Most Norwegians know that tax records are public. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. In Norway, there are numerous public registries and sources that make it possible for anyone to find out quite a lot about you, completely legally.
Phone directories and address registries
Services like 1881.no and Gulesider.no provide access to names, addresses, phone numbers and even who else lives at the same address. This is information most people don't realize is publicly available.
Did you know that you can look up an address and see everyone registered there? This means your partner, parents, or children living at home can all be linked to you through a simple address lookup.
The Brønnøysund Registers
Do you own a company? Sit on a board? All information about companies, roles, ownership and financial statements is openly available through the Brønnøysund Registers and services like Proff.no.
This includes:
- Names and dates of birth for board members and managing directors
- Shareholders and ownership stakes
- Annual accounts and financial results
- Bankruptcies and forced dissolutions
- Announcements in the Brønnøysund Gazette
Tax records
Every year, tax records are published. Even though you now need to log in to search, there are services like Sjekkskatt.no where you can look up income, wealth and tax for anyone.
Many people know this, but few think about what it means in practice: a complete stranger can find out exactly how much you earn.
Court decisions and legal records
Norwegian court decisions are largely public. Through services like Rettspraksis.no and Lovdata, you can search court decisions. Even though many names are anonymized, a surprising number of cases have full names visible.
A person I checked had a 15-year-old conviction that still appeared with their full name on rettspraksis.no.
Newspaper archives and media
The National Library has digitized over 2.5 million newspaper pages. In addition, PressReader provides access to over 7,000 newspapers. Were you mentioned in your local newspaper 20 years ago? It's still there.
Media mentions are one of the most underestimated sources. Everything from sports results and weddings to accidents and court cases can surface.
Property and map data
Through Kartverket and services like Eiendomspriser.no, you can find property owners, purchase prices, purchase dates and historical owners. Combined with address lookups, this gives a complete picture of housing and property relations.
What can you do?
You can't completely remove yourself from public registries, but you can take steps:
- Opt out of phone directories via the Reservation Registry
- Request deletion from 1881.no and Gulesider.no (they have their own forms)
- Check Google and request removal of outdated results
- Make social media private or delete old profiles
- Order a digital footprint analysis to see the full picture
Want to know exactly what exists about you? I offer a complete digital footprint analysis where I go through all public sources and give you concrete tips to clean up.