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Norway · Certification

ISO 37301 certification in Norway

Achieve ISO 37301 certification in Norway with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.

  • Accredited certification
  • Enschede office team
  • Effivity software included
  • Academy training included

Clients include

  • Allianz
  • Emirates Flight Catering
  • Etihad Rail
  • Haier
  • Whirlpool
  • Emerson
In short

ISO 37301 certification in Norway at a glance

In Norway, ISO 37301 is asked for by buyers and schemes rather than required by law. The drivers below show where the pressure comes from.

Compliance expectations on larger Norwegian enterprises are rising rather than falling. Forbrukertilsynet explains that the Transparency Act, amended on 1 November 2024, requires larger enterprises to carry out due diligence in line with the OECD guidelines, publish an account and answer information requests, and that suppliers can be asked for information even when they have no duties of their own. Financial firms face the continuing obligations of the DORA-loven. ISO 37301 is not named in either, but it gives a certifiable structure for the obligations register, risk assessment, controls, reporting channels and review that sit behind such duties. Check the certification body's accredited scope in Norsk akkreditering's register. Sterling's Enschede office builds the compliance management system around the obligations a business actually faces, with Effivity and Sterling Academy included with the engagement.

The need

Who needs ISO 37301 in Norway, and what happens without it

In Norway the question rarely comes from a law. It comes from the buyer, the regulator or the partner that wants proof before it signs. These are the organisations that get asked.

  • Larger enterprises subject to the Transparency ActThe Act requires due diligence, a published account and answers to information requests, which a compliance system organises.
  • Suppliers asked for due diligence information by those enterprisesSuppliers to covered enterprises can be asked for information that feeds the customer's assessments.
  • Financial firms and their service providersDORA-loven gives financial entities a long list of continuing obligations to track.
  • Groups operating across several regulated sectorsOne compliance management system can connect data protection, food, health and safety and sector duties.

Not sure which of these applies to you?Answer a short set of questions and your readiness report arrives by e-mail.

Take the ISO 37301 readiness check
Requirements

ISO 37301 requirements in Norway

Strip away the vocabulary and ISO 37301 requires a company to prove six things about how it meets its legal and other obligations.

You know your obligationsObligations from laws, regulators, contracts and voluntary commitments are identified and kept current.
The governing body and management leadThe governing body and top management set the compliance policy and support a culture in which compliance is expected.
A compliance function has authorityA compliance function is resourced, independent enough to act and has direct access to the governing body.
Compliance risks are assessedRisks of failing to meet obligations are assessed, and controls are designed in proportion to them.
Concerns are raised and handledPeople can raise concerns without fear of retaliation, and suspected breaches are investigated and corrected.
You monitor and reportCompliance performance is monitored, reported to leadership, audited and reviewed so the system improves.

In Norway these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: ISO 37301 explained →

    How Sterling gets a Norwegian company certified

    How to get ISO 37301 certified in Norway

    One team from the Enschede office carries the work from scoping to certificate. Clients across Norway are served from Sterling's Enschede office, on-site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise.

    1. Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
    2. Gap assessment against ISO 37301 and the Norwegian requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
    3. Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
    4. Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before the certification body arrives.
    5. Certification body stage 1 and stage 2, then surveillanceAn accredited body audits and decides. Sterling supports the audits and the three-year cycle.
    Included in every engagement
    • End to end, from one team
    • Effivity ISO & GRC software
    • Preferential Sterling Academy access, with complimentary awareness training for your people
    • Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard
    • Vulnerability assessment on ISMS engagements

    The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.

      Time

      How long does ISO 37301 certification take in Norway?

      There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Norway these are the factors that set the timeline.

      • Number of legal entities and regulated activities in scope
      • Compliance obligations register and risk assessment
      • Reporting, investigation and speak-up arrangements
      • Monitoring, audit and management review records

      Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.

      Cost

      How much does ISO 37301 certification cost in Norway?

      The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and the certification body’s audit fees, which are quoted separately. In Norway these factors move both.

      • Number of obligations and entities in scope
      • Compliance register build and training
      • Certification body fees quoted separately from consulting
      • Integration with ISO 37001 or ISO 9001

      Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.

        Choosing a partner

        ISO 37301 consultants and certification bodies in Norway

        Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; an accredited certification body then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.

        • Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers ISO 37301 and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
        • Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Norway are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
        • Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
        • Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.

          Laws and regulations that drive ISO 37301 in Norway (3)

          InstrumentHow it treats the standard
          Åpenhetsloven (Transparency Act) — ForbrukertilsynetRelated
          Applies to larger enterprises resident in Norway and larger foreign enterprises taxable to Norway; duties are due diligence in line with the OECD guidelines, a published account and answers to information requests; amendments took effect on 1 November 2024; ISO 37301 is not named.
          Lov om digital operasjonell motstandsdyktighet i finanssektoren (DORA-loven)Related
          Finanstilsynet describes continuing duties on ICT risk, incident reporting, testing and provider follow-up that a compliance system must track; ISO 37301 is not named.
          Norsk akkreditering — register of accredited management-system certification bodiesAccreditation
          Check the register for ISO 37301 in the scope of the certification body you choose.

          Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in Norway

          Certification by a certification body accredited by Norsk akkreditering or by an accreditation body within the international mutual recognition arrangements (Global ACI — Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated, formerly the IAF MLA). Check in Norsk akkreditering's register, or in the register of another accreditation body within the recognition arrangements, that the body's accredited scope covers ISO 37301 before you apply. Edition and transition details: ISO 37301 hub →

          Audit language

          Norwegian and English are both workable for audits; agree the audit language and the language of controlled documents with the certification body at application, and follow any language clause in a tender or customer contract.

          Remote and on-site

          Remote audit elements are at the certification body's discretion; production, office and service sites are normally visited.

          ISO 37301 in Norway: questions clients ask

          Who must follow the Norwegian Transparency Act?

          Larger enterprises resident in Norway that offer goods or services in or outside Norway, and larger foreign enterprises that offer goods or services in Norway and are taxable to Norway, according to Forbrukertilsynet. Their duties are due diligence in line with the OECD guidelines, a published account and answers to information requests. Confirm your status with counsel or Forbrukertilsynet.

          Can a smaller supplier still be affected by the Transparency Act?

          Yes. Forbrukertilsynet notes that a business with no duties under the Act can still be affected by it, for example when a customer asks a supplier for information it uses in its own due diligence. Many businesses also follow the OECD guidelines voluntarily. A compliance management system helps you answer such requests consistently.

          Does the Transparency Act require ISO 37301?

          No. The Act and Forbrukertilsynet's guidance set duties of due diligence, publication and information, and do not name ISO 37301. The standard is a certifiable way to organise a compliance management system, with obligations, risks, controls, reporting and review, which can support evidence of how a business meets such duties.

          Which bodies certify ISO 37301 in Norway?

          Any certification body whose accredited scope includes ISO 37301. The scope lists in Norsk akkreditering's public register, or in the register of a peer accreditation body, show which standards each holds. Look at them before signing an engagement; an ISO 9001 accreditation tells you nothing about compliance management systems.

          Read more

          More on ISO 37301 for Norwegian organisations

          Explore

          Other standards Norwegian businesses ask Sterling for

          Organisations in Norway often combine ISO 37301 with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.

          All 21 standards Sterling delivers in Norway →

          Next step

          Start with a free discovery call from the Enschede office

          A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.

          Sources

          1. Åpenhetsloven (Transparency Act) — Forbrukertilsynet — forbrukertilsynet.no (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
          2. Lov om digital operasjonell motstandsdyktighet i finanssektoren (DORA-loven) — finanstilsynet.no (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
          3. Norsk akkreditering — register of accredited management-system certification bodies — akkreditert.no (accessed 11 Oct 2026)
          4. Norsk akkreditering (Norwegian Accreditation) — akkreditert.no (accessed 11 Oct 2026)

          Talk to a consultant

          Plan your certification with the Enschede team.

          Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.

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