Child custody in Norway
In Norway parents who live together at the birth, or who are married, have joint responsibility, and it normally continues after separation.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
If the parents are married
Married parents have joint parental responsibility.
If the parents are not married
Parents who live together when the child is born have joint responsibility. If they do not live together, the mother has it alone until they agree on joint responsibility.
The unmarried father, in one line: The mother has it; the father needs a step: a joint declaration, registration, agreement, or living with the mother at the birth.
After a divorce or separation
Parents who share responsibility keep it after separation. They can agree where the child lives, or have the court decide. The court can order that the child lives with both parents in turn if that is best for the child.
What the child can say
A child who is seven or older has a right to give an opinion, and the opinion carries more weight as the child gets older.
Moving house or moving abroad with the child
Where responsibility is joint, a move abroad with the child needs both parents' consent.
If the parents live in different countries
Norway is a party to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, which lets a parent ask for a child wrongly taken to another country to be returned. It works only with countries that have accepted its accession, so check the other country on the treaty status table.
Understand the legal system first
Norway belongs to the Civil law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Norway legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Norway? →
Divorce rate and trend in Norway →
Official sources
Take it further
The family and property rules of a European country in one PDF, with questions for a local lawyer.
Write down parenting time and responsibilities.
Permission for a child to travel with one parent or another adult.
Marriage, divorce, custody and support, step by step.
Support this free tool
This guide is free, and it takes a lot of careful work to build and keep up to date. If it helped you, you can leave a small contribution. No account is needed, and nothing is sold to you.
A one-time card payment through Stripe. It is a contribution, not a purchase, and it is not tax-deductible.
Other countries
AfghanistanAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzechiaDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHungaryIndiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascarMalawiMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMonacoMongoliaMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaOmanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaPhilippinesPolandPortugalRepublic of the CongoRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PríncipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSudanSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTajikistanTanzaniaTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited KingdomUnited StatesVanuatuYemenZambiaZimbabwe
TheLawToKnow Tools’s child custody guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
