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New regulations in Norway. The Norwegian government has changed its road transport rules in order to implement EU regulations. It is now known that the new rules will apply as of November 1st. The new regulations concern driving and rest times for drivers, the use of tachographs in vehicles, and the rules of market access in the road transport sector, Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård said in a recent government press release.

The most important changes that will take effect on November 1 are as follows:

Requirements for an international transport licence to operate vans over 2.5 tons. Carriers must meet the requirements regarding registration, reputation, finances and professional competence. The provisions on cabotage will apply to international transport for vans over 2.5 tonnes. The requirement for vehicles to return to their country of origin every 8 weeks. The requirement for transport companies to provide drivers one normal weekly rest at home during each four-week period. No weekly rest in the vehicle, and no remuneration based on how quickly the driver delivers the goods is allowed. Employers must make arrangements for the driver to go home at least once every four weeks. Vehicles in international transport will also have to return to the operations centre in their home country at least every 8 weeks. The so-called a cooling-off period of 4 days from the end of the last cabotage operation also applies.

“We are tightening the rules on cabotage. For freight, three orders can be completed in seven days as before, but after the last order, there will be a “cooling off period” of four days during which foreign vehicles will not be allowed to conduct cabotage in Norway,” says Nygård.

Important changes from 2026

The Norwegian government also approved the introduction of further changes resulting from the Mobility Package. They are to enter into force only in 2026. These include:

introducing the rules of driving and rest times in international transport with delivery vehicles with a permissible total weight of 2.5 to 3.5 tons; introducing the requirement to have a tachograph for international transport with delivery vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes.