You need to bring a valid ID when you’re visiting Norway, seeing as it is used in cases such as when booking hotel rooms, entering the country or renting a car. But which types of IDs are considered valid IDs in Norway?
Passports, national ID cards and certain driver’s licenses are considered valid IDs for EU or Norwegian citizens in Norway, while only passports are valid IDs for non-EU citizens in Norway.
So if you’re coming to Norway to enjoy a vacation or to move here, make sure to bring your passport. Pretty much all public or governmental services require a passport (or national ID with photo for EU citizens) in order to show proof of who you are.
I would personally recommend EU citizens to bring their passports as well, seeing as this is the de-facto universally accepted ID that is guaranteed to be accepted by all agencies.
Services that might ask for your ID are car rental businesses, the police, immigration officers, banks, hotels and more. You do not want to be in Norway without a valid ID, and you are even required to have it on you when you cross the border.
Non-governmental businesses can accept other types of IDs
If you need to show your ID to non-governmental agencies, such as for a car rental or a hotel, it’s really up to them to determine which types of ID they consider to be valid.
All of them are going to accept passports, but they are also free to accept banking cards, foreign driver’s licenses or other types of documentation if they want to.
I would urge you to check this out in advance if you are traveling to Norway without bringing your passport. Some services might decline the national ID cards from EU countries, even though they are accepted by Norwegian authorities.
Other types of valid IDs in Norway
There are also some additional IDs that are considered valid IDs in Norway, including:
- Norwegian Army ID Card.
- A Norwegian Immigrant’s passport.
- A refugee travel document issued by UDI.
These IDs are all accepted by the Norwegian government services, such as the police, immigration officials and things like that.
But they are obviously a very niche type of ID that is only granted to very specific individuals, and not something a regular traveler to Norway has to deal with.