Who can vote in Norway's local elections?

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The short answer

In the local elections, for the municipal council (kommunestyre) and county council (fylkesting) on Monday 13 September 2027, you can vote if you turn 18 by the end of 2027 (born 2009 or earlier) and one of these applies to you:

  • You are a Norwegian citizen and are, or have ever been, registered as a resident in Norway (folkeregisteret).
  • You are a citizen of another Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Sweden) and are registered as a resident in Norway by 30 June 2027.
  • You hold any other citizenship, and have been registered as a resident in Norway continuously for the last three years before election day, that is, since 13 September 2024 or earlier.

You do not need citizenship for local elections

Only Norwegian citizens can vote in parliamentary elections (Stortinget). In local elections, foreign citizens can vote too, after three years of registered residence.

In 2023 about 358,000 foreign citizens were eligible, around 8 per cent of all eligible voters. Their turnout was only 25 per cent, compared with 66 per cent among Norwegian citizens (Statistics Norway, SSB).

How do I know I am on the electoral roll?

You do not need to apply. Everyone with the right to vote is added automatically to the electoral roll (manntall) in the municipality where they are registered, usually as they stand on 30 June of the election year. The municipality posts a voting card (valgkort) to those entitled to vote.

  • If no card arrives, or you think you are missing from the roll, contact your municipality (kommune).
  • If you move after 30 June, you normally vote in the municipality where you were registered at that date.

Check the rules before the election

These are the rules in force today (Election Act, valgloven § 2-2). A proposal has been submitted to the Storting to limit local-election voting to Norwegian citizens. It had not been dealt with in October 2026. We take no side on the proposal, but we recommend checking valg.no before the election.

Official sources: valg.no · Election Act on Lovdata · SSB

We are a politically independent association. We do not urge anyone to vote for any particular party or candidate, only that everyone who is entitled to vote knows how to use that right.

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