Local presence for .no domains

Local presence is Norid’s requirement that every .no domain is held by an organisation registered in Norway, or by a person with a Norwegian national identity number and a Norwegian address. A local presence service meets that requirement for a business outside Norway: a Norwegian entity is entered as holder of the domain, and a written agreement gives every right in it to the business.

Norway Domain provides local presence for .no domains for $89 a year. The fee includes the registration with Norid, full DNS and nameserver control, forwarding to an existing website with HTTPS, and a signed certificate of beneficial ownership.

What local presence means for a .no domain

Norid, the registry for .no, sets the rules on who may hold a .no domain. They are published in its domain name policy for .no. The holder is the party named in the register, and it is the holder, not the party that uses the domain, that must meet the requirement.

Who meets the requirement

• An organisation registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities with a Norwegian postal address. It may hold up to 100 domain names directly under .no.
• A private individual over 18, registered in the Norwegian National Population Register with a national identity number and a Norwegian postal address. A private individual may hold up to 5 domain names directly under .no.

What does not meet it

A company registered outside Norway does not qualify, whatever its customers or trade with Norway. Neither does a Norwegian mailing address on its own, a Norwegian-sounding name, or a registrar account in Norway. Registrars cannot waive the requirement, because it belongs to the registry. The detail on each case is in can a foreign company register a .no domain.

How the local presence service works

Registration under a Norwegian holder

The domain is registered with Norid under our Norwegian business, which meets the requirement as an organisation registered in Norway. The order needs four particulars: the domain name, your name, an email address and your country. No Norwegian ID number, organisation number or address is required from you. Most domains are registered within twelve hours on Norwegian working days.

The Trustee Agreement is accepted before anything is registered. It records that we hold the domain as trustee only and that every operational and economic right in it belongs to you. The agreement is published in full.

Control of the domain

From registration onwards you set the nameservers and DNS records, choose the hosting and the email service, and decide what is published on the domain. If you do not wish to manage DNS, the domain and its www forward to your existing website with a permanent redirect and its own HTTPS certificate. Your details are kept out of the public Norid record, which lists the trustee as holder. What a lookup returns is set out in what shows in .no WHOIS.

Registration at your own registrar

The domain can also sit in your own account at any registrar that sells .no. We send the Norwegian holder details to enter there, and approve the registration when the registrar submits it. The fee is the same on both routes. Which registrars carry .no is covered in .no registrars.

Certificate of beneficial ownership

Once the domain is registered with Norid, you receive a signed certificate of beneficial ownership. It is included in the $89 and is downloaded from a private link sent to you by email. The example below is a sample, with the trustee’s private particulars redacted.

What the certificate states

• That the trustee holds the domain as registered holder of record with Norid solely as trustee and nominee.
• That all right, title and beneficial interest in the domain belong to the beneficial owner named on it.
• The beneficial owner's rights: to direct the use of the domain, to its entire economic benefit including any sale, and to move or transfer it without charge.
• The trustee's undertakings: not to use, sell or license the domain without written instruction, to keep the registration in good standing, and to submit a change of registrar within two business days of a written request.
• A certificate number and verification code, which a third party may quote to confirm the certificate by written enquiry.

Where the certificate is used

The certificate is the document to show when a third party asks who owns the domain: a trademark office, an advertising platform, a payment provider, a bank or a marketplace verifying a seller. Where a company should be named on it rather than the person who placed the order, the certificate is reissued in the company’s name once its registration has been checked.

Local presence providers compared

The table sets out our local presence service against those of other Norwegian providers that sell .no to holders outside Norway.

Registrars without a local presence service

Many international registrars list .no without offering local presence, so registering with them requires your own Norwegian organisation number. Several of the largest do not sell .no at all.

Points to check with any provider

Price is one line in the table. The entity that becomes holder, the written exit terms and the method of payment matter as much, because the holder of record is the party Norid deals with. Each of these is covered in how to choose a .no domain trustee.

Cost of local presence for a .no domain

Norid’s own fee for a .no domain is roughly NOK 85 to 99 (about $9 to $11) a year. A local presence service adds the cost of a Norwegian holder to that fee. Our price is $89 a year with the registry fee included, charged by card through Stripe, with no setup fee and no separate registry charge.

Included in the $89 a year: registration with Norid, local presence, DNS and nameserver control, forwarding to your existing website with HTTPS, your details kept out of the public record, renewal reminders 30 and 7 days before each charge, free transfer out at any time, and the signed certificate of beneficial ownership.

Local presence, a NUF or an AS

A local presence service is one of three ways for a business outside Norway to hold a .no domain. The other two give the business its own Norwegian organisation number.

Local presence service

The domain is held by a Norwegian trustee under a written agreement. There is no Norwegian registration, accounting or reporting for the business. Suited to a business that wants the domain without an establishment in Norway.

Norwegian registered foreign company (NUF)

A NUF is a Norwegian branch of the foreign company. Registration costs NOK 3,883 (about $420) and brings Norwegian reporting obligations. The process is set out in NUF registration.

Norwegian limited company (AS)

An AS is a separate Norwegian company. Incorporation costs NOK 5,570 (about $600) plus share capital of at least NOK 30,000 (about $3,200), and the company keeps accounts and files annually. The two are compared in NUF or AS.

Ending the service

The service can be ended at any point in the year without a fee. On written request the domain is moved to any registrar you name within two business days. Once you hold a Norwegian organisation number, the domain is transferred into your own name. If Norway Domain ceases to trade, the agreement obliges it to transfer every domain to the registrar or eligible holder its customer names.

Frequently asked questions

For the wider picture, see the .no domain guide and how to register a .no domain when you are not Norwegian.