Child benefit (barnetrygd) and cash-for-care (kontantstøtte) in Norway
By Kalkulatorbanken · Last updated
Figures and rules are for 2026 and checked against the sources at the bottom of the page. Norwegian version of this guide.
Child benefit (barnetrygd) is a flat NOK 2,012 per child per month in 2026, paid until the month before the child turns 18. Cash-for-care (kontantstøtte) is up to NOK 7,500 a month for a child aged 13 to 19 months who does not have a full-time kindergarten place. Child benefit follows the child's residence in Norway. Cash-for-care also has a five-year membership rule that surprises many newcomers.
Prefer to run your own numbers? Open the Norway Child Benefit Calculator 2026.
In short
- Child benefit is NOK 2,012 per child a month from 1 February 2026 (it was NOK 1,968 before). It is the same for all ages from 0 to 18.
- Cash-for-care is up to NOK 7,500 a month for at most 7 months, between 13 and 19 months of age, and it falls as the agreed kindergarten hours rise.
- Cash-for-care requires at least 5 years of membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme or a similar EEA scheme. Child benefit does not list that requirement.
- EEA citizens working in Norway can qualify for both even if they stay under 12 months. Posted workers cannot.
The 2026 rates in one place
The Norwegian Parliament sets the amounts each year. Child benefit changed on 1 February 2026; before that it was NOK 1,968 per child. The Finnmark and Svalbard supplement is NOK 512 per child on top. Cash-for-care has been NOK 7,500 for a full month since 1 August 2018.
| Benefit | Amount | Who and how long |
|---|---|---|
| Child benefit | NOK 2,012 | Per child, from the month after birth to the month before age 18 |
| Finnmark and Svalbard supplement | NOK 512 | Per child, if you and the child live on Svalbard, in Finnmark or in seven named municipalities in Northern Troms |
| Cash-for-care | Up to NOK 7,500 | Per child, from the month the child turns 13 months to the month it turns 19 months |
Work out what your family gets with the child benefit calculator. Single parents may also qualify for extended child benefit, which must be applied for.
Child benefit: who gets it and how
Child benefit can be paid to the child's mother or father, and foster parents or other carers qualify if the child lives with them. The child must live in Norway, and a child who stays in Norway for a continuous period of at least 12months is considered to live here. You can be granted child benefit from the month after the child's birth, or from the month after you meet the conditions, and it is paid until the month before the child turns 18.
If the child was born in Norway, the benefit is paid automatically to the mother, no later than 2 months after the birth. You must apply if the child was not born in Norway, if the mother is not registered as a resident, if the parents want the father to receive it, if you have agreed on shared permanent residence and want to share it, or if EEA rules should be applied. Retroactive payment is possible for up to 3 months before the application.
If you have moved to Norway for work
- When the whole family lives in Norway and will stay more than 12 months, you may qualify. This applies to foreign nationals who are resident, registered in the National Population Register and have a residence permit or other legal residence.
- EEA citizens working in Norway, and their family members, may qualify even if they stay for less than 12 months.
- If you work in Norway but your family lives in another EEA country, NAV covers the difference between the Norwegian benefit and the benefit paid by the other country, if the other parent works there and is entitled to it there. If the other parent does not work, you may get the full Norwegian benefit.
- If your employer in another country sent you to Norway on an assignment, you are not entitled to child benefit here, because you remain a member of social security in the other country.
Documents and waiting time
A foreign national must attach proof of legal residence. If the child is not registered in the Norwegian population register, you need the child's birth certificate, and employees must also provide their employment contract. NAV's expected processing time is 3 months for an application and 9months when EEA rules apply, because it must collect documents from other countries' authorities.
Cash-for-care: the five-year rule and the kindergarten hours
Cash-for-care is for children between 13 and 19 months old who do not attend a publicly funded kindergarten full time. You receive it from the month the child turns 13 months up to and including the month it turns 19 months, a maximum of 7 months. It is graded by the kindergarten time you have been granted, not by how much the child actually attends.
| Agreed kindergarten time | Hours (up to) | Share of full rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| No kindergarten place | 0 | 100% | NOK 7,500 |
| Agreed 1 to 8 hours a week | 8 | 80% | NOK 6,000 |
| Agreed 9 to 16 hours a week | 16 | 60% | NOK 4,500 |
| Agreed 17 to 24 hours a week | 24 | 40% | NOK 3,000 |
| Agreed 25 to 32 hours a week | 32 | 20% | NOK 1,500 |
| Agreed 33 hours or more | 33 | 0% | NOK 0 |
If your child has a full-time place but attends one day a week, you get nothing, because the child has the opportunity to attend full time. Try the cash-for-care calculator for your own hours, and the kindergarten price calculator to compare with a place.
The five-year membership rule
Generally you and the child must both live in Norway, and you must have been a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, or a similar scheme in other EEA countries, for at least 5 years. If the child lives with both parents, both need 5 years. Social security periods in other EEA countries are counted, but only EEA citizens and third-country nationals who are family members of EEA citizens can add periods from other EEA countries to Norwegian periods. For periods from another Nordic country, Austria, Luxembourg or the Netherlands, citizenship does not matter. You must obtain documentation of the periods from the countries in question. If you do not have five years you cannot get cash-for-care, even if the child meets the age requirement.
A family of two children
Worked example
A couple lives in Norway with a four-year-old and a 14-month-old. Child benefit is 2 × NOK 2,012 = NOK 4,024 a month. If the younger child has no kindergarten place, cash-for-care adds NOK 7,500, so the family receives NOK 11,524 a month. If the child is granted 16 hours a week, cash-for-care is NOK 4,500 and the total NOK 8,524. This assumes both parents meet the five-year membership rule. With a full-time place, cash-for-care is NOK 0, but child benefit is unchanged.
Parental leave and cash-for-care can follow each other: when parental benefit ends there can be a gap before a kindergarten place starts. See the parental leave guide and the parental leave calculator.
Sharing, adoption and special cases
If both parents agree on shared permanent residence, they can split child benefit, and cash-for-care can be split 50/50 too. Both must apply and attach a signed agreement. For an adopted child, cash-for-care can be paid for up to 7 months after the period of parental benefit at 100% has ended. Children in foster care or an institution do not qualify for cash-for-care.
Calculate with your own numbers
Norway Child Benefit Calculator 2026 uses the 2026 rates and shows the working step by step. It takes under a minute. You do not need to log in or have BankID, and what you type stays in your browser.
Calculate your child benefit →