You can check whether another test centre can give you a place for the social studies test. Contact the centre before registering: local residents may have priority. If you are entitled to a free test, you must also clarify registration and payment with the municipality where you live.
Can you take the social studies test in another municipality?
It may be possible, but the test centre must confirm that it accepts candidates from outside the municipality. Local practices differ. Bodø municipality, for example, says that its own residents have priority and that people from other municipalities must contact it before registering. These are Bodø's conditions, not a national guarantee of a place. The information was checked on 1 October 2026.
The social studies test is organised locally. The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir) lists dates, locations and prices in its official registration portal. If there is no date near you, you can use SamfunnPrep's directory of test centres and dates to get an overview, then confirm the information with the test centre. SamfunnPrep does not accept registrations or payments.
How to find an available date elsewhere
First, check whether your home municipality can give you a new date. If you need a different date, do the following:
- Find test centres within a reasonable travel distance and note the date, location, contact details and price.
- Open HK-dir's official registration portal. Select a county to see listed test centres and dates.
- Contact the test centre you want. Ask whether it accepts candidates who live in other municipalities and whether there are places available on the date in question.
- Explain whether you will pay yourself or believe you are entitled to one free test. The two routes have different registration procedures.
- Register only after the test centre has explained how to do it. Check the confirmation and the test invitation.
A date in a directory may change, and a listed test centre may have no places left. Do not book an expensive trip until the centre has confirmed your place and the time. If you are unsure about the portal, see this general step-by-step guide to registration and payment.
What happens to your entitlement to a free test?
HK-dir says that people with a right and duty to receive social studies tuition can take the test free of charge once. They should contact the test centre where they live, which registers them. People who are not entitled to a free test register themselves.
Do not pay through another municipality's portal first and assume you will be reimbursed later. Ask your home municipality who will register you and who will pay if you want to take the test elsewhere. At the same time, ask the receiving test centre what confirmation it needs. Bodø explicitly says that the home municipality must send an email confirmation if it is to pay for a free test there. Other places may have different procedures.
Check these four points in writing:
| Question | Who should you ask? |
|---|---|
| Do I have an unused entitlement to a free test? | The test centre or adult education service in your home municipality |
| Can you accept a candidate from outside the municipality? | The test centre you want to travel to |
| Who registers me? | Both test centres |
| Who will be invoiced, and do you need confirmation? | Both test centres |
This makes it easier to avoid paying twice or registering in a way that does not qualify for a free test. Keep the replies until the matter is settled.
How much do you pay if the test is not free?
The municipality sets the test fee. HK-dir lists NOK 500–1300 as of 1 October 2026. The correct price for a particular location is shown in the portal or provided by the test centre. Payment may be made by bank card, online banking, invoice or under a local arrangement.
Registration is binding. HK-dir says you must pay even if you do not attend, with special rules for documented illness. Registration is complete only after you have selected a payment method and received confirmation by SMS and email. Ask whom to contact if you need to cancel or change the date; this is especially important when travelling to another municipality.
Copy this message to the test centre
You can send a short message before registering. Do not send your full national identity number in an ordinary email.
Subject: Social studies test – candidate from another municipality
Hello. I live in [municipality] and would like to take the social studies test with you on [preferred date]. Do you accept candidates from other municipalities, and is a place available? I [will pay myself / may be entitled to one free test]. How should I register? If the test is to be free, what confirmation do you need from my home municipality? What is the price and registration deadline? Kind regards, [name and phone number].
If you are entitled to a free test, send a similar enquiry to your home municipality. Ask it to confirm whether it can register you or arrange payment with the other centre.
Once the place and payment are confirmed
Read the invitation carefully. HK-dir says it normally arrives about two weeks before the test and gives the location and time. Plan your travel and bring valid physical identification. Read the guide to the test format to find out what to expect on test day.
The actual test is taken at an approved test centre, and only the centre can confirm your place. Once the date is set, you can try SamfunnPrep for free to plan your practice.
