Responsibility for Building Projects – National Authorization of Foreign Enterprises

The general introduction to the rules concerning national authorization to assume responsibility for building projects is given in the link under the heading "related topics" in the right hand column. Here we will expand on issues that are of specific interest to foreign applicants.

Registration of the enterprise
To receive local authorization - see the link under "related topics" in the right hand column - the applicant must be a registered enterprise (or an organisation of a public nature).
When applying for the national authorization, enterprises that originate in other EEA member states must document their registration in similar registers as the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises in their home countries.

Application language
The application for national authorization must be in a Scandinavian language.

Competence requirements
The regulations specify specific requirements both with respect to formal education and relevant experience. The enterprise's management in charge of the technical issues must certify competence conforming to the requirements specified for the type of building work or construction in question.

Formal education from foreign countries is considered equal to the Norwegian equivalent. Both Norwegian and foreign applicants that cannot document the required formal education, must qualify that the same level of expertise is obtained by other kind of education.

Experience from building and construction work abroad is considered equal to similar work in Norway.

System requirements
The regulations specify requirements regarding the quality assurance (QA) system used by the enterprise.
It is considered that the requirements are best implemented when the system is in a Scandinavian language. In order to enable the authorities to execute their role as control authority, the language requirements must be fulfilled.

Using a foreign enterprise as sub-contractor or supplier
The Norwegian term for sub-contractor (underentreprenør - UE) is a legal expression used in relation to contracting issues. UE in the current context is an enterprise that relies on the authorization of another enterprise (normally the contractor's authorization). However, the UE can of course have its own authorization.

The enterprise authorized to implement out the present contract is the responsible party, also for work carried out by the UE.

The enterprise authorized to assume responsibility is thus the responsible party, irrespectively of who (the contractor himself or an UE) is to blame for infringements of the planning and building act. Contractors using UEs, suppliers or consultants must have implemented a system for control and assessment of these resources.

The assessment of the UE that the responsible enterprise is obliged to do, will depend on how the work is organised. If the responsible party also is in charge of the technical management, then the enterprise only have to certify that the UE is managed by and uses the QA system of the responsible enterprise.

If the responsible enterprise chooses to outsource parts of the contract because it does not possess the necessary competence itself, alternatively because it does not wish to nor has the resources to manage the work, the UE will be assessed with respect to the requirements. For instance, a building contractor, responsible for the total contract, who outsources the plumbing work, must make sure the UE meets the requirements of the regulations.

In most cases it is likely that both Norwegian and foreign enterprises will use foreign UEs when the main contractor assumes responsibility and provides the technical management of the project.

Using foreign skilled workers
The Planning and Building Act does not prevent any contractor using foreign labour whenever he wishes. The regulations require technical management from start up to completion, and the enterprise itself must ensure that the required competence is applied at all stages of the project.