements
There are two kinds of identification numbers in Norway: national identity numbers and D numbers. Which identification number you receive as a foreign person depends, among other things, on how long you are planning to stay in Norway.
You may be issued a D number if you plan to stay in Norway
- for less than 6 months
- for more than 6 months, but you do not meet the conditions for being assigned a national identity number
How to get a D number
When you’re interacting with public agencies or enterprises regarding their services or to carry out a task, they may need you to have a Norwegian identification number.
If you do not have a national identity number, some public agencies or enterprises can order a D number for you. For example, if you apply for a tax deduction card, the Tax Administration will order a D number for you.
You may be issued a D number if you, for example,
- are working or carrying out business activity
- are an asylum seeker or you have another form of valid residence permit
- receive national insurance contributions from Norway
- are a board member in an enterprise
- own a residential property
- are opening a bank account
When an enterprise or authority are applying for a D number on your behalf, you must send them a certified copy of your passport or your national ID card. The identity document must include your photograph, full name, date of birth, gender, expiration date, citizenship, and a machine-readable strip.
A certified copy means that a third party has photocopied your identity document and certified it with a signature and stamp. The certified copy must be dated. The copy must be in colour, and both the front page and last page of the identity document must be photocopied.
The certified copy cannot be older than three months and must be sent to us by post.
The following can certify a copy of your passport:
- a Norwegian public authority, for example:
- a tax office
- the police
- the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV)
- the Brønnøysund Register Centre
- the Norwegian foreign mission
- a Norwegian court
- a Norwegian municipality
- a Norwegian authorised accountant
- a Norwegian lawyer
- a Norwegian realtor
- a Norwegian authorised or state authorised auditor
- a Norwegian bank
- a Nordic population registration authority
- Nordic police
- a notary public
- The Tax Administration – for persons who are liable to pay tax or contributions.
- NAV – for EEA jobseekers and/or recipients of national insurance benefits.
- Banks, financial institutions and insurance companies – for business relationships with Norwegian banks or other financial institutions.
- Norwegian Central Securities Depository (VPS) – for setting up VPS accounts.
- The Brønnøysund Register Centre – for registration in the Register of Business Enterprises, the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities or the Register of Mortgaged Movable Property.
- The Norwegian Mapping Authority – as the cadastral authority for the registration of real property.
- The Norwegian Health Economics Administration (Helfo) – for asylum seekers and NATO personell who need a general practitioner.
- The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI), Police Immigration Unit and the Norwegian Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) – for asylum seekers when registering applications of protection and for other persons with a valid residence permit.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs – for foreign embassy staff or foreign citizens in international organisations and intergovernmental convention bodies based in Norway that have registered with and been accepted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under sections 1-4 and 1-5, first to third subsections, of the Immigration Regulations.
If you’re reporting for a company in Norway, you’ll usually need an identification number to log in to public authorities’ reporting solutions.
How to apply for a D number for foreign persons who are reporting on behalf of companies in Norway
ID checks
The enterprise that orders a D number for you can require a verification of your identity.
If so, you’ll have to book an appointment with the Tax Administration and undergo an ID check.
Receiving a D number
You’ll receive your D number in the post. If the Tax Administration orders the D number for you, you’ll also receive the D number in person when you’re at the Tax Administration for the ID check.
As an asylum seeker, you’ll usually receive information about your D number in an asylum seeker card, which you’ll get from the police.
D numbers with the status inactive
Your D number will be given the status inactive five years after it has been assigned to you. This does not mean that the D number is invalid or deleted, but you may in some circumstances be required to have an active D number. The enterprise using your information decides whether this is a requirement.
Reactivating your D number
If your D number is set to inactive, and you’ve been told to reactivate it, you must book an appointment to undergo an ID check with the Tax Administration.
You cannot undergo the ID check before the D number has become inactive. This happens five years after you were assigned your D number.
You can log in to check whether the status of your D number is inactive:
If you’ve taken up residence in Norway, you must report a move to Norway. By resident, we mean that you stay in Norway for six consecutive months or on a more permanent basis.
If your report of a move to Norway is approved, you’ll be assigned a national identity number. This replaces your D number. Read more about reporting a move to Norway.
How to get a tax deduction card if your D number is inactive
The meaning behind the digits in your D number
The D number consists of 11 digits.
- The first 6 digits show your date of birth, but the first number is increased by 4. For example, if you’re born on 1 January 1985, then the first digits in your D number would be 410185.
- The next three digits are individual numbers, where the third digit refers to the holder’s gender: even numbers for women and odd numbers for men.
- The two last digits are for verification.
If there is no available D number for your birth date, the registration date is used. This means that if you ordered your D number on 15 January 2020, the first digits in your D number would be 550185. Your correct date of birth will still be recorded in the National Population Register in the field for date of birth.