You may be entitled to reimbursement for patient travel expenses when you travel to or from treatment which is covered by the public health service.
Nearest treatment centre
Travel to the following treatments is covered
Travel to the following treatments is not covered
You will normally receive reimbursement for your patient travel expenses as a fixed amount per kilometre, regardless of the means of transport you use. You will have to pay a user fee for your travel if you do not have an exemption card.
You can apply after you have completed the journey.
You must send in your application no later than six months after the date of treatment.
Your travel expenses will be reimbursed if:
you have travelled to treatment which is covered by the public health service.
the journey is longer than ten kilometres each way. You can claim reimbursement for journeys which are less than ten kilometres if your treatment provider documents that it was necessary to travel by private car or taxi for health reasons.
the journey crosses several rate zones for public transport. Journeys which are entirely within a single rate zone will not normally be covered through the patient travel scheme. This is independent of the means of transport that is used. The exception to this rule is if your treatment provider documents that it was necessary to travel by private car or taxi for health reasons. You may also be able to claim your expenses within a single rate zone if you are unable to reach your treatment centre by public transport. Remember to explain this in your application.
Requisitioned patient travel
If you are unable to complete your journey alone for either health- or transport-related reasons, you may be entitled to a requisition for requisitioned patient travel.
You can travel wherever you want, but initially you only get reimbursement for travel expenses corresponding to journeys from your registered address to the nearest place where the treatment can be provided, and back again. If you stay at a necessary temporary place of residence due to work, studies, military service or stay at an institution, travel from there is covered.
This means that, for example, if you travel from a cabin or a holiday apartment to a planned treatment, you will receive benefits as if you were traveling from your registered address or the necessary temporary place of residence to the nearest place where the treatment can be provided.
However, this does not apply if you need immediate assistance. You can read about immediate assistance further down this page.
Within the region
In the case of treatment at a hospital or by a specialist who has an agreement with the hospital, travel will be covered within your health region (regjeringen.no).
If you have received treatment outside your health region and exercised your right to free treatment options, your journey can be covered subject to a higher user fee.
Within your municipality
Travel to and from other health services, such as a general practitioner (GP), within your municipality will be covered. In order to be entitled to reimbursement for such travel outside your own municipality or a collaborating municipality, your treatment provider must document that the treatment centre is the nearest such centre that can provide your treatment. You will have to pay a user fee for each journey if you do not have an exemption card and you are not covered by any grounds for exemption either.
Necessary travel route
Patient travel is covered at a standard rate per kilometre and is calculated based on the necessary travel route. The necessary travel route is normally the fastest travel route. Our case administration system calculates the fastest travel routes and ferry routes based on map data provided by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
In some cases, the necessary travel route may be longer than that calculated route, in which case you can explain this in your application. Traffic or weather conditions may entitle you to travel via a longer route, e.g. in the event of road closures, ferry problems, road traffic accidents, etc.
Travel to the following treatments is covered
Travel to general practitioners and your own GP will be covered if you travel:
within your home municipality
to the doctor who is geographically closest to your place of residence
to a municipality which has a GP collaboration with your home municipality
If you are a Sami speaker and live in the Sami language administration area, you can claim your expenses for travel to the nearest Sami-speaking doctor.
Travel expenses will be covered within your home municipality when the treatment provider receives an allowance in accordance with the National Insurance Act.
In the case of patient travel abroad under Oslo University Hospital, Pasientreiser may cover the leg of the journey that is made in Norway. An application for reimbursement for such travel must be submitted on the paper-based travel expenses claim form, and confirmation must be attached indicating that the journey constituted patient travel under Oslo University Hospital.
In connection with patient travel, the journey to and from an emergency foster home will be covered, not the address listed in the National Population Register. Remember to state in the application that the patient is staying at an emergency foster home, and to attach confirmation of attendance to the application. It is the emergency foster home, rather than the child welfare service, that must normally apply for reimbursement for patient travel expenses. The emergency foster home must then apply as a travel companion.
Travel to attend municipal dialysis services will be covered if you travel:
within your home municipality
to a collaborating municipality
or to the treatment centre which is geographically closest to where you live
Travel to overnight stays for immediate assistance arranged by your municipality will be covered if you travel:
within your home municipality
to a collaborating municipality
or to the treatment centre which is geographically closest to where you live
Travel to a family counselling office can be covered if you are able to document your invitation or attendance. In the case of close relatives, the journey to the family counselling office can be covered if the manager at the office documents that it was necessary for next of kin to be present.
Expenses for travel to a physiotherapist will be covered if the physiotherapist has an operating subsidy or is employed by the municipality. If the treatment requires an approved additional qualification, such as manual therapy, travel expenses will be covered to the nearest physiotherapist with the relevant additional qualification.
It is Helfo, rather than Pasientreiser, which can cover essential travel to hippotherapy (formerly known as therapeutic riding with a physiotherapist).
Travel to a health centre can be covered if you are able to document your appointment invitation or attendance.
The same rules as for hospitals apply.
Expenses for travel to a midwife will be covered if the midwife has an operating subsidy or is employed by the municipality.
When you participate in clinical trials which have been approved by a health trust, your travel expenses may be reimbursed in order to comply with the rules of the Patient Travel Regulation.
If you have a rare disease and are planning to attend courses or use other services at the national resource centers for rare disorders, you can apply to have your travel expenses covered.
Children and other close next of kin may also have the right to have their travel expenses covered for courses or other services at the resource centers. There may be a user fee, and you must apply first.
There are some national treatment centres for which travel will be covered regardless of where you live.
Donors are entitled to reimbursement for their actual travel expenses and are exempt from paying user fees for their travel. If you made a journey in connection with organ donation, you must complete a travel expenses claim form and submit it by post.
Travel to an approved specialist psychologist with an operating subsidy from the regional health trust is covered. You must be referred for the treatment.
The same rules as for travel to hospitals apply.
When travelling to receive healthcare services in an EEA country, you can claim reimbursement for your travel expenses corresponding to what you would have incurred had you travelled to the nearest treatment centre where the treatment can be provided in Norway. The National Insurance Act gives you the right to choose and receive the same treatment in an EEA country that you are entitled to in Norway. Helfo is responsible for deciding whether or not the healthcare service you have received is covered by this scheme. If Helfo approves the treatment, Pasientreiser will cover your travel expenses in accordance with the provisions of the Patient Travel Regulation.
Expenses for travel to public and private sector specialist practitioners are covered when you have been given a referral by a doctor and the treatment is officially approved.
Travel to nursing homes is covered in connection with admission and discharge. Travel from nursing homes to officially approved treatment is also covered.
Expenses for travel to hospitals which are owned by, or have an agreement with, a regional health trust are covered. When treatment at a private hospital is covered by the regional health trust, the travel may be covered.
If you have attended a medical investigation by the specialist health service in connection with a mandatory tuberculosis checkup, you will be reimbursed for your actual expenses. You must then send confirmation of attendance and the travel expenses claim form to your local patient travel office by post.
Travel is covered in connection with the fitting of hearing aids at a hospitals or by a private specialist who has an agreement with a regional health authority.
If you are travelling to an assistive technology centre, an orthopaedicworkshop or similar in order to test various types of assistive devices, it is NAV that will cover your travel expenses.
If you travel in order to receive immediate assistance, you will be entitled to an allowance for the journey to the nearest treatment centre that is able to provide the treatment. If you travel from or to a place of residence other than your own residence, e.g. your holiday cabin, you will be entitled to an allowance for the journey as if you were travelling to or from your normal residence.
In some cases, you may be entitled to an allowance for travel from your residence to a treatment centre, even if this results in an increase in your travel expenses.
All three of the following conditions must then be met:
Your need for healthcare was unexpected and arose at your current location
Because of the treatment or follow-up you had to receive, it was not possible to provide you with healthcare anywhere other than the treatment centre to which you travelled
You would incur unreasonably high travel expenses if you were only reimbursed for your expenses as if you had travelled from your place of residence
This means that if the patient, for example, injures himself in the cabin, the patient can have travel expenses covered for the entire distance to the treatment center if the conditions above are met. After treatment, the patient can have the journey back to the cabin covered. If the patient instead wishes to return home after the treatment, the journey corresponding to the distance back to the cabin is covered.
Travel to the following treatments is not covered
Travel to pharmacies or bandages is not normally covered, because travel to collect medicines is not covered by the regulations concerned patient travel.
However, if you are undergoing medication-assisted rehabilitation (LAR) or other substitution treatment, the collection of medicines and the taking of urine samples at pharmacies will be considered to form part of the treatment. Such travel in connection with the use of treatment aids are therefore covered by Pasientreiser.
A number of health trusts offer bereavement counselling to next of kin following a patient’s death. Expenses for travel to such bereavement counselling will not normally be covered.
Travel in connection with foot care, foot therapy or skin care is not covered.
Travel to mammography appointments under the mammography programme are not covered, as this is preventive healthcare. The mammography programme is a public service for women aged 50-69, which involves a breast examination based on X-rays (mammography) every two years. This is a voluntary and preventive measure.
If you have been referred for mammography by your treatment provider, this will be considered an essential health service, so your travel expenses will be covered by Pasientreiser.
If you have received an offer of free transport from a health trust or you have been given information by Pasientreiser indicating that free public transport is available on your route, you will not be entitled to reimbursement for your travel expenses.
You will also not be entitled to reimbursement for your expenses if you have declined an offer of travel from your local patient travel office.
Travel to NAV offices is not covered.
Travel to opticians is not covered.
If you have been granted leave of absence from treatment, you will have to pay for the travel yourself. Such travel will also not be reimbursed when the institution is either fully or partially closed at weekends or during festive holidays or holiday periods. In some cases, patients who are suffering from a life-threatening illness may be reimbursed for their leave-related travel.
Expenses for travel to dental treatment are not normally covered. The following exceptions apply if documentation from the dentist or dental nurse is provided:
Occupational injury (the decision by NAV concerning the occupational injury must be attached)
Treatment by an orthodontist
Tooth/gum disorders
Persons who are resident abroad are not entitled to reimbursement for their patient travel expenses.
Travel expenses in connection with vaccination are not normally covered. This also applies in connection with vaccination during pandemics.
For people in high-risk groups and the chronically ill, vaccination may be necessary for health reasons. Provided that the treatment provider documents that the vaccination is necessary for health reasons, travel expenses may be covered by Pasientreiser. This does not apply to vaccination in connection with the COVID-19 (coronavirus) epidemic.
There are two forms of patient travel: travel without a requisition and travel with a requisition.
Travel without a requisition is travel which the patient arranges themselves and then applies for reimbursement for their travel expenses afterwards.
Travel with a requisition is travel that is booked through the patient travel offices, either by the treatment provider or the patient themselves. This scheme is intended for patients who are unable to travel by public transport or their own car, either due to a medical condition or because public transport is not available on the route.