How to set up an ENK (sole proprietorship)

A sole trader company (Enkeltmannsforetak - ENK) is an organisation in which a natural person is responsible for the business.

This means that you have full financial responsibility for the business’s requirements and obligations. You are not obliged to invest money in the company, so you can start with NOK 0 in your account.

, read up here and find out if you meet the requirements.

When starting a business, you need to consider whether you should set up an ENK or AS. If you are unsure, DNB’s Start-up advisory team help you for free.

Sole proprietorship (ENK) is an organisation in which a natural person is responsible for the business. This means that you have full financial responsibility for the business’s requirements and obligations. You are not obliged to invest money in the company, so you can start with NOK 0 in your account.

Private limited company (AS) is an abbreviation for aksjeselskap (private limited company). The private limited company has some advantages. Vis-à-vis creditors (those who have lent the company money) you’re only liable for the amount you have deposited. As an employee in your own AS you can claim the same social security benefits as other employees.

When you form an AS you need to deposit a minimum of NOK 30,000 in share capital. Compared to an ENK, AS has slightly stricter accounting requirements. An AS must also have a board of directors with at least one member.

Do you want to set up a private limited company (AS) instead of a sole trader company? Read more about AS here.

There are also several other company types, such as general partnership with shared liability (DA), general partnership with joint and several liability (ANS) and foundations. Read about other types of companies here.

If you want to compare AS and ENK, we’ve put everything together on one page. You’ll also find information about holding companies here. Read more about AS, ENK and holding companies here.

Many people are wondering if what they’re going to do in fact can be considered business and meet the requirements to start a SINGLE.

The Norwegian Tax Administration has written about this on their pages Read more here about business requirements.

To check the status on or update your application, click Check the progress or update the application further up on this page. Log in with BankID to retrieve existing applications.

When starting a sole trader company, it’s a good idea to check if the name is available. You can easily do this at navnesok.no.

If the name is taken, you must choose another name or obtain consent from the company that has the name.

Remember that the name must contain your surname.

If you need consent, you cannot establish the company through DNB, but can use Samordnet registermelding (coordinated register notification).

The Norwegian Tax Administration recommends using an accounting system for sole trader companies (ENK). This can give you a good overview of income and expenses, as well as help you create and send invoices. For Limited Companies, there is a requirement to use accounting software. Read more at The Norwegian Tax Administration.

you’ll find the current prices, terms and agreements for our products and services here.

You can read specifically about Banking and Accounting for the new ENK here.

We process the application and the case officer will try to contact you, either by phone or email. If you don’t pick up the phone, we’ll try some more times.

You can also contact the case officer yourself at email. It is important that you write which company it applies to in the subject field.

It’s difficult to provide a specific time estimate because all customers and sole trader companies are unique, but we always strive to make the process as quick as possible.