You apply for upper secondary school on vigo.no. Young people log in with MinID or another eID, list three education programmes in priority order and send the application. The ordinary deadline is 1 March, some must apply by 1 February – and there is a safe path in even without Norwegian grades.
Applying for upper secondary school – a brief explanation
Vigo (vigo.no) is the joint application portal of the county municipalities for upper secondary education. A county municipality is the regional authority that runs the upper secondary schools. The portal opens at the beginning of January and closes at 23:59 on the deadline day. Until the deadline, you can change your application as much as you wish.
This is how you proceed:
- Log in via ID-porten with MinID, BankID, Buypass or Commfides.
- List three education programmes in priority order for Vg1.
- Send the application by the deadline – and respond when the offer comes.
If the family is new to Norway, it helps to see how the Norwegian school system fits together before you choose. If the young person is considering vocational education, you can also read about vocational education and the path to apprenticeship.
Get MinID in good time
MinID is the state's simplest electronic ID (eID). The chain works like this: The young person must have a Norwegian national identification number or d-number. After that, MinID can be created from the year the young person turns 13. The activation code comes in a code letter to the registered address, or via the MinID app. Only then does login on Vigo work.
Vigo opens in January, and the early deadline is already 1 February – start therefore in the autumn. SamfunnPrep has its own guide showing how you get MinID and BankID. Are you still waiting for a national identification number, or does activation fail? Contact the admissions office in the county municipality in good time – the application should not stop due to technical issues. Digdir's user support by phone 800 30 300 helps with the login itself.
Which deadline applies to you?
The deadlines for applying to upper secondary school are in the Education Regulation § 4-9. For the school year 2026/2027, these dates apply:
| Deadline | Who | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1 February (1.2.2026) | Young people who have recently come to Norway | § 4-9 letter c |
| 1 February (1.2.2026) | Students with a decision on special language education | § 4-9 letter b |
| 1 February (1.2.2026) | Applicants with priority right or need for individual assessment | § 4-9 letters a and e |
| 1 March (in 2026: 2.3.2026) | Everyone else | § 4-9 |
Note the most important point: From admissions in 2026, 'recently come to Norway' is a separate basis for the 1 February deadline (§ 4-9 letter c). The young person does not need a decision first. A decision on special language education (Education Act § 3-6 or § 6-5) is a separate basis in addition. The counties may practise this somewhat differently, so ask the admissions office if you are in doubt.
The weekend rule is in § 4-9 final paragraph: If the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the application is on time if it is received on the first working day. In 2026, 1 March was a Sunday, so the actual ordinary deadline became Monday 2 March 2026. This is not a fixed date – check the calendar each year.
Does the young person have the right to upper secondary education?
Yes, in most cases. According to the Education Act § 5-1, everyone who has completed Norwegian compulsory school or equivalent education has the right to upper secondary education. 'Equivalent' means, among other things, at least nine years of general basic education abroad (Education Regulation § 4-1 letter b). Young people who have completed upper secondary school in another country without having it recognised in Norway also have the right. You document or demonstrate the schooling yourselves (§ 4-12).
The right is a completion right: It lasts until the young person has achieved study or occupational competence, but no longer than the school year ending in the year they turn 24. The old three-year limit no longer exists. Everyone with the right must also be admitted to one of the three education programmes they have applied for (§ 5-1) – but not necessarily the first choice or a specific school. From the year you turn 19, you can instead choose adult education, and after the 24-year limit, adult rights apply (§ 18-3) – read more about upper secondary education as an adult, free under the adult right.
What happens without Norwegian grades?
This worries many families, so let us say it clearly: A teenager without Norwegian grades still has a safe path in.
Usually places are distributed according to grade points (Education Regulation § 4-19): the average of numerical grades from compulsory school, calculated to two decimal places and multiplied by ten. But if the young person lacks a numerical grade in more than half the subjects, or if there is no comparable grade basis – typical after schooling abroad – individual assessment applies according to § 4-20. Then the young person does not compete on points. The county municipality assesses the application on its own, among other things based on statements from compulsory school, and the right to a place according to § 5-1 still applies.
Missing documents from the home country? The counties use, in practice, probability assessments and self-declaration forms when documentation is missing or not translated (Udir report 2025). You can thus apply for upper secondary education without a transcript in hand. This manual processing is also why newcomers have the early deadline of 1 February.
The bridge in: introductory class and transition class
Is the young person's Norwegian not good enough to follow regular teaching? Then there are several offers:
- Special language education (Education Act § 6-5): right to extra language education until Norwegian is good enough to follow regular teaching.
- Introductory education (§ 6-6): teaching in separate groups or classes for students who have lived in Norway for a short time. Requires the student's consent – it is an offer, not compulsion. A decision is given for up to one year at a time, a total of up to two years.
- Transition offer (§ 9-6): the county municipality has a duty to have an offer for young people who lack academic or linguistic prerequisites for upper secondary education.
- Transition class (§ 9-7): more compulsory education for young people aged 16–24 with a short time in residence, often located at an upper secondary school, together with peers of the same age.
And an important reassurance: A year in an introductory class or transition class does not use up any quota, as the completion right lasts until the education is completed, within the 24-year limit. The rights in compulsory school can be found in the article about newcomer children's right to school.
When does the answer come?
Answers come in Vigo in several rounds in July and August. The Oslo calendar for admissions 2026/2027 is an example: first admissions 6 July 2026 with an answer deadline of 8 days, second admissions 10 August 2026 (where the answer is to attend the first day of school) and school start 17 August 2026. The dates vary between counties, so check the admissions calendar for your county on vilbli.no. Always respond by the answer deadline – otherwise your place may pass to others.
Where can you find more information?
vilbli.no is the county municipalities' official information service about upper secondary education, with quality-assured information about education programmes, deadlines and admissions rules in each county. From 2026, local admissions regulations supplement the national rules, so always check your own county. The adviser at the lower secondary school and the admissions office in the county municipality answer what applies to your situation.
And to you who are an adult in the family: While the young person applies to school, you can practise for free for the civic knowledge test with the practice tools on SamfunnPrep. Then the whole family prepares for the Norwegian system – each at their own level.
