Secondary school for adults is now called preparatory education for adults (FOV). The programme is free, your municipality is obliged to offer it, and you are entitled to it even if you have never attended school. The certificate from FOV is your ticket to upper secondary education.
Part of the main guide "Exams and tests in Norway".
What is secondary school for adults (FOV)?
Secondary school for adults and preparatory education for adults are the same programme with two names. The name was changed on 1 August 2024, when the new Education Act came into force.
Statistics Norway (SSB) puts it plainly in Facts about education 2026: "A new Education Act came into force on 1 August 2024. From the same date, preparatory education for adults (FOV) was introduced. The education replaces the previous secondary education for adults."
Many municipalities still use both names. Oslo Adult Education writes "Secondary school for adults is now called preparatory education for adults" on the front page of their programme. If you search for the old name, you will end up in the right place.
In 2024, 10,507 persons participated in preparatory education, compared to 13,946 in 2019 (SSB, published 6 January 2026). So you are far from alone, but the programme is less well known than it should be.
Who is entitled to the education?
You are entitled to FOV if you need education in subjects or in basic skills, and you no longer have the right to ordinary secondary education. This follows from the Education Act § 18-2. In practice, the right applies from you are 16 years old, as the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi) describes it.
Basic skills means five things, according to the Directorate for Education and Training (Udir):
- reading
- writing
- numeracy
- oral skills
- digital skills
Legal residence in Norway is a condition (Education Act § 18-10). You do not need permanent residence permission, and you do not need to have attended school before. The basic module is specifically designed for adults who have not learned to read and write. There is one exception worth knowing: if you are still waiting for a response to an application for residence permission, the right applies only until the end of the school year that starts the year you turn 18 years old. If you are rejected, the right applies until the date of the final decision (§ 18-10).
The education is free (Education Act § 18-9). If you live more than four kilometres from the education venue, you are also entitled to free transport (Education Act § 21-1). It is the municipality that is responsible for providing the programme (Education Act § 28-1) — not the county authority, not NAV (the Labour and Welfare Service).
Basic module and modules 1–4: how the education is structured
FOV consists of a basic module and modules 1–4 in six subjects. You do not start from zero in all subjects: after an assessment, you are placed in the module that matches your knowledge.
| Subject | Modules | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Basic module | One module | For you if you have not learned to read and write |
| Norwegian for linguistic minorities | Modules 1–4 | Follows levels up to B1/B1+ |
| Norwegian | Modules 1–4 | For you if you do not need Norwegian language instruction |
| English | Modules 1–4 | |
| Mathematics | Modules 1–4 | Module 4 exists as 4S and 4Y |
| Natural sciences | Modules 1–4 | |
| Social studies | Modules 1–4 |
The curriculum applies from 1 August 2024. The education has no set number of hours, and the modules have no set order. The length depends on your competence and how quickly you progress. You can take several modules at the same time.
In mathematics, the final level is divided into module 4S and module 4Y. Choose 4S if you are aiming for a general studies upper secondary programme, and 4Y if you are aiming for a vocational programme. You make this choice within FOV, and it is easy to overlook.
Recognition of prior learning can be approved as a final assessment in modules — and this is only possible in preparatory education, not in upper secondary education. Competence you have from work, voluntary work or school abroad can therefore replace modules. Read more about recognition of prior learning and how to get your competence approved before you start.
How do I apply for a place in my municipality?
You apply directly to adult education in the municipality where you are registered as a resident. There is no national application portal and no common deadline.
In Oslo, FOV starts in August and January, but you can apply all year round. You must have a residential address in Oslo, you fill in an electronic application form, and you receive a call for an interview by SMS within three months (Oslo Adult Education, checked 26 July 2026). Some applicants take a test in Norwegian, mathematics, English, natural sciences and social studies, so the school finds the right module.
Municipalities practice admissions differently, and it is worth checking before you apply. Bergen municipality, for example, requires that applicants from minority language backgrounds have valid residence permission and have completed the first Norwegian language course to be admitted.
The answer you receive is an individual decision. If you disagree, you lodge a complaint with the municipality within three weeks. If the municipality upholds the decision, it forwards the case to the county governor, who decides the complaint. It costs nothing to lodge a complaint.
What does the certificate from FOV give you?
The certificate from FOV documents completed secondary education. It is the document you attach when you apply for upper secondary education as an adult.
To receive a certificate, you must have a final assessment in five subjects: Norwegian or Norwegian for linguistic minorities, English, mathematics, natural sciences and social studies (Education Regulations § 15-26). The certificate does not show your module grades — only your final grades and exam grades and approved recognition of prior learning in the final modules.
If you are missing one or more of the five subjects, you receive a competence certificate instead (§ 15-27). The competence certificate documents what you have actually completed, but it is the certificate that is your actual ticket onwards.
The next step is the right of adults to free upper secondary education. If you want to see where FOV fits in the system as a whole, the school system in Norway from kindergarten to upper secondary provides an overview. Social studies in FOV also overlaps greatly with the curriculum for the civics exam, and on SamfunnPrep you can practise the same topics while you are at school.
FOV and the introduction programme: what changed on 1 January 2026?
From 1 January 2026, FOV can no longer be the final goal in an introduction programme. FOV can still be part of the programme, but then as part of a course where the final goal is to complete parts of upper secondary education (HK-dir, the Directorate for Higher Education and Competence).
The change does not apply to everyone. The main rule is that it applies to persons who have been granted residence permission after 1 January 2026, or who have arrived in Norway after 1 January 2026 (IMDi, 17 December 2025). If you have a programme from before, you keep your final goal. See the introduction programme: rights and duties for the full picture.
Another change points in the same direction: the curriculum in Norwegian for linguistic minorities from FOV has been incorporated into § 19 letter a in the regulations for the Integration Act. If you have both the right to FOV and Norwegian language instruction under the Integration Act, the Norwegian subject in FOV also covers your Norwegian language instruction.
The right to FOV has not changed. It follows from the Education Act, not from the Integration Act, and it does not disappear even if your introduction programme gets a different final goal. If you leave the programme without completing secondary school, you can still apply to the municipality for a place.
Ready to practise? Try SamfunnPrep for free.
