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Care allowance (home with a sick child)
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 →
You may be entitled to a certain number of care days per year to stay home when your child is sick. How many days, and what applies for chronically ill children.
Norwegian original last checked against official sources: 26 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so always check the official site before you act.
Care allowance (omsorgspenger) secures your income when you must stay home from work because your child is sick, or the person who usually looks after the child is sick. Many know these as "home with a sick child" days.
Who can get it?
According to NAV, you must:
- have care of the child and live with them (this also applies with shared permanent residence),
- lose income because you have to stay home, and have an annual income of at least NOK 68,275,
- have been working for at least four weeks before the absence (sickness benefit and parental benefit can count as work),
- be under 70 and a member of the National Insurance Scheme.
How many days?
NAV states:
- 10 days per year if you have one or two children, and 15 days if you have three or more.
- If you have sole care, the number is doubled: 20 and 30 days.
- If the child has a chronic or long-term illness or disability, you can get 10 extra days per child, or 20 if you have sole care.
Ordinary days apply up to and including the calendar year the child turns 12. The extra days can apply up to and including the year the child turns 18.
How to get extra days for a chronically ill child
The extra days do not come automatically. You must apply, one application per child, and attach a medical statement. It must describe the illness or disability and explain why it gives a clearly higher risk of absence. For a long-term illness, the doctor must also say how long it is expected to last. The decision states how long the days apply.
If you do not live with the other parent, you can share extra days with the other parent. Parents who live together cannot transfer days to each other.
How to do it
You notify your employer. If you are an employee, your employer pays the first ten days and gets the money back from NAV from day 11. Care allowance covers your normal income up to six times the basic amount. From the fourth day, a medical certificate is usually required. If you are self-employed or a freelancer, you normally cover the first ten days yourself, and apply to NAV after that.
Does it affect your pension if you reduce your working hours?
Your retirement pension is built up from your income, so a lower income can mean lower accrual. NAV has a scheme that makes up for this, care credits (omsorgsopptjening). It gives pension accrual as if you had an income of up to 4.5 times the basic amount (NOK 614,471 according to NAV) in the years you have extra care responsibilities. If you earn more than this yourself, it gives nothing extra.
- Children under 6: you get it automatically if you receive child benefit for the child.
- Sick children or children with disabilities aged 6 to 18: if the child receives attendance benefit (hjelpestønad) at rate 3 or 4, the person receiving child benefit gets the credits automatically. Otherwise you must apply yourself, at the earliest in July and at the latest in the second year after the care year.
- After the child turns 18: you must apply, and the care must be at least 22 hours a week.
You find the application at nav.no/omsorgsopptjening-barn (Norwegian). NAV's pages do not say directly whether the care benefits themselves give pension accrual, nor what it means for your occupational pension from your employer. Ask NAV about the retirement pension, and your employer or pension company about the occupational pension.
If you are refused
You can complain within the deadline stated in the decision. Read Complain about a NAV decision.
Does your child need long-term care in a hospital or by specialist healthcare services? Then care benefit for a sick child may be relevant instead.
NAV. Care allowance (Norwegian) →
Sources
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.