Svangerskapspenger can replace income when your work could harm your unborn child and safe adjustments are not possible. You do not have to be ill. A doctor or midwife assesses the risk, your employer considers adjustments, and Nav decides your application.
Svangerskapspenger or sick pay?
Svangerskapspenger covers risks to your unborn child caused by your work. If your own illness prevents you from working, sick pay (sykepenger) may be the appropriate benefit instead.
Nav, Arbeids- og velferdsetaten (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration), explains the distinction in its guidance on svangerskapspenger. This guide uses information checked on 2 November 2026. Pregnancy alone does not entitle you to the benefit. Your work situation and the other conditions must be assessed.
If you are both ill and exposed to a risk at work, Nav must assess which benefit applies. You usually cannot receive both for the same period. There are exceptions involving partial work or several jobs, covering different parts of your work. SamfunnPrep also explains self-certification and medical sick notes.
What must be assessed at work?
Your employer must first investigate whether adjustments or different duties can remove the risk. If you can safely work your usual percentage of a full-time position, svangerskapspenger is not needed for this absence.
Workplace adjustments mean changing your work to suit the situation. Reassignment means giving you other suitable work. Arbeidstilsynet, the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, describes the employer's responsibility to protect pregnant workers and consider other duties.
Tell your doctor or midwife what you actually do at work. Describe your duties, working hours and any conditions that concern you. Do not give only your job title. The occupational health service, where available, can advise on the working environment and possible changes.
Chemicals, infection risks and physically demanding work are examples of conditions that may need assessment. They do not mean that everyone in a particular occupation must automatically stop working. A doctor or midwife must assess your specific risk together with you.
What other conditions must you meet?
The main rule is at least 4 weeks, or 28 days, of continuous work with income immediately before you have to stop temporarily. Nav also has rules on loss of income, minimum income and membership of folketrygden, Norway's National Insurance Scheme.
The four-week rule has important qualifications. Nav can count periods receiving sick pay, unemployment benefit, parental or pregnancy benefit, and benefits for caring for someone, care-related training or caring for a sick child (pleiepenger, opplæringspenger or omsorgspenger). There are also exceptions for certain temporary gaps without work lasting less than one month.
However, you must be an employee, freelancer or self-employed when svangerskapspenger starts. A payment from Nav alone is not enough. If you recently changed jobs or had a gap, ask Nav to assess your dates.
As of 2 November 2026, Nav states that income, converted to an annual amount, must be at least 0.5 G. G is the National Insurance basic amount. You must lose income and be a member of folketrygden for the period covered by the benefit. If you work or stay in different countries, membership must be clarified separately.
How do you apply as an employee?
First obtain documentation of the risk and your employer's assessment. Then apply to Nav and attach the documentation. Your employer has a separate task: sending an income statement.
Arbeidstilsynet's form for workplace adjustments and reassignment brings the assessments together. It is intended for work involving a risk of harm, rather than as a general form for all pregnancy-related discomfort.
Follow these steps:
- A doctor or midwife completes the first part. This documents the need for adjustments or reassignment.
- Give the form to your employer. The employer completes the second part about what is possible, fully or partially.
- Use the form in your application. The third part is for the pregnant applicant when an application is relevant. Nav says the completed form must be uploaded with the application.
- Tell your employer that you have applied. Ask them to send the income statement.
According to Nav's guidance for employers, processing time starts only once all necessary documentation has been received. The income statement is additional to the risk and adjustment form. A completed medical section therefore does not mean that the case is complete.
What if you are a freelancer or self-employed?
You may also qualify for svangerskapspenger as a freelancer or self-employed person. You must assess the possibilities for adjusting your work yourself and explain why this is not possible.
Nav asks both groups for a risk assessment from a doctor or midwife. It must include your due date and an explanation of the medical risk the work could pose to the fetus.
If you are self-employed, explain why your business activities cannot be adjusted. If you are a freelancer, explain why the work cannot be adjusted or why other work is not possible. Follow the document checklist in the application for your situation. The rules for calculating income differ between these types of work; do not use someone else's payment as a definitive answer.
Can you work partly and receive svangerskapspenger?
Yes. If safe adjustments are possible for only part of your work, you may receive partial svangerskapspenger. This can also apply to freelancers and self-employed people.
In the application, state how much you will work as a percentage of a full-time position. This is not necessarily the same as the proportion of your original position that you will work.
Nav's example: Your position is 80 per cent of full time, and you can continue working the equivalent of a 20 per cent position. Enter 20 per cent work in the application. This is 25 per cent of your original position: 20 divided by 80. Svangerskapspenger will then be 75 per cent of the benefit for your original position. The example explains the percentages, not a cash amount or a guarantee of approval.
How long can you receive the benefit, and when must you apply?
You can receive svangerskapspenger from the time you have to stop working until 3 weeks before your due date. Parental benefit (foreldrepenger) or the lump-sum grant (engangsstønad) must be assessed under their own conditions; the transition is not an automatic approval.
The application deadline is 3 months after the month you want svangerskapspenger to start from. Do not confuse this with three months before the start.
If you want the benefit from November 2026, you must submit the application by the end of February 2027 at the latest: 28 February 2027. December, January and February are the three months after November. You can apply earlier once the assessments and documentation are ready.
What should you do after applying?
Nav sends you a written decision when the application has been processed. Read the period and percentage approved, and ask if the information does not match your work situation.
Report changes that could affect entitlement or payment, such as planning to work more. You are not entitled to svangerskapspenger payments during statutory holiday periods. Include agreed holidays in your application. If you later change your holiday dates, Nav says you must submit a new application.
For an overview of other public-service tasks, explore practical tools on SamfunnPrep. Contact Nav about the benefit, and your doctor, midwife and employer about assessing your work.
