Check your user fees and find your exemption card
You will receive the exemption card for health services within three weeks from the date you have paid more than a total of NOK 3,165 (in user fees).
If you have paid too much in user fees, you will be refunded automatically.
By logging in to the service Exemption card and user fees («Frikort og egenandeler») at 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.
Treatment and service providers are responsible for reporting all approved user fees to Helfo within 14 days. Your user fees are registered automatically.
You can find more information about payments and user fees for different treatment providers on the following pages:
- doctor
- psychologist
- outpatient clinic (hospital)
- laboratories and radiology department
- medicines and equipment on the "blue prescription" (in Norwegian)
- physiotherapy
- dental diseases
There are certain terms and conditions that must be fulfilled in order to get your user fees for these treatments approved:
Physiotherapy: Examination and treatment by a physiotherapist who has an agreement with, or is permanently employed by, the municipality (In Norwegian: kommune).
Dental diseases: Dental diseases and conditions that affect dental health. User fees for the following treatments are included in the scheme:
- Diseases and abnormalities (malformations) in the mouth and jaw (in Norwegian: anomalier)
- Treatment of certain forms of periodontitis (in Norwegian:periodontitt)
Dentists and dental hygienists are not bound by the defined reimbursement rates. They set their own prices. Even if you have an exemption card, you still have to pay the difference between the price charged by the dentist/dental hygienist and the amount covered by the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.
Rehabilitation: User fees at approved rehabilitation centres that have an agreement with a regional health authority.
Travelling abroad for treatment: User fees for treatment abroad that are arranged by the Oslo University Hospital – Rikshospitalet. Adult patients pay a user fee, while children and adolescents receive the service for free. If you travel with someone, their costs are not included as approved user fees towards your exemption card.
Groups that are exempt from paying user fees
Children under the age of 16 do not have to pay user fees. Some other groups are also exempt from paying user fees for examination and treatment.
You can find more information about exemption from user fees for approved occupational injuries here.
Recipients of the minimum state pension (In Norwegian: minste pensjonsnivå / minstepensjonister) are exempt from paying user fees for blue prescriptions. If a recipient of the minimum state pension still has to pay the user fee at a pharmacy or medical supplies store, Helfo will automatically reimburse the user fee afterwards. Once Helfo has received information from the pharmacist or medical supplies store about the paid user fee, it may take up to three working days for the amount to be reimbursed.
Some recipients may find that their status as a recipient of the minimum state pension changes. If you have any questions regarding your status, please contact NAV (nav.no, in Norwegian).
You can find out whether you are exempt from having to pay user fees, and whether you have the status of a minimum pension recipient, by calling guidance Helsenorge (23 32 70 00).
Account number, refunds and minimum refunds
Exemption card refunds are paid out as soon as possible. It may take three 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 the user fee limit. If you pay more than this limit, the amount you are entitled to will be refunded into your bank account.
Coverage of travel expenses for medical treatment
You may be entitled to reimbursement for patient travel expenses (in Norwegian: pasientyreise) 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. This also applies to parents/guardians for children over the age of 16, as the the legal age of majority in Norwegian health care is 16 years.
Power of Attorney contains sensitive information and should not be sent by e-mail. We therefore request that you send the form to Helfo by letter post. Remember to enclose a copy of valid proof of your identity. Complete the Power of Attorney form and send it to Helfo, Postboks 2415, 3104 Tønsberg.
Log in to check your user fees and exemption card status
If a user fee is missing from your user fees and exemption card status overview, please contact your healthcare practitioner/service provider and request that they submit the user fee to Helfo. Please be aware that it may take up to three weeks before your healthcare practitioner/ service provider submits the user fee to Helfo.
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.