Training benefit may replace lost employment income when you receive necessary training to care for a child. The child must have a disability or a long-term illness. The course, your work and your documentation must meet Nav’s requirements.
How is training benefit different from care benefit?
Training benefit is for necessary training. Care benefit is for time away from work to care for a sick child. They are different benefits from Nav, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration.
For example, you may need a course to learn how to support your child’s illness at home. An ordinary school meeting does not automatically qualify for training benefit. General parenting guidance does not qualify either.
This guide was checked against Nav’s training benefit rules on 3 October 2026. SamfunnPrep also has a separate guide to care benefit for a sick child.
Who can receive training benefit?
Parents and other caregivers can receive training benefit when the training is necessary and the other conditions are met. You must lose employment income because you attend.
As of 3 October 2026, Nav lists these main requirements:
- You are under 70 years old.
- You are a member of folketrygden, Norway’s national social insurance scheme.
- You have normally been working for at least four weeks before the training.
- Your working hours or income are reduced by at least 20%.
- Your annual income is at least 68,275 kroner, equivalent to 0.5 G.
G is the National Insurance basic amount. It usually changes each year. Check Nav’s current page if your course takes place later.
Several caregivers can receive the benefit at the same time when this is necessary. They may be parents, stepparents or others with a clear caregiving role. The scheme does not cover training for paid support contacts or other professionals around the child.
Which conditions and ages are covered?
The training must concern care for a child with a disability or long-term illness. The benefit may also be granted after the child turns 18.
Nav describes a long-term illness as one expected to last at least one year from confirmation. Developmental or behavioural conditions, such as autism and ADHD, may also qualify.
A diagnosis alone is not enough. A doctor must document that the training is necessary for you to care for the child. This does not mean every course about a particular diagnosis qualifies for the benefit.
Ask the course provider to explain who the course is for and which caregiving tasks you will learn. Bring this information to the doctor before you apply.
Which courses and institutions are approved?
The training must take place at an approved health institution or special-education competence centre. A useful course is not necessarily an approved course.
| Course provider | What to check |
|---|---|
| Public hospital or health service | Whether the course provides necessary training for caregivers |
| Private health institution | Whether the institution has an agreement with a health trust (helseforetak) |
| Special-education competence centre | Whether the programme and institution are covered by the rules |
| User organisation or humanitarian organisation | Courses there do not qualify under this scheme |
Nav also says that Bufetat, the Office for Children, Youth and Family Affairs, and the assistive technology centre are not approved course providers for this scheme. This applies even though those services may otherwise play an important role for a family.
Ask the course provider before planning time off: “Can you document that this course and provider meet the training benefit requirements?” Nav makes the final decision.
How much can you receive, and does travel time count?
The training benefit normally covers your income basis up to 6 G, which Nav lists as 819,294 kroner per year as of 3 October 2026. Coverage applies to the time you actually need to be away.
You can receive the benefit for individual days or hours. The requirement of at least a 20% reduction is assessed against your normal working time on the day in question. You do not need to be away for a full week.
Necessary travel to and from the training may count. Homework and exercises outside the course do not.
Example using time, not money: You were due to work eight hours. The course lasts four hours, and travel takes two hours in total. Six hours may qualify if all conditions are met. The example does not promise a particular decision.
There is no fixed overall duration limit as long as the conditions are met. If you have an unusual work situation or unpaid leave, Nav must assess the calculation separately.
What if you recently started a job?
You normally need four weeks of work before the training begins. Some periods receiving Nav benefits may nevertheless count as equivalent to work.
These include sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, parental benefit and care benefit. There are also exceptions for certain statutory leaves. Give the actual dates in your application.
Work assessment allowance, often called AAP, does not by itself qualify you for training benefit. If you combine AAP with work, absence from that job may be assessed. If you have work or insurance periods abroad, ask Nav to clarify your case instead of assuming that the standard Norwegian conditions settle everything.
How do you apply for training benefit?
You apply to Nav yourself and attach a doctor’s statement and information about the training. If you are an employee, your employer must submit an income report.
- Get the course programme with its location, dates, hours and content.
- Ask the doctor to document the child’s condition and why the training is necessary.
- Apply through Nav’s training benefit page.
- Tell your employer about the application and ask them to submit an income report.
- Send any missing documents later and check your case through Min side.
An income report is information from your employer to Nav about income and absence. Your application and your employer’s report are two separate tasks.
Nav can normally grant training benefit for up to three months before the month you apply. For training in June, the application must therefore normally reach Nav by September. Apply early and check that the attachments have been sent.
Who pays, and what can you do if you are refused?
Your employer may pay you and receive reimbursement from Nav. If the employer does not do this, Nav pays the benefit directly to you.
Agree with your employer how the absence will be recorded and whether pay will be issued as usual. Tell Nav if the course is interrupted, your working hours change or you take holiday.
If your application is refused, follow the appeal deadline and procedure in the decision. The appeal first goes to the Nav unit that made the decision. If the decision stands, the case goes to Nav klageinstans, Nav’s appeal body.
For short absences when a child has an ordinary illness, other rules apply to care days for a sick child. SamfunnPrep also has tools for everyday life in Norway when your family needs to organise other public-service tasks.
