Who needs the licence?
The national licence applies to transport of goods for others for payment with vans that have a permissible maximum weight over 2,500 kg and up to 3,500 kg (Statens vegvesen: national operator's licences for light goods vehicles (English)). Transport of your own goods as part of your business, such as a plumber carrying their own tools, is own-account transport and needs no licence.
To get the licence, the business must meet four requirements: good conduct (vandel), financial standing, professional competence and establishment in Norway. The licence exam is how the transport manager documents professional competence.
Want to practise for it?
The Kurs.ing course is in Norwegian with English help on every lesson and question: NOK 447 for 8 weeks' access, one payment.
Exam format and fee
| Questions | 35 multiple-choice questions |
|---|---|
| Time | 70 minutes |
| To pass | 30 correct answers |
| Language | Norwegian (bokmål or nynorsk), no interpreter; audio support is available |
| Fee | NOK 610 |
| Course | No course is required; self-study is allowed |
Sources: Statens vegvesen: operator's licence test for light goods vehicles (English) and Yrkestransportforskriften § 12, fees (Lovdata, Norwegian).
The nine topics
The test follows Statens vegvesen's topic list from June 2025 (Statens vegvesen: topic list for the van licence test, June 2025 (Norwegian, PDF)):
- The Commercial Transport Act (yrkestransportlova)
- The Road Traffic Act (vegtrafikkloven)
- The Working Environment Act and the Holidays Act
- Training of employees: driving behaviour, vehicle checks, load securing, driving and rest time, dangerous goods
- Internal control (HSE)
- Business forms
- Business economics
- Taxes
- Duties such as VAT and employer's contribution
Why many fail
From 1 September to 12 December 2025, 1,813 people took the exam and only 467 passed, which is 26 % (Yrkesbil, 18 December 2025: three out of four fail the van licence exam (Norwegian)). Statens vegvesen said there was no formal training for this licence class. Most questions test law and business economics, not driving, so practice with the topic list is what helps.
Key Norwegian terms
| Norwegian | English |
|---|---|
| løyve | operator's licence |
| løyveeksamen | the licence exam |
| egentransport | own-account transport (no licence needed) |
| tillatt totalvekt | permissible maximum weight |
| transportleder | transport manager |
| økonomisk evne | financial standing |
| vandel | good conduct / clean record |
| arbeidsavtale | employment contract |
| internkontroll | internal control (HSE system) |
| enkeltpersonforetak (ENK) | sole proprietorship |
| aksjeselskap (AS) | limited company |
| merverdiavgift (mva) | VAT |
| dekningsbidrag | contribution margin |
How the Kurs.ing course helps
Kurs.ing is a private online course in Norwegian, because the exam is normally in Norwegian. You can turn on English help text in the lessons, the topic quizzes and all practice questions. The Norwegian text is always shown first. The course follows Statens vegvesen's topic list, explains every answer with the legal basis, and has a practice exam in the same format as the real test.
Løyveeksamen for varebil costs NOK 447 with 8 weeks' access. Løyvepakken (NOK 497) includes the taxi driver course and the three operator licence courses (taxi, van, and goods and passenger transport). The exam fee is paid separately to Statens vegvesen.
Pass guarantee: If you fail the official test on your first attempt after buying, you get the course fee back, provided you completed all the lessons and passed the full practice exam in the course at least once before the test. You can choose 8 more weeks of access instead. The test fee is not refunded. See the terms (§ 17, Norwegian).
More guides in English
Sources
- Statens vegvesen: national operator's licences for light goods vehicles (English)
- Statens vegvesen: operator's licence test for light goods vehicles (English)
- Statens vegvesen: topic list for the van licence test, June 2025 (Norwegian, PDF)
- Yrkestransportforskriften § 12, fees (Lovdata, Norwegian)
- Yrkesbil, 18 December 2025: three out of four fail the van licence exam (Norwegian)
Important: Kurs.ing is a private course provider. We do not hold the exams, we are not affiliated with Statens vegvesen, and we issue no certificates. The Norwegian law text and Statens vegvesen's pages are authoritative. Always check the current rules before you book.