Realkompetansevurdering — recognition of prior learning — is an assessment where the fylkeskommune (county authority) measures everything you know, from work, courses, everyday life and volunteer work, against the curriculum for a subject in upper-secondary education (videregående opplæring). You take no exam. If a subject is approved, you get a certificate of competence (kompetansebevis). This can shorten upper-secondary education for adults (voksenopplæring) or count toward a trade certificate (fagbrev). If you have voksenrett — the adult's statutory right to upper-secondary education — it is free. This is not the same as getting a foreign diploma recognized.

What is realkompetansevurdering?

It is an assessment of your overall competence. Real-life competence (realkompetanse) is everything you have learned through paid or unpaid work, organizational work, courses and leisure activities. It covers formal learning (school and education), non-formal learning (for example courses) and informal learning (what you learn at work and in everyday life).

A professional measures what you know against the curriculum for a subject. You do not need to sit a test or exam. The result is "approved" or "not approved" for each subject — not grades. The fylkeskommune is responsible for the assessment.

Who can get a realkompetansevurdering?

Adults who have the right to upper-secondary education for adults (voksenrett) can be assessed for realkompetanse. Under opplæringslova (the Education Act), you have this right after turning 24 år, as long as you have completed lower-secondary school (grunnskolen) but do not have qualifications for higher education or a trade. If you are between 19 and 24 år, you can choose whether you want education organized for pupils or for adults.

The main rule is simple: everyone who applies for and is offered upper-secondary education as an adult can be assessed for realkompetanse. Adults without voksenrett can also be assessed if they are recommended by NAV (the Labour and Welfare Administration) or the municipality (kommunen). If you are in the introduction programme, your programme advisor can help you further.

Read more about voksenrett and free upper-secondary education

Two main paths: what can you use it for?

Realkompetansevurdering is used for two main things.

  1. Shorter upper-secondary education for adults. The assessment can determine which subjects you already know, so you only take what is missing. This can shorten the time you spend on education as an adult.
  2. A path to a trade certificate as a praksiskandidat. If you have long work experience in an occupation, you can sit the trade exam as a praksiskandidat (practical-experience candidate route to a trade certificate). For praksiskandidater, a realkompetansevurdering can replace the requirement to take the exam as a private candidate (privatist) in vg3 (the third year of upper-secondary school).

See the whole path to a trade certificate as an adult

How to apply

  1. Contact the fylkeskommune. You do this through a career centre or the voksenopplæring (adult education) where you live. If you need help thinking through what suits you, free career guidance can help.
  2. Apply for upper-secondary education for adults. In most counties, you apply at vigo.no under "Adults applying for upper-secondary education."
  3. Gather documentation. Get hold of diplomas, course certificates and employment references. The employment references should state what kind of work you did, what percentage position you held, and what tasks you performed.
  4. Take part in mapping and assessment. A professional reviews your competence against the curriculum. If you want the assessment in a language other than Norwegian, or with an interpreter, you can ask the fylkeskommune about this.
  5. Receive your decision. You get a written decision and a certificate of competence (kompetansebevis) showing which subjects have been approved.

What does it cost?

Realkompetansevurdering is free once you have been offered an assessment or education — this applies if you have voksenrett. If you do not have this right, you or, for example, NAV or the municipality must pay. A purchased assessment at the fylkeskommune can, for example, cost in the range of 1 356–5 700 kroner per subject (Rogaland, as of 2026), but the price varies from county to county. Ask your own fylkeskommune what applies to you.

Not the same as recognition of foreign education

It is easy to mix these two up, but they are different. Realkompetansevurdering is about your overall competence — everything you know from work, everyday life, courses and volunteer work — measured against a Norwegian curriculum. You get subjects approved, not a degree.

Getting a foreign diploma recognized is a separate process. There, HK-dir (the Directorate for Higher Education and Skills), and NOKUT (the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education) for higher education, assess how your education from abroad corresponds to Norwegian education. If you have documentation of an education from your home country, that is often the route you should take.

Here's how to get education from abroad recognized

The two paths can also complement each other: if you have both documentation from abroad and long experience without documentation, recognition can cover one part and realkompetansevurdering the other.