Norskprøve for statsborgerskap: Which Level Counts, Which Test Proves It

The search norskprøve statsborgerskap nivå has a short answer and a longer one. The short answer: for Norwegian citizenship, an applicant between 18 and 67 needs B1 in the oral part of a Norwegian test, and nothing in reading, listening or writing. The longer answer is about the edges: which older tests count, who needs only A2, who needs no test at all, what changed in 2022 and for whom the old level still applies. This page gives the longer answer from the law text and from UDI’s own lists. The full set of conditions for citizenship (residence time, identity, police certificate, the fee) is in Norwegian citizenship requirements: language level and test; this page stays with the language test and does not repeat that one.

Official: statsborgerloven § 8 and statsborgerforskriften § 4-1 (lovdata.no, read 13 October 2026).

Statsborgerloven § 8, first paragraph: “Søkere mellom 18 og 67 år skal ha oppnådd minimum nivå B1 på muntlig prøve i norsk og ha bestått statsborgerprøve. 18-årsgrensen beregnes ut fra søknadstidspunktet.” Applicants between 18 and 67 must have reached at least level B1 in an oral test in Norwegian and have passed statsborgerprøven; the 18-year line is counted from the time of application [official]. The second paragraph lets the King make regulations on the requirements, “blant annet om unntak fra kravene”, including on exemptions. Those regulations are statsborgerforskriften chapter 4.

HK-dir, which makes the test, says the same in plain words on its page about language levels: “Hvis du skal søke om norsk statsborgerskap, må du ha et muntlig nivå på B1. Dette har Stortinget bestemt” [official]. And UDI’s page on test requirements, as captured on 10 June 2026, lists what must be passed “when submitting your documents to the police”: the oral Norwegian test at level B1 or higher, and the citizenship test or the social studies test in Norwegian [official, archived].

The note Lovdata prints under § 8 gives the paragraph’s history. Two entries matter. The paragraph was changed by an Act of 29 April 2016, in force from 1 January 2017, and the note records that under that Act the new requirements apply to applications for Norwegian citizenship made after it came into force. It was changed again by an Act of 30 October 2020, “i kraft 1 okt 2022” under a royal decree of 26 August 2022, with a transitional rule in the amending Act [official]. HK-dir’s statsborgerprøve pages carry the plain-language version: the Storting decided that the requirement for spoken Norwegian is raised to level B1 for Norwegian citizenship, and the change came into force on 1 October 2022 [official].

Lovdata’s note does not describe what each amendment contained, and we do not fill that in from memory. What can be said from the official texts in front of us is this: the level is B1 now, it has been since 1 October 2022, and A2 remains the level for the groups in the next section. A2 is also the oral level UDI asks for a permanent residence permit, which is one reason the two get mixed up: a result that was enough for your permanent residence may not be enough for citizenship.

UDI’s page on the school and study exemptions, as captured on 16 June 2026, adds what counts as documentation [official, archived]. A diploma or a transcript of grades is needed for the school exemptions, and UDI writes that “Having only completed primary school, a vocational certificate, or a half-year assessment is not sufficient” for them. UDI gives examples of meeting the entry requirement: a passed level 3 (Trinn 3) exam at university, an approved assessment of real competence at VG3 level for those who have reached 25, admission to a study programme at a Norwegian university or college where the main language of instruction is Norwegian, or a completed study programme taught in Norwegian. The same UDI page (capture of 16 June 2026) also lists a completed Module 1 in modular vocational training (MFY) with an approved certificate of competence among the ways to show sufficient Norwegian; that item is on UDI’s page and is not one of the letters of § 4-1 as Lovdata showed the paragraph on 13 October 2026, so ask UDI how it applies to you.

One sentence on UDI’s page and one in the regulation do not read the same, and we print both. The regulation’s letter b accepts a “halvårsvurdering” (half-year assessment) of 2 or higher in Norwegian or Sami in upper secondary education. UDI’s text under the upper-secondary exemption names a half-year assessment among the accepted results and then repeats the sentence that having only a half-year assessment is not sufficient. We cannot tell from the page which is meant. If a half-year assessment is the document you would rely on, get UDI’s answer in writing.

For most applicants the proof is the oral part of norskprøven, taken at a test centre in Norway. UDI’s lists are longer than that: they include tests that no longer run. The tables are UDI’s lists as the Wayback Machine captured them (level B1 and higher on 12 February 2026 and again on the main page on 10 June 2026; level A2 on 14 April 2026).

HK-dir’s page for test centres confirms the old equivalences from its side: Norskprøve 2 and Norskprøve 3 were held for the last time in February 2014; “Norskprøve 2 tilsvarer nivå A2 i den nye norskprøven. Norskprøve 3 tilsvarer nivå B1 i den nye norskprøven” [official]. If you lost an old certificate, HK-dir’s result page explains the two routes: for tests after March 2014, only the test centre can send a copy; for tests before March 2014, HK-dir sends a letter confirming the result, which it says is not a certificate.

What a B1 answer sounds like next to an A2 answer, with the seven criteria and a practice timer, is in norskprøve B1 muntlig: example tasks and model answers. Registration windows, fees and the next test periods are in the requirements guide. If you are also taking the writing part for another reason, see norskprøve skriftlig A2–B1: sample texts with marking; if somebody has told you that you need B2, check who is asking in norskprøve B2: who needs it.