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Regulations

Working on Norwegian scaffolds: HMS cards, training hours and ties

Norway counts scaffold training in hours, not card colours, and every worker on a building site needs a Norwegian HMS card. This page lists what a foreign firm has to arrange before the crew flies in, and the scaffold clauses it will be inspected against.

By Ole Emil Frikstad Urstad · How the numbers are computed ·

Jamax scaffolding around a house of 11.4 × 5.3 m with a gabled roof (eaves 4.5 m, ridge 6 m), drawn by the ScaFix 3D model
Jamax around the example house, as ScaFix draws it in 3D.

What are the scaffolding rules in Norway?

Chapter 17 of the Regulations concerning the Performance of Work governs Norwegian scaffolds: documented erector training from a 2 m top platform (7.5 + 7.5 hours, rising at 5 m and 9 m), guardrails of at least 1 m, ties proof-tested at 20 % above design load, and inspection before use. Foreign workers need an HMS card; Arbeidstilsynet enforces.

What must a foreign firm arrange before the crew arrives?

Four duties catch foreign scaffold contractors more often than the technical rules do:

  • HMS card for every worker. Arbeidstilsynet states that the HMS card requirement covers all workers on building and construction sites, Norwegian and foreign alike. The employer is responsible for valid cards, orders them at hmskort.no through a person with a role registered in the Norwegian business register (Enhetsregisteret), and the card must be worn visibly. The card number goes into the site's list of people at work under byggherreforskriften § 15.
  • Reporting the contract and the crew to the tax authority. Under skatteforvaltningsloven § 7-6, any business that gives a contract for work in Norway to a company based abroad must report it, together with sub-contracts down the chain, and the foreign contractor must report its own employees who do the work.
  • Training in a language the crew understands. The management regulation, § 8-1, says plainly: «Opplæringen skal gis på et språk som arbeidstakerne forstår». A mixed crew therefore needs its user training and toolbox talks in a language each member follows.
  • Training records on site. Arbeidstilsynet's scaffold page requires the training certificate or documentation to be available to the safety representative and to the inspectorate.

Does a foreign scaffold course count in Norway?

Sections 17-2 to 17-4 name no foreign schemes. They set hours and content, and the certificate must show the person's name, date of birth, course content, the provider and a signature (section 17-2). A CISRS card or an EU course certificate counts only as evidence that this content and these hours were covered, so ask a Norwegian provider to assess your crew's papers and to fill any gap before mobilising.

Top platformSectionTheory + supervised practice
2 to 5 m, system or mobile scaffold in standard configuration17-27.5 + 7.5 hours
5 to 9 m17-315 + 15 hours
9 m and above, or any non-standard configuration17-4Six months' scaffold experience, then 36 + 72 hours

Altering a system scaffold, building in timber, and cantilevered or suspended scaffolds need the top level whatever the height. The equipment side is more open: Arbeidstilsynet accepts system scaffolds approved in another EEA country if the employer can document that they meet the design requirements of section 17-7. The supplier still owes a Norwegian-language assembly manual under produsentforskriften chapter 4.

Close-up of the corner where the long wall and the gable wall meet, with HAKI Universal standards, decks, guardrails and toe boards in the ScaFix 3D model
The corner: the bays of the two walls meet, with deck, guardrail and toe board on each lift.

What does Norway require for guardrails and ties?

Guardrail dimensions are not in chapter 17 but in the workplace regulation, arbeidsplassforskriften § 2-22: a rail at least 1 m high, reducible on system scaffolds to an absolute minimum of 0.95 m, a knee rail midway, and a toe board of at least 0.15 m on scaffolds (0.10 m on timber scaffolds with a deck below 8 m). Arbeidstilsynet treats any platform above 2 m as needing a guardrail.

Ties fall under section 17-18: a scaffold not designed to stand unanchored is tied to a rigid structure or the ground, the ties are sized for the site wind in both directions, they must take both tension and compression, and they are proof-tested at 20 % above their design load. If the supplier's manual gives no tie pattern, it has to be calculated and documented.

Roof work is a separate item: Arbeidstilsynet's work-at-height page requires roof-edge protection to NS-EN 13374 class A, B or C by pitch, and says a traditional facade scaffold does not meet that standard.

Which other chapter 17 clauses are inspected on site?

ClauseRequirement
s. 17-1Written risk assessment covering fall height, loads, weather, traffic and rescue
s. 17-5Every user of the scaffold trained on it, in the user instructions too
s. 17-7 and 17-8Designed for strength and wind; standard configuration or a calculation; a qualified person writes the assembly instruction
s. 17-12A vertical ladder to a deck above 3.50 m needs a back hoop from 2.50 m
s. 17-14Unprotected gap between deck and wall at most 0.30 m
s. 17-15Brackets on timber standards no higher than 5 m; trestle scaffolds no higher than 2 m
s. 17-17Mobile towers on firm, level ground, locked, nobody aboard while moving
Byggherreforskriften s. 7 and s. 10SHA plan before work; advance notice one week ahead for jobs over 15 working days or 250 person-days

Load classes are covered in our load class guide, and the comparison with Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, the UK and the US in scaffolding regulations by country.

How often must a scaffold be inspected in Norway?

Section 17-9 requires an inspection by a qualified person before first use, at regular intervals suited to the conditions, after bad weather or anything else that may have affected stability, and after the scaffold has been out of use for a week or more. There is no fixed weekly interval. Section 17-10 requires a report. The step-by-step routine is in our scaffold inspection checklist.

What can Arbeidstilsynet do to a foreign contractor?

The Working Environment Act covers any business employing workers in Norway (section 1-2), wherever it is registered. Its enforcement ladder (sections 18-6 to 18-10) runs from written orders with a deadline, through recurring or one-off coercive fines and stopping all or part of the work, to an administrative fine on the company. That fine can be imposed even when no individual is at fault, and on the spot for clear breaches. Missing HMS cards and missing training certificates are the easiest breaches for an inspector to prove.

Where ScaFix fits

ScaFix lays out the guardrails and tie positions of a Norwegian job lift by lift in many scaffold systems, but the section 17-7 design and the 20 % tie test stay with a qualified person (methodology).

Planning information drawn from the Norwegian texts on Lovdata and Arbeidstilsynet's guidance, not legal advice or a structural approval. The Norwegian wording, the supplier's assembly manual and any design calculation govern, and a qualified person must inspect the scaffold under section 17-9 before anyone uses it.

Frequently asked questions

Is a CISRS card valid for scaffolding in Norway?

Sections 17-2 to 17-4 name no foreign schemes; they set hours and content. Ask a Norwegian course provider for an equivalence assessment and top up the missing parts before work starts.

Do foreign scaffolders need an HMS card in Norway?

Yes. Arbeidstilsynet states that the HMS card requirement applies to Norwegian and foreign workers on building and construction sites, and the employer must make sure each card is valid.

How often must a scaffold be inspected in Norway?

Before first use, at intervals suited to the conditions, after bad weather and after a week or more out of use, always by a qualified person (section 17-9).

What height needs scaffold training in Norway?

From a top platform of 2 metres. The hours rise at 5 m and again at 9 m, and any non-standard configuration needs the highest level whatever its height.

Can Arbeidstilsynet fine a foreign contractor?

Yes. The administrative fine in section 18-10 is imposed on the business, and the Act covers any employer with workers in Norway.

Sources

Primary sources used for this article, with the date each was read.