Licence to serve food
When do you need a licence to serve food?
Open a new establishment
If you are planning to open an establishment where food and/or non-alcoholic drinks are served, you need to apply for a licence to serve food. The licence is given to the company that owns the establishment.
Take over a licensed establishment
If you are going to take over and operate a licensed establishment, you must apply for your own licence no later than 30 days after you entered into an agreement to take over the premises. Then you can continue operating om the previous owner's licence while you wait for your application for an new licence to be processed.
Read more about using previous owner's licence during the transitional period.
Food trucks and mobile units
In order to be able ti sell food and non-alcoholic drinks from a food truck or a mobile device such as an electric bycycle, you must apply for a licence to serve food.
How to get a licence to serve food
- The general manager of the establishment must have passed the Food Services Act knowledge test in order to be eligible to apply for a licence to serve food. The licence is granted to the company that owns the establishment.
- The Food Services Act requires that licence holders are of spotless repute.
- In some cases, we may need a floor plan of the food-service area and a financing plan, in which case we will contact you.
- In the event of a change of ownership, the new owner must apply for his/her own licence to serve food within 30 days after signing an agreement on transfer.
How to apply for a licence to serve food
Use the electronic application form below. Only the chairman (styreleder), general manager (daglig leder) or a person who has the role og "municipal services" ("kommunale tjenester") in Altinn can apply for a licence.
Attachments that must be submitted with an application for a licence to serve food
- Confirmation that the general manager (daglig leder) has passed the Food Services Act knowledge test (etablererprøven), if the test was not taken in Oslo. If the test has not yet been completed, the confirmation can be sent later.
- In some cases we need more information. In such cases, we will contact you.
Apply for a licence to serve food
(Log in, application in Norwegian)
How long does it take?
Applications for a licence to serve food are usually processed within 60 days. Applications are sent to the police and the Norwegian Tax Administration for consultation. Processing may take longer if the consulted bodies spend a long time or have any objections to the application, or if you make changes during the application process.
The answer is sent to your digital mailbox.