From 1 July 2026, Norway’s support register (Støtteregisteret) is established in law as a publicly accessible register. Anyone can now look up who has received public support, for what and how much – and confidentiality rules can no longer block that access. For nonprofits and founders, this is a free tool worth getting to know, both to understand the money flows in your sector and to strengthen your own applications.
What actually changed on 1 July
The Storting adopted amendments to the state aid process act (Lov 23. juni 2026 nr. 76) establishing that the support register shall be a publicly accessible register. At the same time, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries is given the authority to require, by regulation, that grant providers register information about disbursed public support and support schemes.
One nuance matters here: the register was already searchable in practice. What is new is that the openness is now written into law – confidentiality can no longer be used to block access to the register itself. And the ministry’s new power is precisely an enabling authority, a possibility to mandate registration through regulation, not a duty already in full force. How much more ends up in the register depends on the regulations to come. The direction, however, is clear: more openness, not less.
What the register contains
The support register gathers information about public support granted under the state aid rules: who gave the support, who received it, the amount, date, purpose and legal basis. The openness rests on the EEA agreement’s requirement of transparency in public support, under which individual awards above a certain threshold must be published.
That threshold also means smaller awards are not necessarily visible as individual amounts – they may sit within a scheme without each recipient being listed. It is worth knowing when you search: the absence of something from the register does not always mean no support was given. Use the register to see the broad lines, and supplement it with the grant providers’ own overviews for the detail.
Why access to public support matters
Public support is the community’s money. When awards are open, it is easier to see that funds go where they should – and easier for you to learn from those who have succeeded. For a small organisation or a first-time founder, that is practical knowledge, not just principle.
- See who gets what. Find out which actors in your sector receive support, from which schemes and at what scale.
- Map the schemes. The register points you to support programmes you may not have known existed.
- Benchmark yourself. The amounts give you a realistic picture of what it is reasonable to apply for.
- Build trust. Being open about your own funding strengthens your standing with donors, members and partners.
How to check who receives support
Open the support register and search by organisation, grant provider or scheme. Look at recipients in your own field or region, and note which schemes recur. A simple spreadsheet with the columns scheme, provider, amount and purpose quickly gives you an overview you can build on. Combine what you find with the public information from the grant providers themselves. Then you see not only who received money, but which requirements and deadlines applied.
How to use the access when you apply
Access is worth most when you put it to work in your own application strategy. If a comparable organisation received support from a scheme, chances are your project could fit too. Use the amounts to calibrate your budget, and the purpose descriptions to understand what the providers actually prioritise.
For example: say you run a small outdoor-recreation association and are considering a scheme for low-threshold activities. In the register you find three similar associations that received between NOK 150,000 and 400,000 from the same scheme over recent years. Now you know your application should sit in that range, which providers are relevant, and that the scheme actually funds organisations like yours. That is far more to build on than a blank form.
For a fuller walkthrough of grants for the voluntary sector and small ventures, we have gathered it in Find and win grants. If you are a founder and want to learn the craft of applications from the ground up, our free founder courses have no paywall.
Openness strengthens the whole sector
For the voluntary sector, openness is about more than your own application. When it is easy to see where the money goes, it is easier to trust that shared funds are managed fairly – and harder to hide priorities that cannot stand daylight. Nonprofits live on trust. Being open about your own funding, and using public openness actively, is part of that social contract.
Transparency is not the whole picture
The register is a good starting point, but not the final word. It covers public support above certain thresholds and reflects what providers have registered. Small awards, private gifts and some ongoing operating grants will not necessarily appear. Use the register to find leads and patterns – and always verify the details against the individual scheme before you build an application on them.
What to do now
Spend an hour looking up three to five organisations you admire in the support register, and write down which schemes funded them. Then bring that list into our free founder courses or read it alongside the guide Find and win grants. The source and more on the legal change is available from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.
