Many Norwegian decisions that affect your rights or obligations can be challenged through an administrative appeal (klage). Even after the ordinary appeal deadline, you may sometimes request reconsideration (omgjøring), especially if key facts were wrong or new information appears.
At Do Better Norge, we encourage people to treat appeals like engineering: document inputs, challenge assumptions, and force the system to “show its work.”
Core rules (Forvaltningsloven)
- §§ 28–34: appeal rights, deadlines, processing, and the appeal body’s competence.
- § 29: general appeal deadline (normally 3 weeks from when notice of the decision reaches you).
- § 31: late appeals (oppreisning)—in limited situations the authority can still accept an appeal after the deadline.
- § 33: how the case must be prepared and forwarded in an appeal.
- § 34: the appeal body can normally review all aspects of the case, including new circumstances.
- § 35: reconsideration without an appeal (the authority may change its own decision under certain conditions).
Step-by-step: a strong administrative appeal
- Confirm the deadline (and send something within time, even if you supplement later).
- State what you want: reversal, change, or remittal (new handling).
- Attack the decision structure:
- Wrong legal basis or wrong threshold.
- Wrong facts (or missing facts).
- Inadequate reasoning (Forvaltningsloven §§ 24–25).
- Procedural errors: lack of notification, lack of access to documents (partsinnsyn), habilitet concerns.
- Attach evidence and cite document references.
- Request partsinnsyn if you have not received the full case file.
If you missed the deadline
Late acceptance is possible in some cases (Forvaltningsloven § 31), but it is not automatic. You must explain why the deadline was missed and why it is reasonable to still have the decision reviewed. Even if the authority refuses to treat it as an appeal, you can consider requesting omgjøring under § 35 if there are strong reasons (e.g., new decisive facts or a clear error).
Template: Short appeal letter (minimum viable)
Subject: Klage (administrative appeal) – decision [reference/date]
To [Agency],
I hereby appeal the decision [reference/date]. I request that the decision is reversed/changed, or alternatively that the case is returned for new handling.
Main grounds: [1–3 bullet points: wrong facts / wrong legal basis / inadequate reasoning / procedural errors].
I will supplement the appeal with documentation. Please confirm receipt and provide information about further processing and the appeal body.
Sincerely,
[Name]
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