Apply for authorisation of a cleaning company

Companies with their own cleaning staff who only carry out cleaning work within their own premises are not required to apply for authorisation.

The authorisation requirement also applies to self-employed persons, regardless of whether the company has employees or not.

If the company has no employees, it must submit its application for authorisation in Altinn without any attachments. 

Owners of sole proprietorships (enkeltpersonforetak) and members of DA/ANS partnerships (ansvarlig selskap) must order HSE cards for cleaning services for themselves.

The requirements that must be met in order to obtain authorisation are set out in Section 5 of the Regulations on the Authorisation of Cleaning Companies (in Norwegian).

In your application, you must document that you meet these requirements.  

If any changes are made to the requirements for authorisation, authorised cleaning companies will also be obliged to comply with these requirements. It is particularly important that authorised cleaning companies adjust their pay rates upwards when new regulations on general application of the collective agreement for cleaning companies are adopted. The Labour Inspection Authority may request documentation to confirm that any new requirements have been met.

Companies with employees must document that they meet the requirements for authorisation and must therefore enclose documentation showing that they

• are affiliated with an authorised occupational health service
• meet the requirements for internal safety service, i.e. safety representative and a working environment committee
• have written contracts of employment for all categories of employees in accordance with the requirements of the Working Environment Act regarding the content of employment contracts
• meet the requirements of the Regulations on the Partial General Application of the Collective Agreement for Cleaning Companies
• have taken out an insurance that ensures employees receive financial compensation in the event of an occupational injury

See the detailed description of the requirements for the attachments below. 

No requirement for attachments for companies without employees

Companies that do not have any employees must submit their application without attachments (documentation).

Where required, the company must ensure that it complies with registration obligations in

You must ensure that you are listed, and that your information is up to date, in the relevant public registries:

• The Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities (Enhetsregisteret) (brreg.no)
• The Register of Business Enterprises (Foretaksregisteret) (only in Norwegian, brreg.no)
• The VAT Register (Merverdiavgiftsregisteret, MVA-registeret) (skatteetaten.no)
• The State Register of Employers and Employees (Arbeidstaker- og arbeidsgiverregisteret - Aa-registeret) (nav.no)

Staffing agencies that hire out workers for cleaning services must be authorised and listed in the Labour Inspection Authority’s register of authorised staffing agencies (in Norwegian).

In the form, you must specify who the contact person for the application is.

You must enter 

• name
• telephone number
• email address

In the form, you must state whether the company applying is an employer. You must state whether your company has employed cleaners. 

If you have employees, you must state the total number of employees in the company – both cleaners and other staff.

Please note that the owner of a sole proprietorship (enkeltpersonforetak) or the owner’s spouse is not considered an employee. A shareholder in a limited company is also not considered an employee.

All employees who are to carry out cleaning work must hold an HSE card  (HMS-kort) issued by the Labour Inspection Authority.

In your application, you must state how many cleaners you are planning to order HSE cards for.

All cleaning companies with employees must engage an authorised occupational health service (bedriftshelsetjeneste – BHT); see Section 3-3 of the Working Environment Act and Section 13-1 of the Regulations on Organisation, Management and Employee Participation.

In your application, you must state the organisation number of the occupational health service and you must enclose

• a copy of the contract with the occupational health service
• the name and organisation number of the occupational health service must be clearly visible
• a copy of the cooperation plan or the most recent paid invoice (must show that the invoice has been paid)

You must comply with the requirements regarding safety representatives (verneombud) and working environment committees (arbeidsmiljøutvalg):

• Companies with 5 or more employees must have a safety representative.
• Companies with fewer than 5 employees may agree on an alternative arrangement.
• Companies with at least 30 employees must have a working environment committee.

In the application, depending on how many employees you have, you must

• state whether you have a safety representative
  • in which case, attach a document containing the contact details of the safety representative or chief safety representative (name and email)
• state whether you have instead agreed on an alternative arrangement to a safety representative
  • in which case, attach a copy of the agreement on the alternative arrangement (the agreement must be signed by all employees)
  • only possible if you have fewer than 5 employees
• state whether you have a working environment committee
  • in which case, attach a copy of the meeting notice or a list of attendees from the most recent meeting of the working environment committee
  • the copy must show the names of the attendees and the date of the meeting
  • the document must be in Norwegian or English

All employees must have written employment contracts. If you have employees, you must attach one employment contract per group of employees (for example, full-time employees, part-time employees and temporary employees). 

The employment contracts must be completed, signed and must meet the minimum requirements for the content of employment contracts.  

Read more about what must be included in an employment contract 

You must also confirm in the application form that you meet the minimum requirements for the content of your written employment contracts.

Cleaning companies must comply with the requirements regarding the generally applicable wage (minimum wage) for cleaning companies, as well as the reimbursement of expenses and the provision of workwear.

In your application, you must state the minimum hourly wage rate for

• cleaners under the age of 18
• cleaners over the age of 18

In addition, you must state the supplements for night work (nattillegg) for

• cleaners who may work between 21:00 and 06:00

You must provide evidence of the wages by attaching payslips (lønnsslipp) showing the hourly wage rate.

If you pay a fixed monthly salary, you must also attach a calculation of the hourly rate, so that it is clear what the employee’s hourly wage (timelønn) is.

See the Regulations on the Partial General Application of the Collective Agreement for Cleaning Companies (in Norwegian)

To be approved, you must have taken out an insurance that provides employees with financial compensation in the event of an injury or illness caused by their work. This applies only to companies that have employees.

In your application, you must provide:

• the name of the insurance company
• the policy number or insurance number

You must attach a copy of the page from the insurance certificate showing that you have active occupational injury insurance or staff insurance. The page must show the insurance period and the name of your company.

Read more about the obligation to take out occupational injury insurance

In the form, you must specify who the contact person for the application is.

You must enter 

• name
• telephone number
• email address

In the application, you must state how many HSE cards (HMS-kort) you are planning to order. 

The requirement for HSE cards applies to those who are to carry out cleaning work and also applies to

• the owner or general manager of the company 
• the owner of a sole proprietorship (enkeltpersonforetak) without employees
• the spouse of the owner of a sole proprietorship (if the spouse carries out cleaning work)

All employees carrying out cleaning work in companies offering cleaning services must hold an HSE card. This requirement also applies to

• the owner or general manager of the company
• anyone who is self-employed (companies/sole proprietorship that do not employ workers)
• the spouse of the owner of a sole proprietorship
• partners in a general partnership (ANS/DA)

Companies that hire out workers to carry out cleaning work in companies offering cleaning services must order HSE cards for their workers.

It is the employer who orders HSE cards for their employees.

Owners of sole proprietorships order cards for themselves and, where applicable, for their spouse who carries out cleaning work for the company. Partners in a general partnership (ANS/DA) also order cards for themselves.

Companies that have applied for authorisation will be notified when they can start ordering HSE cards.

Order HSE cards (hmskort.no)

Tieto issues the HSE cards on behalf of the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet). 

Read more about HSE cards for the cleaning sector (hmskort.no)

You will receive a response to your application via Altinn (altinn.no).

You will receive a decision regarding authorisation within 1–8 weeks if you have

• enclosed the correct documentation showing that you meet the requirements set out in the regulations
• up-to-date information about the company in public registers (such as the correct number of employees)
• ordered HSE cards

If there are any omissions in your application, the processing time may be longer. You will receive a letter from the Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) regarding any omissions in your application, and you will be given a deadline to rectify the situation and submit new documentation.

Temporary authorisation whilst we process the application

Once the Labour Inspection Authority begins processing the application, you will be granted temporary authorisation. You will then be assigned the status ‘Søknad under behandling’ (‘Application is being processed’) in the cleaning services register (renholdsregisteret), and you may legally offer cleaning services until the application has been fully processed. 

Once you are authorised to order HSE cards, you will be given the status ‘HMS-kortbestilling under behandling’ (‘HSE card order in processing’) in the cleaning register. You will receive a letter from the Labour Inspection Authority via Altinn informing you that you can order HSE cards. 

You will receive the decision regarding your authorisation as a cleaning company once you have completed the HSE card order.

These are the responses you may receive to your application

The Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) reviews the application and decides whether you will be granted authorisation to offer cleaning services. 

You may receive the following responses to your application:

• authorisation
• rejection

This is what happens if you are authorised

If you meet the conditions for authorisation, you will

• have your application approved
• be given the status ‘Godkjent med ansatte’ (‘Authorised with employees’) or ‘Godkjent uten ansatte’ (‘Authorised without employees’) in the register of cleaning companies

Companies that are authorised to order HSE cards will receive a decision on authorisation as soon as they complete the HSE card-order for all employees or the owner themselves.

This is what happens if your application is rejected

If you do not meet the conditions for authorisation, you will

• have your application rejected
• be given the status ‘Ikke godkjent’ (‘Not authorised’) in the register of cleaning companies

It is illegal to sell cleaning services if you are not authorised.

If your application is rejected, the rejection notice will state the reason for this. You can rectify any missing information or documentation and then reapply.

Appeal

A rejection is an individual decision which you can appeal against. The usual administrative procedures apply. The deadline for lodging an appeal is 3 weeks. Read more about how you appeal (in Norwegian)

The Labour Inspection Authority can check that you meet the requirements for authorisation. If these requirements are no longer met, we may withdraw your authorisation. You will then be given the status ‘Ikke godkjent’ (‘Not authorised’) in the register of cleaning companies.

We may also carry out inspections. These may be either announced in advance or unannounced.

The register lists companies that are operating legally. They have the following statuses in the overview:

• Authorised with employees (Godkjent med ansatte)
• Authorised without employees (Godkjent uten ansatte)
• Application is being processed (Søknad til behandling) – temporary authorisation whilst the Labour Inspection Authority processes the application
• HSE card order in processing (HMS-kortbestilling under behandling) – temporary authorisation whilst the company orders HSE cards

The register will also show companies that are operating illegally. They have the status

• Not authorised (Ikke godkjent)

If your application is rejected, you will be given the status ‘Not authorised’. In that case, it is illegal for you to sell cleaning services.

Some of the information you provide when applying for authorisation is published in the register of cleaning companies.

The register will contain

• the name of the company
• the organisation number
• the address
• the telephone number
• a link to your website

This information is retrieved from the Brønnøysund Register Centre. 

If you need to update this information, you must do so via the Brønnøysund Register Centre (brreg.no).

Confirm each year that you meet the requirements

Companies that have been granted authorisation must confirm each year that they still meet the requirements for authorisation. You do this by submitting an annual report (årlig melding) via Altinn.

You must submit an annual report without supporting documentation to remain on the register of cleaning companies. This will allow you to continue to legally offer cleaning services.

When is the deadline for submitting the annual report?

The deadline for submitting an annual report is one year from the date you received the decision on authorisation. 

You will receive a letter from us stating the deadline that applies to you and when you must submit your annual report.

What happens if you do not submit an annual report?

If you do not submit an annual report by the deadline, we may revoke your authorisation. You will then be given the status ‘ulovlig – ikke godkjent’ (‘illegal – not authorised’) in the register and will no longer be able to legally offer cleaning services.

Provide documentation that you meet the requirements every three years

Every three years, you must also submit updated documentation showing that you still meet the requirements for authorisation (extended annual report with documentation). You will receive a letter from us stating the deadline that applies to you and when you must submit the documentation.

Submit supporting documentation every three years

Authorised cleaning companies with employees must also submit updated supporting documentation with their annual report every three years (extended annual report with documentation). The documentation must demonstrate that they continue to meet the requirements for authorisation.

Authorised cleaning companies without employees do not need to attach documentation.

Submission and deadline

You will receive a digital letter via Altinn from the Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) stating the submission deadline that applies to your company and the documentation you must attach to the extended annual report. 

You must submit the extended annual report by the deadline; otherwise, we may revoke your authorisation.