On 1 July 2026, Norway extended its Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) card requirements for certain posted workers in the road goods transport sector.
The change applies to drivers and assistants posted to Norway to transport goods on behalf of others using vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of 2,500 kg. There is no minimum vehicle weight threshold, meaning even smaller commercial vehicles may fall within scope.
For employers posting workers to Norway, this represents a relatively small but important compliance change, particularly for businesses using lighter vehicles for deliveries, logistics or last-mile transport.
What is a HSE card?
A HSE card is an official identification card used in Norway to confirm a worker’s identity and employer, which can be requested via the government’s official digital gateway, Altinn. Workers who are required to hold a HSE card must wear it visibly while carrying out their work.
HSE cards are already mandatory in sectors including construction, cleaning and vehicle servicing. Within the road goods transport sector, the requirement also applies to businesses transporting goods for others for payment, including both drivers and assistants carrying out work during the journey.
What Changed on 1 July 2026?
The key change is that posted workers using light commercial vehicles are now more clearly within scope of the HSE card requirements.
Since 1 July 2026, posted drivers and assistants transporting goods belonging to others using vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of 2,500 kg must hold an HSE card. The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority has confirmed that there is no lower vehicle weight limit.
Employers should therefore not assume that smaller vehicles fall outside the legislation. Commercial goods transport carried out using light vehicles may still trigger the HSE card requirement.
A posted worker is someone who normally works in another country but is temporarily assigned to Norway. Employers posting workers must ensure that both the employment relationship and the work undertaken comply with applicable Norwegian employment legislation.
Who Should Take Note?
The change is primarily relevant to employers based outside Norway who temporarily post workers to carry out road goods transport within the country.
A posted worker is someone who normally works in another country but is temporarily assigned to Norway. Employers posting workers must ensure that both the employment relationship and the work undertaken comply with applicable Norwegian employment legislation.
The new requirement is particularly relevant for:
- Logistics and courier companies
- Last-mile delivery providers
- Freight and transport operators using lighter commercial vehicles
- Businesses posting drivers or assistants to Norway on a temporary basis
- HR, global mobility and compliance teams responsible for managing posted worker obligations
Employer Responsibilities
Employers remain responsible for ensuring that posted workers comply with Norwegian requirements throughout the posting period. This includes meeting obligations relating to employment terms, working conditions, required documentation and any sector-specific rules.
Employers must also ensure that certain documentation is available at the workplace in Norway during the posting. This includes employment contracts, timesheets and payslips, together with details such as the expected duration of the posting, planned start and end dates, the anticipated number of posted workers and the identities of those workers. arbeidstilsynet.no
Documentation must be available in writing, either electronically or in hard copy, and must be provided in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Why is This Important?
The extension of the HSE card requirements reflects Norway’s continued focus on transparency, workplace safety and fair working conditions for posted workers.
For employers, the greatest compliance risk is assuming that lighter vehicles or short-term assignments fall outside the legislation. Since 1 July 2026, businesses posting drivers or assistants to Norway for commercial goods transport should treat HSE card verification as a standard part of their pre-assignment compliance procedures.
Leap29 Recommendations
Now that the HSE card requirement is in force, employers posting drivers or assistants to Norway should incorporate HSE card verification into their standard pre-assignment and onboarding processes.
Leap29 recommends that employers:
- Review current transport operations in Norway to determine whether posted workers transporting goods for third parties fall within the scope of the HSE card requirements
- Confirm and record the maximum permissible weight of all vehicles before each assignment, particularly where lighter commercial vehicles are used
- Ensure compliance checks include assistants as well as drivers, as assistants travelling in the vehicle and carrying out work may also require an HSE card
- Obtain valid HSE cards before work begins in Norway where the legislation applies
- Ensure employment contracts, timesheets, payslips and posting documentation are available throughout the assignment in an accepted language
- Review existing assignments involving posted workers already operating in Norway and take prompt corrective action where HSE cards or supporting documentation are missing
For businesses expanding into Norway, compliance can be particularly challenging due to local employment legislation, payroll, tax, employee benefits and wider HR obligations.
Where companies do not have an established Norwegian entity, Leap29’s Norway EOR Services can support compliant expansion by managing international employment, payroll, tax, benefits, insurance and ongoing HR compliance, enabling businesses to engage workers in Norway without establishing a local legal entity.
“Not every regulatory update makes the headlines, but that doesn’t make it any less important. In my experience, it’s often the smaller changes that have the greatest operational impact because they’re the easiest to overlook. For businesses managing cross-border operations, staying ahead of local developments isn’t just about compliance – it’s about reducing risk, maintaining continuity and ensuring the business can continue to operate with confidence.”
Simon Duff, Director at Leap29
