Exemption card for public health services

Check your user fees and find your exemption card 

If you have paid too much in user fees, you will be refunded automatically.

By logging in to Helsenorge you can view your exemption card and user fees. 

You will receive an SMS or e-mail depending on what notifications settings you have chosen at Helsenorge. The exemption card is automatic, but you should still save your receits for self-inspection.

Pharmacy's, family doctors, other treatment and service providers are responsible for reporting all approved user fees to Helfo within 14 days. Your user fees are registered automatically.

Children and other groups that are exempt from paying user fees

These groups are partly or wholy exempt to to pay user fees: 

• children under 16 years of age
• patients with  approved occupational injuries
• Recipients of the minimum state pension (In Norwegian: minste pensjonsnivå / minstepensjonister) are exempt from paying user fees for blue prescriptions for medicine, food products and medical supplies.

Check your bank account number for exemption card refunds

Exemption card refunds are paid out as soon as possible. It may take five working days for the payment to reach your bank account.

You can check your registered address and bank account number by logging onto Helsenorge.

Each year, the Norwegian Parliament sets the user fee limit. If you pay more than this limit, the amount you are entitled to will be refunded into your bank account.

Check your bank account number for exemption card refunds.

Coverage of travel expenses for medical treatment

You may be entitled to reimbursement for patient travel expenses (in Norwegian: pasientreise) when you travel to or from treatment which is covered by the public health service. 

Log in to the Patient-travel service at Helsenorge (service only in Norwegian) to send in your application or for more information.

Approved user fees count towards the user fee limit for the exemption card.

User fee reporting and exemption card look-ups

Your user fees are reported to us by your treatment/service provider. All treatment providers who charge user fees must report the user fees within 14 days. It is necessary for the treatment provider to do this for you to receive your exemption card within three weeks.

Treatment/service providers have the option of using a look-up service to check if you need to pay a user fee or not. If the treatment provider has access to use this look-up service, you do not need to show your exemption card. If your treatment provider does not use the look-up service, you must continue to show your exemption card to avoid paying user fees.

Power of Attorney for exemption card communications

To contact Helfo on behalf of someone else you need to have Power of Attorney.

Other important exemption card information

What is not covered by the exemption card scheme

You yourself must pay charges that are not approved user fees. Such charges do not count towards the user fee limits for exemption cards.

This may include fees for bandaging and equipment necessary for your treatment.

If you use private treatment providers who do not have reimbursement agreements, you will have to cover all the costs yourself.

Reservation against storing user fee information

You may opt out of the exemption card schemes (in Norwegian). In that case, you will not be included in the scheme for issuing the exemption card for health services, automatically. If you opt out, treatment providers and health personnel will not be able to find out from the exemption card look-up service whether you are required to pay a user fee or not.

You apply for the exemption card by sending itemized receipts to Helfo as soon as you reach the maximum user fee limit. 

Please note that you can rejoin the exemption card scheme whenever you want to.