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A road hugging the foot of a sheer rock face beside a deep fjord in Norway, with cloud caught halfway up the cliffs opposite.

Norway

Drives on the right · NOK · Emergency 112
LAST VERIFIED 2026-09-13

Driving in Norway

Norway has no toll booths. Tolls themselves are everywhere — ringing cities, on bridges, through tunnels — but every one is read from your number plate as you pass, with nothing to stop for and no way to pay at the roadside. For a foreign-registered car this works by invoice: do nothing and the registered keeper is billed afterwards. Registering in advance is cheaper, because it avoids a per-plate lookup fee, and a tag earns roughly 20% off plus a one-hour rule in cities that charges several passes within 60 minutes only once. Hire cars normally have a tag fitted, so the real question is how the rental company rebills you. Several cities, Oslo and Bergen among them, charge diesel vehicles more through environmentally differentiated rates — a low-emission charge in everything but name. The alcohol limit is 0.2‰, among the strictest in Europe, and enforcement generally is strict rather than nominal. Winter tyres are effectively necessary from around November to Easter across most of the country, and chains are worth carrying for mountain routes. Norway sits outside the EU but inside Schengen, and the currency is kroner.

Speed limits

Urban
50 km/h
Rural / outside built-up areas
80 km/h
Motorway
110 km/h

Alcohol limits

General limit
0.2‰
Novice drivers
Same as general limit

Mandatory equipment

  • •Warning triangle
  • •Hi-vis vest

Winter tires & snow chains

Winter tires (or studded tires, permitted seasonally) are effectively required from around November to Easter given road conditions in most of the country; some regions have more specific signed requirements — carry chains if heading into mountain areas.

Tolls

System
Toll booths

Extensive electronic, barrier-free tolling nationwide — cameras read your plate and you're billed automatically (via AutoPASS for residents, or a separate billing process for foreign-registered vehicles); there are no toll booths to stop at, but foreign visitors should register or expect a mailed/emailed invoice.

Full motorway tolls guide →

More things to know before you drive

Seatbelts
Mandatory front and rear for all occupants.
Mobile phone use
Hands-free only; holding a phone while driving is prohibited.
Child seats
Children must generally use an appropriate child restraint until at least 135 cm tall.
Headlights
Dipped headlights (or daytime running lights) are required at all times, day and night, year-round.
Low-emission & restricted zones
No nationwide low-emission zone network, though several cities (e.g. Oslo, Bergen) have environmentally differentiated toll rates that charge diesel vehicles more, functioning similarly to a low-emission charge.
Right of way & roundabouts
Priority to the right at unmarked intersections; roundabouts give way to traffic already circulating.
Parking
Paid parking is common in cities and towns, typically via meter or app; rates can be high in city centers.
Speed cameras
Extensive fixed and average-speed camera network, especially on major routes — enforcement and fines are strict.

Good to know

Not in the EU but in the Schengen area. Currency is the Norwegian krone (NOK), not the euro. The 0.2‰ alcohol limit is one of the strictest in Europe.