A family doctor is a general practice doctor that has entered into an agreement with the municipality on participation in the Regular General Practitioner Scheme. Everyone has the right to be appointed a named, general practitioner. The general practitioner must be available for their patients and prioritise them before persons who are not on the doctor’s patient list.

The family doctor must also help you choose a treatment facility if you are going to undergo treatment at a hospital.

You can choose which doctor you would like to have as a family doctor, but the doctor must have availability and be part of the Regular General Practitioner Scheme. You can choose a family doctor in a different municipality than the one you live in. You are also free to choose a doctor that is not part of the Regular General Practitioner Scheme, but in that case you will pay a higher patient’s charge. If you have parental responsibility for children under the age of 16, you will also choose a family doctor for your child. If you stay at a nursing home, you are entitled to keep your family doctor, but you must use the nursing home doctor for as long as you live there.

Anyone residing in Norway.

You pay a patient’s charge.

Behandling og undersøkelse hos lege - egenandeler
Hjelpetilbud i kommunen
Patient and interpreter. A brochure about interpretation in the health services
Bytte fastlege

The municipality is obligated to ensure that this service is provided. See

Sections 3-1 and 3-2 of the Health Care Act

Section 2-1c and Chapter 7 of the Patient Rights Act.

Forskrift om fastlegeordning i kommunene
Helsepersonelloven
Helse- og omsorgstjenesteloven
Forskrift om stønad til dekning av utgifter til undersøkelse og behandling hos lege
Pasient- og brukerrettighetsloven

If you move from one municipality to another, you must report your change of residence to the National Register Office. You will receive a letter from NAV/the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO) about which family doctors have availability in the new municipality you move to. You can choose one of them, or keep the family doctor you already have.

You can search on https://helsenorge.no/behandlere/bytte-av-fastlege for a family doctor you would like to use. You can also be added to the waiting list if the family doctor you want is unavailable.

If you do not have an Internet connection, call HELFO by phone at 800HELSE (800 43 573). Have your national ID number (11 digits) ready before you call. They will let you know what family doctors are available and will put you on the patient list for the family doctor you would like to see, provided that the doctor has availability.

The change will apply from the first day of the month after your change of doctors has been registered. You will receive a letter confirming that you have a new family doctor.

If you are not satisfied with your family doctor, you can exercise your right to change doctors. You are entitled to change family doctors up to two times per calendar year.