E-invoicing in Norway from 2027: the mandate covers foreign companies too
Norway adopted its e-invoicing law on 19 June 2026 (Act 2026-06-19 no. 39, LOV-2026-06-19-39), accelerating the timeline that had been discussed for 2028. From 1 January 2027 a business with a bookkeeping obligation in Norway must issue B2B invoices electronically whenever the buyer is registered in ELMA, the Norwegian Peppol registry – it is not yet a universal duty, and the duty is tied to the bookkeeping obligation, not to where the company is registered. Universal receiving becomes mandatory only in 2030. Here is what has been decided, which format applies and how to check your files now.
The deadlines
- From 2027-01-01: issuing B2B e-invoices is mandatory for businesses with a bookkeeping obligation in Norway when the buyer is registered in ELMA (Act 2026-06-19 no. 39).
- Exemption: businesses with turnover below NOK 50,000.
- From 2030-01-01: the universal obligation to receive e-invoices and keep digital bookkeeping.
- Implementing regulations are still pending (expected around December 2026) – the practical details may be refined there.
Norway uses a post-audit model: there is no government clearance platform. Invoices travel directly between the parties, in practice over the Peppol network. The 2027 issuing duty is triggered by the buyer’s registration in the ELMA registry – so before invoicing a Norwegian buyer, look them up in ELMA.
Foreign companies are covered
The mandate follows the Norwegian bookkeeping obligation. A foreign company that is registered for Norwegian VAT or otherwise falls under Norwegian bookkeeping rules must issue e-invoices from 2027 – to ELMA-registered buyers – just like a domestic one. If you export to Norway through a registered branch, this deadline is yours too.
Format: EHF 3.0 is Peppol BIS 3.0
The Norwegian format EHF 3.0 is technically Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (UBL 2.1) – an invoice that passes the official Peppol BIS rules is what Norwegian receivers expect. No separate national validation profile is needed.
The Norwegian party identifier in the Peppol network: schemeID 0192 (organisasjonsnummer). Both seller and buyer electronic addresses (EndpointID) are mandatory in the invoice.
Errors that most often block invoices
- Missing seller or buyer electronic address (PEPPOL-EN16931-R020 / R010).
- Missing buyer reference or order reference (PEPPOL-EN16931-R003).
- VAT identifier without the country prefix (BR-CO-09).
- Totals that do not add up to the cent – round each line first, then sum (BR-CO-10, BR-CO-13, BR-CO-15).
- Empty XML elements, which the Peppol profile forbids (PEPPOL-EN16931-R008).
How to prepare
- Check whether your company has a Norwegian bookkeeping obligation – if yes, the 2027-01-01 deadline applies to you for buyers registered in ELMA.
- Look your Norwegian buyers up in ELMA and ask for their Peppol address (EndpointID with schemeID 0192) and the reference they expect in BuyerReference.
- Verify that your software exports UBL 2.1 with the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 profile.
- Test your files in the validator – every error is explained in plain language.