Entry in the Register of Business Enterprises
All limited liability companies or companies having more than one owner are required to register in the Register of Business Enterprises.
Among several reasons, one important one is to maintain a correct record of people that may be held responsible for actions in the name of the company. In self-employed businesses, there can be no doubt as to who is the responsible person. Therefore, such enterprises are exempt from the general registration duty.
Only if the self-employed business trades goods or has more than five employees, is registration required. Other self-employed businesses may register at their own will.
An increasing number of banks, insurance companies and other organisations have made it a rule not to enter a deal with a new associate before they have made sure the company is registered in the Register of Business Enterprises.
Companies who want to do international business will experience that the foreign counterpart will request a company certificate from the Register of Business Enterprises before they will commit themselves to an unknown customer or supplier.
Registration in the Register of Business Enterprises is done by submitting the Combined register return, usually together with the registration in the Central Coordinating register of Legal Entities. If you are already registered in the Central register of Legal Entities, mark the return accordingly.
Note the rigid requirements with respect to signatures and additional information for returns to the Register of Business Enterprises.
When registering, the planned name of the self-employed business must include the owner’s family name, with or without first name(s). For other forms of business entities, you must in addition state the type of organisation (e.g. AS for a limited liability company or ANS for unlimited liability companies, see the Norwegian Company Act, no. 78, §2-2).
Before registration, you are advised to check if the planned name is ”available” by contacting the Register of Business Enterprises in Brønnøysund. Your right to a name of the business is obtained either by starting to use the name or by an entry in the Register of Business Enterprises.
If the name of the business enterprise states the name of a person or describes the nature of the business, the enterprise must be connected to the named person or type of business. If the initial conditions change significantly, the name should be changed accordingly.