A collection of questions frequently asked to the National Insurance Court
No. The National Insurance Court is an appeallate body making decisions on individual's rights to social security benefits and pensions. Although the National Insurance Court is not an ordinary court, it is independent and cannot be subjected to instructions from any other public authority.
It is free to appeal a case to the National Insurance Court.
If you choose to use a lawyer, you may incur expenses related to this (see below).
The National Insurance Court has a duty to ensure a sound basis for a decision, and it is therefore not necessary to use a lawyer. It is important that you provide information that is relevant to the case and clarify your views to the extent possible. If you wish, you may be represented by a lawyer or someone you know in a case before the National Insurance Court.
Legal fees cannot always be reimbursed.
If your appeal is upheld, any necessary costs will normally be reimbursed, including legal fees. If the legal fees exceed what the court considers necessary, only parts of the fee will be reimbursed.
If you do not win the case, you may be entitled to legal aid. There are income and asset limits, and exemptions are normally not granted from these. Information about the legal aid scheme can be found here.
You will receive a letter both when your case has been received by the National Insurance Court and when the case has been decided.
The National Insurance Court will contact you if we need further information.
If you have questions along the way, please see our Contact us page. Please note that sensitive information should not be sent by e-mail. We encourage you to use eDialog instead.
If you do not succeed in the National Insurance Court, you may bring the case before the Court of Appeal. It is advisable to consult a lawyer about your chances of winning. Losses in the Court of Appeal will, as a general rule, mean that you must cover both your own and the other party's legal costs.
If you believe the National Insurance Court has made formal errors in the processing of your case, you can also complain free of charge to the Civil Ombudsman. More information is available here.
If there is new information in your case, and that information could change the outcome of your case , you can request that the case be reopened. Such a request is addressed to the public authority or insurance fund that made the decision you appealed. The time limit is six months from when you became aware of the new information on which the application is based. Questions about resumption must be directed to NAV or the pension fund that has processed your case.
If you wish to retract your appeal. You may write a letter to the National Insurance Court where you simply state that you wish to retract your appeal. You can mail it either digitally through eDialog or by regular mail.
If you disagree with a decision you have received from NAV Klageinstans, Helseklage or a pension fund (including SPK and KLP), you can normally appeal the decision to the National Insurance Court. The appeal may be made only after you have exhausted all complaint procedures in the public authority or insurance fund that adopted the decision.
An appeal to the National Insurance Court must be submitted to the public authority (usually NAV Klageinstans), or insurance fund, that made the decision you disagree with. That authority or fund will subsequently forward the appeal to the National Insurance Court, along with the case files.
The case processing time in the National Insurance Court varies. Currently, the average case processing time is between 12 and 14 months. Some cases take longer, and it is difficult to predict when a case will be decided. The National Insurance Court will normally give priority to the oldest cases. The case processing time is affected by, among other things, the number of cases received, the scope and nature of the case, the composition of the panel handling the case and the resources available at the National Insurance Court.
Cases concerning invalidity benefits and work assessment allowance are often decided by a panel consisting of a doctor, a rehabilitation expert, in addition to the legally qualified member. This may result in a somewhat longer case processing time in these cases.