Norway has issued a new legislation on 12 December 2024 mandating Norwegian companies and legal entities to register their beneficial owners in the Register of Beneficial Owners.
The legislation will take effect on 31 July 2025, although businesses can begin the registration process now. The board of directors must ensure compliance or face potential fines for non-compliance.
Beneficial owners are natural persons who, in the last instance, own or control an organisation. The organisation can have one, several, or no beneficial owners.
Companies must register their beneficial owners, including their name, ID number, country of residence, citizenship, and the reason they qualify. This information must also be recorded even if there are no beneficial owners. Entities must retain this information for 10 years after individuals are no longer beneficial owners.
The registration requirement applies to legal entities and associations operating or registered in Norway, including limited liability companies, public companies, partnerships, cooperatives, and Norwegian branches of foreign entities. Businesses can check their registration obligation on the Brønnøysund Register Centre’s website.
To ensure businesses have time to identify and obtain information, there will be a phasing time of 10 months. The obligation to register beneficial owners will take effect on 1 October 2024, but the rule regarding the coercive fine shall not apply until 31 July 2025.
