Before you sign with a new counterparty, ship against an invoice or extend credit, a quarter of an hour on what the public registers say is worth it. In Norway most of this is open and free.
1. Find the company in the register
Start from the organisation number — nine digits assigned on registration. It is the main identifier, it never changes, and it is not reissued to anyone else after deletion. If you only have a name, search on it and confirm you have the right company: similar names are common.
Look at three things: whether the company is active or being wound up, when it was registered, and what legal form it has. An AS incorporated last week is not a bad sign in itself, but it means you have no history to base a decision on.
Mind the difference between a main unit and a sub-unit. A branch or outlet has its own organisation number, different from the company's. It is the most common confusion, and it gets you the wrong accounts.
2. See who is behind it
The register publishes roles: managing director, chair, board members, auditor and accountant. Two questions matter: whether the person negotiating with you can actually bind the company, and whether the board has recently changed. A change says nothing on its own — a change immediately before a large deal is worth asking about.
3. Check signing rights and procuration
This is the step most people skip, and it decides whether the contract binds. Signature is authority to act and sign for the company in all contexts. Procuration is a narrower authority, tied to day-to-day business.
The register states who holds which, and in what combination — “the managing director alone”, “two board members jointly”, “the board jointly”. If one person signs where the register requires two, the company may not be bound. Read the wording, not just the list of names.
4. Check status: bankruptcy, liquidation, compulsory dissolution
The register carries these as separate fields with dates. Do not extend credit to a company in bankruptcy proceedings. Under liquidation means the owners have decided to close; compulsory dissolution means it is not voluntary — most often because annual accounts or an auditor are missing.
Note this is the status now. If the company has already been deleted, only the name, organisation number, legal form and deletion date remain in the register — everything else goes.
5. Read the annual accounts
Annual accounts are filed with the Register of Company Accounts and are public. Look at four things before anything else: is equity positive, is the operating result positive, how old is the newest filing, and which way has revenue moved.
A missing filing is not proof of anything by itself — sole proprietorships below certain thresholds are not required to file. But a limited company that should have filed and has not is worth a question: the deadline follows the general meeting, which must be held within six months of the year end.
6. Check the VAT registration
The register states whether the company is in the VAT Register and from what date. If it is not registered, it must not invoice with VAT. An invoice charging VAT from a company that is not registered is a problem.