If you need help from multiple sources at the same time over a long time, you have the right to an individual plan and coordinator. The plan brings everything together in one document. The coordinator is one named person who follows you up. There is no co-payment, but as a rule you must ask for it yourself.
Individual plan and coordinator: three rights in law
Norwegian law gives you three rights to coordination: individual plan, coordinator and child coordinator. All three are in the Patient and Service User Act (pbrl), and none of them require a diagnosis.
Yet few have them. As of 31 December 2023, 213,172 people received health services at home and/or practical assistance from their municipality. Of these, 6 percent had an effective individual plan. 13 percent had a coordinator or child coordinator. These are 2023 figures from the Norwegian Directorate of Health (Helsedirektoratet) (the state's expert agency for health), published in December 2024. The Directorate itself believes there is underreporting in both figures.
These rights are about coordination. They come in addition to general rights for disabled people in Norway.
| Right | Who has the right | Paragraph | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual plan | You who need long-term and coordinated health and care services | pbrl § 2-5 | 1 July 2001 |
| Coordinator | You who need complex or long-term and coordinated services | pbrl § 2-5 b | 1 August 2022 |
| Child coordinator | Families who have or are expecting a child with serious illness, injury or reduced functional ability | pbrl § 2-5 c | 1 August 2022 |
The municipality's duty to offer a coordinator is older than your right: it has been in the Health and Care Services Act (hol) § 7-2 since 1 January 2012. What came on 1 August 2022 was the right to demand it.
What is an individual plan — and what it is not
An individual plan is one written document that shows what services you get, who has responsibility, and what the goal is. The plan does not automatically give you more services, but connects services that belong together.
The Regulation on Individual Plan in the Provision of Welfare Services, effective 1 August 2022, states what the plan must at minimum contain:
- your goals, resources and needs
- who participates in work on the plan
- who has responsibility for coordination and progress
- what services you get, how much, and who has responsibility
- whether you have been offered a coordinator, child coordinator or regular doctor
- how long the plan applies, when it will be updated, and your consent
Only one individual plan should be made for each person. The same plan applies across health services, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) and child protective services. The service that starts the planning work should contact kindergarten, school, crisis centre and introduction programme if you use them. If you are taking part in an introduction programme, the municipality must participate in your planning.
The plan must take account of your cultural and linguistic background (Regulation § 9). Therefore you can ask for an interpreter in meetings. The plan is never made without your consent, and you can withdraw your consent at any time.
Coordinator: one person to call — even if you say no to the plan
You can get a coordinator even if you decline an individual plan. It says exactly this in the Regulation on Habilitation, Rehabilitation and Coordinator §§ 16 and 17: the offer applies "regardless of whether the patient or service user wants an individual plan".
The coordinator is a named person in the municipality. The person follows you up and keeps services in contact. You can say whom you prefer, and the municipality should consider your wishes.
The hospital has its own coordinator, who must be a health professional. You can have a coordinator in the municipality and at the hospital at the same time. Read more about when you get a referral to hospital or specialist.
Child coordinator: for families who have or are expecting a sick child
Child coordinator is a right for the whole family, not just the child. Three conditions must be met:
- the family has a child under 18 years of age, or is expecting a child
- the child has serious illness, injury or reduced functional ability
- the child will need long-term and complex or coordinated health and care services and other welfare services
The child needs no diagnosis. The Norwegian Directorate of Health writes that the requirement of severity should not be interpreted strictly, and that the family's own experience counts. The right can apply already during pregnancy. The municipality's duty lasts until the child turns 18, but the municipality may choose to continue.
Only the municipality has a duty to offer a child coordinator; the hospital does not. The municipality also does not appoint two coordinators to the same family — you get a child coordinator or a regular coordinator. Note the difference from care allowance when the child is seriously ill, where the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration demands strict requirements for the illness.
Who has the right — and what does "long-term and coordinated" mean?
You may have the right if you need two or more health and care services over a certain time. The Norwegian Directorate of Health explains that "long-term" means the need is assumed to last for a while, without it having to be permanent. "Coordinated" means two or more services. The right applies regardless of age, diagnosis and function.
Examples of who may have the right:
- you who have a regular doctor, physiotherapy and home nursing care at the same time
- your child who has kindergarten, habilitation and follow-up from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration
- you who have BPA — user-directed personal assistance and also treatment at hospital
Individual plans also exist outside health services. The Social Services Act § 28 gives the same right when you need long-term and coordinated services from the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration. If you are taking part in a qualification programme, you have the right to an individual plan without any additional assessment (§ 33).
How to ask your municipality for an individual plan and coordinator
Contact the coordinating unit for habilitation and rehabilitation in your municipality. Each municipality must have such a unit (hol § 7-3), and it has responsibility for planning work and for appointing a coordinator and child coordinator.
You can ask orally or in writing. Write anyway, so there is documentation. Feel free to use this text:
Hello. My name is [name], I was born [date] and live in [municipality]. I get help from several places at the same time: [regular doctor, physiotherapy, home nursing care, Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, hospital]. I probably need help over a long time. I am asking for an individual plan under Patient and Service User Act § 2-5 and a coordinator under § 2-5 b. [For families: child coordinator under § 2-5 c.] I am asking for a written reply. If you say no, I am asking for a written explanation and information about how I can appeal. I need an interpreter in [language] in meetings. Best regards [name], [telephone], [email]
Health professionals have their own duty: under the Health Personnel Act § 38 a they must inform about the need for an individual plan and coordinator. You can ask your regular doctor or hospital department to inform on your behalf.
What does an individual plan and coordinator cost?
There is no co-payment for an individual plan, coordinator or child coordinator. The municipality can only demand co-payment for stay in an institution, for practical assistance and training and for municipal medical help and physical treatment. Coordination is not on the list.
The municipality says no — what do you do then?
A refusal must be in writing, precisely because you can appeal it. The decision is not an individual decision under the Public Administration Act, but the Norwegian Directorate of Health nonetheless demands written form. For child coordinator the municipality must also give reasons for the refusal and inform about the right to appeal.
Here is how you appeal:
- Write the appeal. It must be in writing and signed.
- Send it to the municipality or health enterprise that made the decision.
- Keep to the deadline: four weeks from when you had enough knowledge to appeal.
- The County Governor (Statsforvalteren) (the state's representative in the county) handles the appeal.
The Patient and Service User Ombudsman in your county gives information, advice and guidance. You can contact them orally or in writing, and you have the right to be anonymous. See also your patient rights and complaint procedures in the health service.
The law has a temporary provision (pbrl § 2-5 d) that allows the Ministry to restrict these rights by regulation if very many displaced from Ukraine arrive. The provision applies until 1 July 2028, and no such regulation has been issued as of 29 July 2026.
The rules on health services, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration and the municipality are on the syllabus for the Norwegian Society Exam. SamfunnPrep has practice exercises on these topics. Try SamfunnPrep free.
