Norway e-Invoicing Guide

Norway was an early adopter of e-invoicing in Europe, mandating electronic invoices for government suppliers since 2012. The country uses the EHF (Elektronisk Handelsformat) format, which is based on Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 and fully aligned with the European EN 16931 standard.

In June 2026 the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) approved a mandatory B2B e-invoicing and digital bookkeeping requirement. Issuing e-invoices becomes mandatory from 1 January 2027 and the obligation to receive them, together with fully digital bookkeeping, follows from 1 January 2030. The impact is expected to stay limited, as voluntary adoption is already high: EHF accounts for around 89% of total e-invoice volume in Norway (Norges Bank, 2020). Norway also requires mandatory SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) reporting, making it one of the more digitally advanced Nordic countries in terms of tax authority reporting.

Norway's B2G mandate has been in place since 2012, with the current Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 requirement effective since April 2019. Parliament approved the B2B e-invoicing and digital bookkeeping mandate in June 2026: e-invoice issuance applies from 1 January 2027 and e-invoice reception plus digital bookkeeping from 1 January 2030. The obligation is asymmetric, so a seller must issue an e-invoice once the buyer is registered in the Electronic Recipient Register (ELMA), but buyers are not obliged to receive e-invoices until 2030. The mandatory SAF-T reporting requirement took effect in January 2020 for all VAT-registered businesses.

All suppliers to the Norwegian public sector must submit invoices electronically in EHF/Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format via the Peppol network. B2B e-invoicing stays voluntary until the approved mandate begins on 1 January 2027, when entities with bookkeeping obligations, including foreign companies registered locally, must issue e-invoices to buyers registered in the Electronic Recipient Register (ELMA). The primary legislation is technology-neutral and requires a structured, standardised, machine-readable format; the Directorate of Taxes (Skattedirektoratet) has indicated EHF and will confirm the format in secondary regulations due by 15 December 2026.

SAF-T reporting is mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses. The SAF-T file must be available on demand for tax audits and covers general ledger, accounts receivable, and accounts payable data. Small businesses with simple cash-based accounting are exempt from SAF-T.

Norway uses a decentralised Peppol 4-corner model for e-invoice exchange. Businesses connect through Access Points, and invoices flow directly between trading partners without a central government platform or clearance step. The tax authority receives data through SAF-T reporting rather than real-time invoice monitoring.

For B2G, invoices must include the correct organisation number for routing on the Peppol network. The Norwegian Digitalisation Agency (Digdir) oversees the Peppol framework in Norway.

B2G non-compliance results in invoice rejection by government entities, causing payment delays. SAF-T non-compliance can trigger fines from the tax authority. B2B e-invoicing stays voluntary until the approved mandate takes effect on 1 January 2027, so there are no B2B-specific penalties yet. The bill still needs Royal Assent, and the Directorate of Taxes has been tasked with publishing the detailed technical regulations, exemptions, and the official format by 15 December 2026.