The main debt counseling service in Norway is located at the municipal level, with each local municipality having debt advisors available. Municipal debt counseling is a free service that provides assistance with budgeting, financial restructuring and information about people’s rights.

It is normally also possible to get help with contacting creditors, and proposing and negotiating agreements for repayment.

In addition, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV) has a dedicated debt counseling telephone hotline. The NAV is composed of a central agency and elements of the municipal social service systems. https://www.nav.no/okonomi-gjeld/en

Banks may also provide assistance to borrowers.

For those with serious debt problems, there is an opportunity to apply to the debt settlement scheme. This is an agreement to pay as much as possible of the debt during a limited period, and then have the remaining debt cancelled. The government states in relation to these settlements that:

“A person wishing to apply for debt settlement must go to the local enforcement commissioner; the district police authority or the enforcement bailiff. The enforcement commissioner will give advice and guidance relating to the Act and will assist in filling in the application form. If debt settlement negotiations are opened, the enforcement commissioner will help to formulate a payment plan which will be presented to creditors for their assessment. If the proposal is not accepted, a settlement plan can be set by the courts. Some enforcement commissioners also offer assistance in the financial transactions of a debt settlement plan. It normally takes four to six months to put together a debt settlement plan, then followed by a payment plan (debt settlement period) of five years.” (https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/consumers/debt-settlement/id670299/)

The Debt Victims Alliance (Gjeldsoffer-Alliansen, www.gjeld.org) is a member based non-profit and non-profit organization whose purpose is to help debt victims, shed light on their problems and work to improve current laws. The organization works to spread knowledge about the consequences of the debt crisis for society in the short and long term.