“I’ll start an ENK because it’s the easiest”
That can be a great decision.
It can also be a decision you will regret after the first major complaint.
Imagine two people.
The first creates websites from home. They have a laptop, a few clients and practically no financial obligations.
The second takes a car on lease, buys equipment worth several hundred thousand kroner, hires people and signs a contract where a mistake can cost much more than a month’s revenue.
Both can say:
“I’m starting a business.”
But the risk is completely different.
That’s why the first question should not be:
“What is the cheapest?”
But:
“What will happen if this business doesn’t go according to plan?”
ENK — the company and you are very closely linked
Enkeltpersonforetak, that is ENK, is directly connected to the owner.
It is not a separate legal person like AS.
Altinn states clearly that the owner is unlimitedly liable for the company’s obligations.
So if the company has a debt:
it is not simply:
“the company’s problem.”
It can become your personal problem.
This is one of the most important differences between ENK and AS.
When might an ENK make sense?
For example, when:
you work alone,
you are only testing the market,
you don’t need large investments,
you don’t take on large obligations,
the risk of damage to a client is small,
you don’t need an investor or partner,
the activity is mainly based on your own work.
A typical example:
graphic designer,
photographer,
developer,
translator,
consultant,
small local service.
But there is no rule:
“small company = always ENK”.
The type of liability can be more important than turnover.
AS — the company becomes a separate entity
Aksjeselskap is a separate legal person.
It is the company that signs contracts.
It is the company that holds the money.
It is the company that has the liabilities.
The owner as a rule is not liable with private assets beyond the capital contributed to the company.
Of course this does not mean:
“I have an AS, so I can do anything and never be liable for anything.”
A bank can demand a personal guarantee.
A board member can be held liable in certain situations.
A crime or a deliberate breach of duties does not disappear just because the name ends with AS.
But the structure is completely different from ENK.
When should you seriously consider an AS?
For example when:
the activity involves greater risk,
you invest substantial funds,
you buy expensive equipment,
you enter into large contracts,
you plan to employ people,
you want to have a partner,
you may seek an investor in the future,
you want to separate private assets from the business,
the business is intended to grow beyond one person’s work.
An AS can have a single owner.
You do not need a partner just to form a company.
“But AS requires 30 000 NOK”
Yes.
The minimum share capital is:
30 000 NOK.
But you must understand what this money is.
This is not:
30 000 NOK fee to the state.
It is your company's capital.
After properly forming the company, the capital can be used in the business, e.g. for justified company expenses.
However, the company must at all times maintain appropriate equity in relation to its operations and risk.
So don't think:
“30 thousand disappears.”
But also don't think:
“I deposit it briefly, and the next day I take it back privately.”
These are the company's money.
How much does the registration itself cost in 2026?
Brønnøysundregistrene has published the current price list for 2026.
ENK
Digital registration of the business only in Enhetsregisteret:
2 181 NOK.
If the ENK is at the same time also registered in Foretaksregisteret:
3 883 NOK.
AS
Digital registration:
6 825 NOK.
Prices for paper forms are higher.
Current price list:
Brønnøysundregistrene — fees for registration
Does every ENK have to be in Foretaksregisteret?
No.
Current information from Brønnøysundregistrene indicates that an ENK must be registered in Enhetsregisteret to receive an organisasjonsnummer.
Mandatory registration of ENK in Foretaksregisteret currently applies, among others, to activities carried out as statsautorisert regnskapsfører or revisor. Other ENKs may register there voluntarily.
So don't click additional registers just because:
“more registers look more professional.”
First check what you actually need.
ENK must also be a real business
This is especially important for immigrants working in Norway.
Someone says:
“We won't employ you. Set up an ENK and invoice us.”
That does not always mean that you truly become an entrepreneur.
Altinn lists four basic elements of business activity:
the possibility of making a profit,
a certain degree of permanence,
an appropriate scope,
operating on one's own account and at one's own risk.
It may also matter who:
provides the equipment,
sets the hours,
directs the work,
is responsible for the result,
bears the financial risk.
If in practice:
one 'client' sets your hours every day,
issues instructions like an employer,
provides all the equipment,
controls the way the work is performed,
and you simply issue them an invoice every month,
the document stating ENK does not automatically mean that you are an independent entrepreneur.
Check before registration:
Altinn — employee or entrepreneur?
ENK: you do not pay yourself a salary
This is another difference that often surprises.
The owner of an ENK:
is not employed by their own ENK.
You do not pay yourself wages like an employee.
Money you withdraw from the company privately are not the “owner’s salary”.
Tax is linked to the business result, not to how much money you transfer to your private account.
Therefore you can have a situation:
the company earned 300 000 NOK,
you withdrew privately only 100 000 NOK,
but for tax purposes that does not automatically mean you only account for those 100 000.
In ENK you are responsible for advance tax
Skatteetaten does not guess how much your new business will earn.
If you expect a profit, you need to report the expected profit so that advance tax is calculated.
Altinn explains that tax should be paid in the same year you earn the income, and you update the expected profit via skattekort.
Don’t wait until the first skattemelding thinking:
“We’ll see then.”
That can mean a very unpleasant sum to pay later.
Skatteetaten:
Skattekort
In an AS you can be an employee of your own company
That is an important difference.
If you work in your own AS and pay yourself a salary, you are treated as an employee of the company.
The company must then, among other things:
calculate payroll,
withhold tax,
pay employer’s national insurance contribution,
report employment.
Altinn confirms that an owner who works in an AS can receive a normal salary and is then taxed as an employee.
This gives a different arrangement of social rights than in ENK.
Sick? The company form starts to matter
In ENK the owner is self-employed.
NAV indicates that the self-employed typically receives sykepenger from the 17th day of illness, generally at 80% of the sick-pay basis. You can buy additional NAV insurance that improves protection.
This is not a minor detail.
If your company only earns money when you personally perform the service, two weeks of illness can look completely different than for a regular employee.
Therefore when choosing ENK don’t look only at:
“how easy it is to open.”
Also check:
“what will happen to me if I can’t work for a month?”
“AS has only 22% tax” — that is half the story
This is one of the most frequently repeated simplifications.
Yes:
AS pays 22% tax on its profit.
But the company’s money does not thereby automatically become your private money.
If you pay yourself:
a salary
you are subject to the rules for taxation of wages.
If you pay out:
a dividend
the owner is then taxed.
In 2026 the effective tax rate on taxed dividends/share income after applying the factor is 37,84%, before taking into account any skjermingsfradrag.
Therefore the sentence:
“I’ll set up an AS because I’ll only pay 22%”
can lead to a very bad calculation.
And ENK? Tax is also not a single simple rate
In ENK the business result is linked to your personal tax return.
In practice the following may apply, among others:
tax on ordinary income,
social security contribution,
bracket tax.
Therefore you cannot answer honestly:
“ENK costs X% in tax, and AS Y%”.
Without knowledge of:
profit,
salary,
dividend,
other income,
expenses,
the owner's situation,
such an answer is simply too simplistic.
VAT does not depend on whether you have ENK or AS
This is also a common misunderstanding.
There is no rule:
“AS has VAT, and ENK does not”.
For most businesses the registration threshold in the Value Added Tax Register is:
50 000 NOK of sales subject to VAT in a 12-month period.
It's not about:
50 000 in profit.
It's about:
turnover subject to VAT.
And it does not have to be a calendar year.
It's a rolling 12-month period.
Check and register your company when you reach the threshold:
Skatteetaten — VAT Register
Until you are properly registered you simply should not add VAT to an invoice “just in case”.
Want a partner? ENK is not an option
ENK has a single owner.
You cannot say:
“we have an ENK 50/50”.
If the business is to belong to two people, you need a different organizational form.
AS can have one or multiple owners.
If you are starting alone today, but tomorrow you want to:
sell 20% of the company,
bring in an investor,
transfer part of the shares to a partner,
AS provides a natural structure for that.
And what about the name?
In an ENK the official company name must include the owner's surname.
You can of course use a trade name in marketing.
But the registered ENK name must meet the surname requirements.
The same requirement does not apply to AS, but the name must end with the designation:
AS.
Not living in Norway yet?
Your place of residence alone does not automatically rule out ENK.
Brønnøysundregistrene states that the owner of an ENK does not need to be a resident of Norway, but the business must have a Norwegian business address.
Altinn also indicates that when registering with D-nummer it may be required to undergo prior identity verification at Skatteetaten.
Don't assume, however:
“I have D-nummer, so I can conduct any activity in Norway”.
The right to residence and work is a separate issue from the mere technical registration of the business.
How to establish an ENK?
If after this analysis you choose ENK, the basic process looks like this:
Determine whether the activity meets the conditions for business activity.
Choose a name.
Prepare a Norwegian business address.
Register the business through Samordnet registermelding.
Receive an organization number.
Set up advance tax payments.
Monitor turnover for VAT purposes.
Official start:
Altinn — starting and registering ENK
How to set up an AS?
In broad terms:
You choose a name.
You prepare the founding document and the articles of association.
You determine the owners and roles.
You deposit at least 30 000 NOK of capital.
You confirm the capital.
You register the company.
After receiving the organization number you carry out the company's subsequent obligations.
AS must be submitted for registration within 3 months of signing the founding document.
Official process:
Altinn — establishment and registration of an AS
After receiving the organization number you are not finished yet
For entities subject to the obligation to report actual beneficial owners you must also remember:
actual beneficial owners.
Brønnøysundregistrene specifies the deadline:
2 weeks from receiving the organization number to report whether the enterprise has or does not have beneficial owners, if it is subject to this obligation.
This is not the same as the company registration itself.
ENK or AS? Ask yourself seven questions
1. Can the company incur debt greater than I am willing to cover personally?
If so, analyze AS carefully.
2. Do I sign contracts where my mistake could cost a lot?
Risk matters.
3. Do I want to have a partner?
If so, ENK is not the appropriate structure.
4. Do I want to be an employee of my own company?
In an AS this is possible.
In an ENK you do not employ yourself.
5. Am I just testing a simple activity without large costs?
ENK may be sufficient.
6. Will the company reinvest and build its own capital?
It is worth calculating the AS model then, instead of looking only at the owner's current payout.
7. What will happen if I get sick for a month?
This question is as important as tax.
Do not choose the company form after talking to one colleague
A colleague says:
“I have an ENK and it's great.”
But they may:
have no employees,
have no leasing,
sell only their own work,
have very low risk.
Another says:
“Only AS makes sense.”
But they may run a company with five employees and large contracts.
Both may be right.
For themselves.
Your answer depends on your model.
The simplest decision at the start
If:
you work alone,
you are testing an idea,
you do not have large liabilities,
the risk is small,
you do not need a partner,
ENK may be a sensible beginning.
If:
the business requires capital,
you take responsibility for large values,
you hire employees,
you want partners,
you want to separate yourself more clearly from the company,
AS deserves very serious consideration.
But before clicking register, calculate the numbers.
Not only tax.
Also:
insurance,
accounting,
administration,
employees,
risk,
cash flow.
OFFICIAL SOURCES
Altinn — Sole proprietorship
Owner liability, owner status and the nature of ENK.
Altinn — Limited company
Limited liability and capital 30 000 NOK.
Brønnøysundregistrene — Fees 2026
Current cost of registering ENK and AS.
Skatteetaten — VAT
Threshold 50 000 NOK over a 12-month period.
