Cold Calling Laws in Norway

Which laws cover cold calling in Norway?

• The Marketing Control Act (markedsføringsloven). Sections 12 to 14 set the rules for telephone marketing: the opt-out register, calling hours and caller ID. Section 15 covers emails, texts and automated calls.
• The Cancellation Act (angrerettloven), whose section 10 makes unsolicited phone sales to consumers binding only once the consumer accepts in writing.
• GDPR, which covers the names and numbers on your call list.

Is B2B cold calling legal in Norway?

Yes. The register rule in section 12 and the calling-hours rule in section 14 apply to telephone marketing aimed at consumers, so calls to businesses about their business aren't covered by them.

Two rules still reach business calls. Under section 12, you can't make marketing calls to a person who has opted out directly with your company, and that includes a business contact who has told you not to call. And under section 15, marketing emails, texts and automated calls to individuals need their prior consent. Live phone calls are exempt from that consent rule.

Reservasjonsregisteret: Norway's do not call register

Consumers can opt out of telephone marketing by registering in Reservasjonsregisteret, run by the Brønnøysund Register Centre. Under section 13 a, a business must update its lists against the register before the first contact and before contacting people in any month it markets to them.

You can still call a registered consumer who is an existing customer, if you got their details through a sale and you're offering products like the ones they bought. You can also call one who has asked your company to call them. They can withdraw that request at any time.

Legal calling hours in Norway

Section 14 bans telephone marketing to consumers on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and on weekdays before 9am and after 9pm. It also bans calling consumers from a hidden number, or from a number that isn't registered and searchable in directory services.

These hours apply to consumers. No law sets hours for business calls, but calling during the working day is common sense.

Selling to consumers by phone

Under section 10 of the Cancellation Act, if you make an unsolicited offer to a consumer by phone, you must confirm the offer in writing on a durable medium after the call. The consumer isn't bound until they accept it in writing, and you must be able to document their acceptance. Newspaper subscriptions and sales by voluntary organisations are exempt.

Penalties for breaking the rules

The Norwegian Consumer Authority can impose an infringement fine (overtredelsesgebyr) for intentional or negligent breaches of sections 12 to 15, including the calling hours, when a breach is serious or repeated (section 42). Serious breaches of the register and consent rules in sections 12 and 15 can also be punished with fines or up to 6 months in prison (section 48).

Emails and texts after the call

Section 15 requires an individual's prior consent before you send them marketing by email or text. The exception is existing customers whose email address you got through a sale, for similar products, as long as they can opt out easily and for free. Ask on the call whether you can send details.

Before you call Norwegian businesses: a checklist

• Call business numbers about the business, and treat any private number as a consumer's.
• Check consumer numbers against Reservasjonsregisteret before the first call and in every month you call.
• Call consumers only on weekdays from 9am to 9pm, and never from a hidden or unlisted number.
• Keep your own opt-out list. Anyone who tells you not to call goes on it, business contacts included.
• Get consent before following up by email or text.

Can you call a lead in Norway who asked you to?

Allowed if they asked your company to call · Until they withdraw the request

• Someone on Reservasjonsregisteret can be called by a company they have explicitly asked to call them. They can withdraw the request at any time (Marketing Control Act, section 12).
• Existing customers can also be called about products like the ones they bought, if you got their details through the sale.

Source: Marketing Control Act, sections 12 to 15, 42 and 48 (Norwegian) · Do not call exemptions by country