Fri rettshjelp does not always mean a completely free lawyer
The Norwegian system fri rettshjelp helps people who cannot afford to fully cover the costs of legal assistance in cases that have great personal or life significance.
Assistance can take two main forms:
fritt rettsråd – legal assistance outside court, e.g. advice, legal documents and representation of the case by a lawyer,
fri sakførsel – legal assistance when the case has been brought to court.
In some cases you can also receive an exemption from court fees.
The most important change: the old income limits no longer apply
Since 15 October 2025 a new system has been in effect.
The separate simple income limit and the separate asset limit are no longer checked.
Instead, your betalingsevne is calculated — that is, your ability to cover a lawyer's costs yourself. This takes into account, among other things, gross income, part of net assets, the situation of a spouse or partner sharing a household with you, and dependent children.
Therefore you should no longer ask:
“How much can I earn at most?”
It is best to use the official calculator, which will calculate your situation individually.
Check the official fri rettshjelp calculator
STEP 1. Check whether the case even qualifies for assistance
Fri rettshjelp does not automatically cover every legal problem.
Among cases where you can receive assistance depending on your financial situation are, among others:
family matters, e.g. parental responsibility, the child's residence and contact arrangements,
some cases concerning divorce and marriage,
claims following serious bodily injury or the loss of a breadwinner,
some cases concerning loss of housing,
employee cases concerning the existence of an employment relationship or claims related to its termination,
certain appeals concerning benefits from folketrygden.
There are also cases in which assistance can be granted without checking your financial situation, including certain matters concerning barnevernet, foreign nationals, and particularly serious state interventions.
STEP 2. First check insurance and other options
This is very important.
If legal assistance can be covered by:
insurance,
trade union,
an organization you belong to,
or a public institution that specifically handles that type of matter,
then, as a rule, you should use that option first.
The state fri rettshjelp is a supplementary solution, not a substitute for existing legal insurance or other support systems.
STEP 3. Use the calculator before you go to a lawyer
The official Statsforvalteren calculator allows you to preliminarily check:
whether you meet the financial requirements,
and
what your own contribution may be – egenandel.
To calculate this you primarily need information from your most recent tax return.
As of 1 May 2026 the current grunnbeløpet, i.e. G, is 136 549 NOK.
Do not, however, calculate this yourself as a simple salary limit, because the system takes into account more than income alone.
STEP 4. Do you have children? The system takes that into account
The new rules are more favorable to parents.
When calculating betalingsevne, a deduction is applied for children under 18 years of age:
1 child – 0.5 G,
2 children – 0.65 G,
3 or more children – 0.75 G.
Information about the children is usually retrieved automatically from Folkeregisteret.
STEP 5. Check how much you will pay yourself
„Fri rettshjelp” does not always mean a bill 0 NOK.
In cases where the financial situation is examined, you may pay an egenandel, that is, a portion of the costs of legal assistance.
In the new system the own contribution may range from 1 to 99 percent of the costs, depending on your financial situation.
You do not pay egenandel if:
the case falls into a category in which assistance is provided regardless of financial situation,
or your betalingsevne is sufficiently low.
The egenandel is collected by Statens innkrevingssentral.
STEP 6. Submit the application online
Since 15 October 2025 a common digital system for submitting applications for fri rettshjelp has been in operation.
Go to the official fri rettshjelp system
You log in to the electronic application via ID-porten.
The system can automatically fetch tax information from Skatteetaten and the data needed to calculate your situation.
If your financial situation has changed significantly since your last tax return, you can present current documentation. The regulations allow for considering changes when they sufficiently affect the calculated betalingsevne.
STEP 7. You can also start with a lawyer
You do not have to understand the entire law on your own first.
A lawyer is obliged to inform the client about the possibility of using fri rettshjelp if it may be applicable.
In many priority cases the lawyer can himself assess the conditions and start the procedure for awarding fritt rettsråd. In other cases the decision is made by Statsforvalteren, the court or the competent authority.
Therefore, at the first contact it is worth saying:
“I want to check whether I am entitled to fri rettshjelp.”
Do you already live in Poland, but have a case in Norway?
Leaving Norway itself does not automatically close the possibility of obtaining assistance.
If you live abroad but your case is connected to Norway, the application may be considered by the relevant Statsforvalteren.
Persons without the ability to log in via ID-porten can use the paper form.
Where else can you look for free help?
Not every case must immediately end with a private lawyer.
The Norwegian state also supports organizations offering non-commercial legal assistance, including:
Jussbuss,
JURK,
Jussformidlingen in Bergen,
Jusshjelpa i Nord-Norge.
Depending on the problem, such assistance can be a good first step.
Simplest: do it in this order
Have a legal problem → check whether insurance or an organization covers a lawyer → use the free legal aid calculator → check the category of the case → submit an application or ask a lawyer about free legal aid.
Do not give up pursuing your rights just because you assume that a lawyer will be too expensive.
After the system reform from October 2025 the state estimated that the share of households able to use the assistance would increase from about 16% to 33% of households.
Information verified: 25 September 2026.
