UBO register Norway: Which requirements companies will have to meet in the future

By 31 July 2025, companies and legal entities must provide details for the UBO register (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) in Norway. Who exactly has to register? What exceptions are there, and how does registration work? Ecovis provides answers to these and other questions.

Background to the UBO register Norway

EU countries have already established a standardised UBO register for all member countries, although the level of public access and implementation might vary. To align with EU standards, Norway implemented its own UBO register on 1 October 2024.

This aims to mandate businesses and other types of legal entities to identify themselves and provide UBO information to the state-operated register, the Brønnøysund Register Centre. The authority has given all affected organisations a reasonably long timeframe (from 1 October 2024 to 31 July 2025) for completing the initial registration.

At the moment, only the public authorities have full access to the register’s total inventory. In addition, media covered by section 2 of the Media Liability Act and non-governmental organisations aiming to prevent the misuse of a company’s structure can also have access.

Who must comply?

Most enterprises registered in Norway are required to provide UBO information to the new register, including:

• Private limited companies (AS)
• Public limited companies (ASA)
• Partnerships
• Cooperatives
• Certain foundations
• Norwegian-registered foreign businesses (NUFs)

However, exemptions exist for some types of companies, e.g. listed companies, non-commercial associations, mutual funds etc. NUFs whose main companies are resident in an EEA country and have already registered UBO information there only need to confirm this in the submission.

We support you with daily administrative tasks, such as UBO registration.

Ding Xu, Partner/CPA, ECOVIS Ardur Tax AS, Oslo, Norway

Who is a beneficial owner?

A beneficial owner is a natural person, either Norwegian or foreign, who owns or controls an organisation in terms of holding shares or via other means. A person is a beneficial owner if he/she meets one of the following criteria:

• A person who owns more than 25% of the business
• A person who controls more than 25% of voting rights
• A person who has the right to appoint or remove more than 50% of board directors
• A person who has influence or control in another way. For example, via an agreement, rights to decide or veto

If the company does not have a beneficial owner, it must also confirm this to the UBO register.

How to register?

UBO registration is carried out via the Norwegian electronic dialogue portal Altinn.no. A person with a registered role in a company, such as chairperson of the board or CEO, will automatically receive access to submit to the UBO register. External advisors such as authorised accountants, auditors and lawyers can also be given access for submission if approved by the company.

For further information please contact:

Ding Xu, Partner/CPA, ECOVIS Ardur Tax AS, Oslo, Norway
Email: ding.xu@ecovis.no