Witnesses

When filling out a new title deed or a mortgage document the signature from the registered owner of the property must be certified by witnesses.

Two witnesses

Some types of documents have separate fields that witnesses need to fill in. This applies to:

deeds
mortgage documents
form for transfer of housing cooperative units
declaration of land transfer

The witnesses must be two people of legal age who reside in Norway. Alternatively, it may be one person who is a member of one the occupations listed below.

Occupational groups that can be sole witnesses

Norwegian real estate agent, lawyer authorised to be a responsible and professional broker, broker who is licensed to be a responsible broker, or assistant real estate agent
Norwegian lawyer or authorised assistant lawyer.
Norwegian person licensed by the Supervisory Council for Legal Practice to provide legal assistance.
Norwegian judge or land consolidation judge.
Norwegian sheriff, chief inspector or police officer,
Norwegian enforcement officer or assistant enforcement officer,
Norwegian conciliation board member,
Norwegian chartered or certified public accountant,
Norwegian or foreign notary public.

Close relatives of the person granted a right by the document cannot act as witnesses. This applies to spouses, parents, children or siblings.
If the document is signed by a person who has been granted power of attorney, the power of attorney must also be certified according to the same rules.

Documents that are issued and signed by public authorities do not require witnesses.

Witnesses abroad

If a person is abroad when signing a deed, mortgage document or power of attorney, there are three principal means of having the document certified:

Documents that are signed abroad can be certified by two people of legal age who are visiting from Norway. They must be permanent residents of Norway.
Documents that are signed abroad can be certified by a Norwegian foreign service official at an embassy or consulate. The official must then sign the document as a witness and stamp the document with the stamp of the foreign service mission. An overview of Norwegian foreign service missions can be found here.
Documents signed abroad can be certified by a foreign notary public. The laws of the country in question will determine who has the right to use this title. If you are uncertain, you can ask at a government office in the vicinity or contact a lawyer.

The person who is a notary public must sign as a witness and stamp the document with his/her notary public stamp. Outside of the Nordic countries, witness confirmation from a notary public must also be confirmed by another authority with the endorsement of an apostille. This is known as simplified legalisation, according to the HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention.

See list of competent authorities in contracting countries (HCCH).

Share