How to Apply for Debt Settlement

Get an overview of your debts

• Review and organize your bills.
• Retrieve your tax return. Check which claims are listed there.
• Obtain an overview of debts you have with debt collection agencies. The Debt Collection Register provides information about your unpaid bills that have been sent to collection. There, you can also find details about credit and consumer debt.
• Do you have claims from the Norwegian National Collection Agency (Statens innkrevingssentral, SI)? Log in to Your Page or use the Unpaid Claims at SI service.

Financial Counseling from NAV

You can receive assistance and guidance from a financial and debt advisor at NAV. This service is free of charge. Contact your local NAV office or call 55 55 33 39 for advice

Conditions for Debt Settlement

• You must be permanently unable to repay the debt. The Enforcement Officer calculates how long it would take you to repay your debts. If the repayment period is excessively long, you may qualify as "permanently unable" to pay off your debt. You do not meet the conditions for debt settlement if your financial difficulties are temporary.
• Debt settlement must not appear offensive to others. The Enforcement Officer assesses this. The age of the debt is an important factor in this evaluation. If you have a significant amount of new debt, this may disqualify you from obtaining a debt settlement. In such cases, you should wait to apply until the debt is older. Do you have criminal debts or large tax and fee liabilities? These will also be considered when determining whether a debt settlement might appear offensive to others.

Do You Live Abroad?

You can apply for a debt settlement even if you live outside Norway. However, you will need to provide more information about your case and gather the necessary documentation yourself for the Enforcement Officer to process your application. This is because the Enforcement Officer cannot obtain information from foreign registers or individuals.

You can only have a small amount of debt to foreign creditors. As a general rule, you cannot own property or have significant assets abroad.

Complete the Application Form and Attach Documentation

You must provide the Enforcement Officer with an overview of your finances. This should be submitted along with your application:

• A list of your creditors
• Documentation of your income and the income of your spouse or partner
• A copy of the tax returns and tax settlements for you and your spouse or partner from the last three years
• Documentation of your housing expenses
• Documentation of other fixed expenses – such as daycare, after-school programs, child support, and medical expenses not covered by the exemption card
• A copy of the final report if you have been through bankruptcy proceedings

Submit the Application

The application will be processed by your nearest Enforcement Office. You can mail the application or deliver it in person to the Enforcement Officer. You can find your nearest Enforcement Office here.

If you live abroad, send your application to the Oslo, Asker, and Bærum Enforcement Officer.

Meeting with the Enforcement Officer

Once the Enforcement Officer has received your application, you will usually be contacted for a meeting. During this meeting, you will receive more information about what a debt settlement entails.

If the Enforcement Officer needs additional documentation, you will be given a deadline to provide it. After that, the Officer will process your application.

Debt Negotiations

The Enforcement Officer will first assess whether you meet the conditions to initiate debt negotiations. If negotiations are initiated, the decision will be sent to your creditors.

The negotiation process with creditors lasts up to four months. It is important that you do not incur additional debt during this time. You must ensure payment of fixed expenses, such as rent, electricity, and phone bills.

If your income exceeds what can be allocated for housing and living expenses, the Enforcement Officer will deduct from your income during the negotiation period. This is called a security deduction.

Proposal for an Agreement

The Enforcement Officer will help you draft a proposal for a voluntary debt settlement. The proposal will be sent to all creditors, who must respond within three weeks.

When Creditors Disagree

If one or more creditors reject the proposal for a voluntary debt settlement, the Enforcement Officer will assist you in negotiating with them.

If an agreement cannot be reached, you can request a compulsory debt settlement through the district court. The court will then decide whether you qualify for debt settlement. Both you and the creditors have the right to appeal the court's decision.

If you do not meet the conditions to initiate debt negotiations, your application will be rejected. The application will also be denied if you fail to provide the required documentation to the Enforcement Officer.

Do you want to Appeal the Rejection?

If your application is rejected, you can appeal to the district court. The deadline for appealing is one month from the date you received the rejection letter.

You must sign the appeal. Send the original appeal by mail to the Enforcement Officer or deliver it in person to their office. Appeals sent by email will not be processed.

You will need to pay a court fee for the court to review your appeal.