Quick answer: If you are travelling for approved treatment in the public health service, you can get your travel covered. You get a fixed rate per kilometre (3.20 kr per km in 2026) and pay a copay of 171 kr each way. As a rule, you travel yourself and apply for the money on helsenorge.no afterwards with BankID. If you cannot travel alone for health reasons, you can get arranged transport – transport that the health service books for you. This is how patient travel in Norway works.
Patient travel in Norway: what are your rights?
Patient travel is your journey to and from treatment in the public health service – for example to your GP, hospital or outpatient clinic. The scheme is run by Pasientreiser HF, and the rules apply equally across the country.
The main rule is simple: if you travel for approved treatment, you can get your travel expenses covered. You get support even if you did not have expenses, because the money is calculated based on a fixed rate per kilometre. But some conditions must be met:
- The journey must be more than 10 kilometres each way.
- The treatment must be covered by the public service.
- You travel as a rule to the nearest place that can give you the treatment.
If the journey is shorter than 300 km, you get the fixed kilometre rate regardless of whether you drive a car, take a bus or train. If the journey is longer than 300 km, Pasientreiser covers the cheapest way to travel by public transport on the route.
Rates and copay in 2026
Copay is the part of the bill you pay yourself. For patient travel, these rates apply from 1 January 2026:
- Kilometre rate (standard rate): 3.20 kr per kilometre.
- Copay: 171 kr each way. A return journey thus costs you two copays.
- If you choose a different treatment venue than the nearest one, the copay can be up to 400 kr each way.
The copay for patient travel counts towards your copay ceiling. In 2026 the ceiling is 3,278 kr. When you have paid this much in copays during the year, you get a free treatment certificate, and then you do not have to pay copay on patient travel for the rest of the year. If you already have a free treatment certificate and are still charged copay, you get the money back automatically from Helfo. You can keep track of your copays under "Free treatment certificate and copay" on helsenorge.no.
The rates are set by the Storting (Parliament) every year, so the amounts can change. Always check pasientreiser.no or helsenorge.no for updated figures.
How do you apply for a refund for travel to the doctor?
If you want a refund for travel to the doctor or other treatment, the main rule is that you travel yourself and apply for the money afterwards. Here is how you do it:
- Keep receipts and the invitation to treatment.
- Log in to helsenorge.no with BankID.
- Go to "Patient travel" and fill out the application for travel refund.
- Attach documentation that you have received treatment.
- Submit – no later than six months after the date of treatment.
Applying for patient travel on helsenorge digitally is fastest, but you can also use a paper form if you need to. The money comes to your account after the application is processed. If you need help, you can call Pasientreiser on 05515. This part of patient travel in Norway is the same whether you live in a city or in a small place.
Own travel or arranged transport?
Most people travel themselves and apply for a refund. But if you cannot travel on your own – for health reasons or because there is no public transport – you may have the right to arranged transport. Then the health service books the transport for you, often by taxi. For this you need a requisition: a confirmation from your treatment provider that you have a medical need for organised transport.
| Own travel | Arranged transport | |
|---|---|---|
| Who books? | You | The health service |
| When? | You can travel yourself | You cannot travel alone for health or transport reasons |
| Requirements | Receipt, application afterwards | Requisition from treatment provider |
| Copay | 171 kr each way (2026) | 171 kr each way (2026) |
The copay is the same regardless of which solution you use. Use of arranged transport always requires that the treatment provider considers it medically necessary. You pay no copay if you have a free treatment certificate.
Who does not pay copay – and can you bring a companion?
Some groups do not pay copay on patient travel:
- Children under 16 years pay no copay on the journey.
- If you have a free treatment certificate, you are exempt from copay for the rest of the year.
- For some treatments, for example injuries approved as work-related injuries, you may also be exempt.
If you need help on the journey, you can bring a companion – a person who accompanies you. If you cannot travel alone for medical reasons, the companion's journey is covered under the same rules that apply to you. Children under 18 years always have the right to bring a companion. Your treatment provider confirms that you need accompaniment.
On long journeys you can also get food and accommodation covered if the treatment means you have to be away overnight. Then you must keep the receipts and attach them to the application.
Learn the health and welfare rules for the exam
Rights such as patient travel, copay and free treatment certificates are part of what you should know about health and welfare in Norway. On SamfunnPrep you practise precisely these topics, with questions and simple explanations that resemble what you encounter on the civic knowledge exam. If you want to understand how the health service and the national insurance scheme fit together, SamfunnPrep makes it easy to learn step by step.
Get started with SamfunnPrep for free and practise the health and welfare curriculum at your own pace.
Want to read more? See how you use GP, emergency clinic and hospital, when you get referral to specialist, what health rights and national insurance give you, and how free treatment certificate and copay work.
Want to double-check the figures? Look up "pasientreiser" on snl.no, or read more from Pasientreiser HF and Helfo.
