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Municipal health and care services: home help, home nursing and nursing homes
Draft, translated: translated from the Norwegian original with the help of a language model, and may contain errors. The Norwegian version is the authoritative one. See the Norwegian original →
Do you need help in everyday life, home nursing, or a nursing home place? How to apply, and how to complain if you disagree with the decision.
Norwegian original last checked against official sources: 22 September 2026. Rules and figures change, so always check the official site before you act.
The municipality is responsible for far more than BPA, respite care and a support contact (which have their own guides). Here are the most common services, and how to apply and complain if needed.
What kind of help can you get?
- Home nursing: healthcare you receive at home, for example wound care, help with medicines, or other nursing.
- Practical assistance (home help): help with daily tasks, such as cleaning or other things you can no longer manage yourself, so that you can keep living at home.
- A nursing home place: a short-term stay (for example after a hospital admission, or for respite) or a long-term stay.
How to apply
Contact the municipality where you live, usually via the allocation office (tildelingskontoret) (may be called the coordinating unit or similar elsewhere). Describe your need for help concretely: what you struggle with, and how it affects your everyday life.
The municipality must make a written decision, with reasoning if you do not get everything you applied for. If processing takes more than a month, you should be told in writing why, and when you can expect an answer.
A nursing home place: a somewhat different right
If you need a nursing home place or equivalent housing with round-the-clock services because it is the only offer that can give you safe and proper care, you have the right to get a place directly, not just be put on a waiting list. If your need is less urgent, you may be assessed as qualified and put on a waiting list, but this does not give an automatic priority over others with a more urgent need.
Do you need long-term, coordinated help?
If you need several services over time, you have the right to an individual plan and a coordinator who should help ensure the services fit together.
How to complain
- Complain to the municipality, usually within three weeks of receiving the decision.
- If you are not granted it, the complaint is sent on to the County Governor (Statsforvalteren), who assesses the case anew.
- The Patient and User Ombudsman (Pasient- og brukerombudet) in your county gives free advice and guidance along the way, and can help you understand the decision and what you can do.
See also BPA, Respite care and care allowance and Support contact if these are the services you need.
Tip: Write down what a typical day or week looks like for you, and what you specifically need help with. This gives the municipality a better basis for the decision, and is useful to have if you later need to complain.
Sources
- Helsedirektoratet. § 2-1a Right to necessary help from the municipal health and care service (Norwegian)
- Helsedirektoratet. § 2-1e Right to a nursing home place or similar housing specially adapted for round-the-clock services (Norwegian)
Kontaktpunkt24 gives general information, not legal advice. If you need help with your own case, contact a lawyer, a legal aid service, or the relevant authority.
This page is translated from Norwegian with the help of a language model, and may contain errors. The Norwegian version is always the authoritative one.