Recording job interviews in Norway: Penal Code section 205, the GDPR via the EEA and Datatilsynet's guidance

In Norway, recording a job interview you take part in is not a crime: section 205(a) of the Penal Code punishes secretly recording communication "between others" that the person does not take part in. The recording and transcript are still personal data under the GDPR, which Norway applies through the EEA Agreement, and Datatilsynet, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, says an employer must always announce a recording in advance, needs a legal basis other than employee consent, and should consider whether notes would do instead. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds Norway to our country series alongside Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and Canada. Norway's criminal rule is a participant rule like the Netherlands', but its regulator has published unusually direct guidance on audio recording at work, including on access to recordings and on speech-to-text tools.

The Norwegian rules at a glance

Can a participant record a conversation in Norway?

Yes, as far as the Penal Code is concerned. Section 205 of the Penal Code (straffeloven) punishes, with a fine or up to two years' imprisonment, anyone who without authority "and by use of a technical device secretly listens to or makes a secret recording of a telephone conversation or other communication between others, or of negotiations in a closed meeting which he does not himself take part in, or to which he has gained unauthorized access" (our translation). The same section covers breaking a protection to access electronic communications and opening other people's letters.

A recruiter on a phone or video interview is a participant, so section 205(a) does not describe recording your own interview. Datatilsynet puts it plainly: to avoid the Penal Code, "you must yourself be present when you make the recording," and if a recording breaks the Penal Code it will as a rule not be lawful under data protection rules either (Datatilsynet, audio recording of conversations; our translation). Recording a panel interview you are not on, or leaving a recorder running after you leave, is different.

Which data protection law applies, given Norway is not in the EU?

The GDPR, through the EEA. Section 1 of the Personal Data Act (personopplysningsloven) says the regulation, as incorporated in Annex XI of the EEA Agreement, "applies as law" with the adaptations that follow from the agreement. The GDPR's articles therefore apply directly: a lawful basis under Article 6, the Article 13 information at collection, data minimization, storage limitation and the candidate's rights. Datatilsynet is the supervisory authority.

What does Datatilsynet say about recording conversations?

Datatilsynet's guide on audio recording of conversations (Lydopptak av samtaler) sets out its general view. The points that bear on interviews:

• Recording is intrusive. A recording captures much surplus information, including a person's voice and mood, so it counts as an intrusive form of processing. Notes and minutes are less intrusive ways to document a conversation and are in line with data minimization.
• Conditions. In short, recording may take place if there is a legal basis, the people recorded are informed, it serves clear purposes, it is relevant and limited to what is necessary, it is not kept longer than the purpose requires, and security is adequate.
• Say it is recorded, not that it may be. For phone calls, Datatilsynet says it is usually not enough to say the call "may be recorded," because the caller does not learn whether it actually is. Give the key facts before the call starts and fuller information in writing.
• Access. Participants in a recorded conversation have a right of access to the recording, which can be met by handing over the audio file, and the first copy is free. As a starting point the right covers what the person said, not others.

Its chapter on recording at work adds that when an employer acts as an employer, "audio recording must always be announced in advance," that because of the employer's superior position consent is not suitable as the basis for recording employees, and that "as a starting point it takes a great deal" to record employees (Datatilsynet, audio recording at work; our translations). That passage is about employees, which here means your interviewers, but the same imbalance makes a candidate's consent fragile. Most employers will rely on legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f) and need to show why notes are not enough; our guide to legitimate interest in recruitment covers the balancing test.

Do employee representatives have a say?

If the recordings could be used to check how interviewers work, likely yes. Under the Working Environment Act (arbeidsmiljøloven), an employer may only implement control measures toward employees when there are objective grounds and the measure is not a disproportionate burden (section 9-1). Section 9-2 requires the employer to discuss the need, design and implementation of control measures with employee representatives "as early as possible," to tell affected employees the purpose, practical consequences and expected duration before the measure starts, and to evaluate the need regularly with the representatives (section 9-2). Write down that interview recordings will not be used to assess interviewers, and involve the representatives before rollout.

How long can you keep recordings and transcripts?

Neither the Personal Data Act nor Datatilsynet's recording guide sets a number for interview recordings. The GDPR's storage limitation applies: keep a recording only as long as the hiring purpose needs it, set the period in advance, tell the candidate, and delete on schedule. Keeping a recording for a talent pool is a different purpose and needs its own basis, usually the candidate's consent. Our candidate data retention policy template has a format.

What if you interview a candidate in Norway from the US?

The Penal Code will not usually be the problem for a participant, but the US side of the call has its own rules, which depend on the state you are in; see is it legal to record a job interview. On data protection, an employer or agency established in Norway or elsewhere in the EEA is covered; for a US company with no establishment there, coverage turns on the GDPR's territorial rules in Article 3(2). The simplest course is to give candidates in Norway the same advance notice, legal basis and access handling as a Norwegian employer would.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, within the same rules. Datatilsynet's guide includes a section on speech-to-draft tools that turn spoken conversations into written notes. It was written for healthcare, but its checklist applies to any transcription tool: define a clear and specific purpose, identify the correct legal basis, carry out a risk assessment and a data protection impact assessment, check vendor agreements so data is not stored or processed in breach of Norwegian rules, and have clear routines for deleting both the audio and the transcript (Datatilsynet). If the tool scores or ranks candidates, Article 22 GDPR applies, and the EU AI Act's rules for recruitment systems are worth checking for EEA hiring; see the EU AI Act for recruiting.

Interview Signal (our product), for example, captures audio from the interviewer's computer with no bot in the call, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not keep audio after transcription; the transcript is still personal data under the rules above.

A consent line for interviews in Norway

Før vi begynner: Jeg vil gjerne [ta opp / transkribere med
programvare] samtalen vår, slik at jeg kan konsentrere meg om deg og
gjengi svarene dine riktig. [Opptaket / Transkripsjonen] brukes bare
i denne rekrutteringsprosessen og slettes senest [frist] etter at den
er avsluttet. Mer informasjon finner du i [personvernerklæringen].
Er det i orden for deg? Du kan si nei eller be om pause når som
helst, og det påvirker ikke søknaden din.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record / transcribe with software] our
conversation so I can focus on you and capture your answers correctly.
The [recording / transcript] is used only in this recruitment process
and deleted no later than [period] after it ends. More information is in
[the privacy notice]. Is that all right with you? You can say no or ask
to pause at any time, and it won't affect your application.)

Note the wording: the line says the conversation will be recorded, not that it may be, as Datatilsynet asks. More options are in our interview recording consent script, and the written notice can follow our candidate privacy notice template.

Checklist before you record interviews in Norway

• Recording announced to the candidate before it starts, in the invitation and on the call, as "is recorded," not "may be."
• Legal basis chosen and documented, with a note on why notes alone are not enough.
• Only interviews you take part in are recorded.
• Employee representatives consulted, and interviewers informed, if recordings could be used to check their work.
• A deletion date set for audio and transcripts, and access requests answered with the audio file.
• A DPIA and vendor review done for any transcription or AI tool.

Hiring elsewhere in the Nordics? Compare Sweden and Denmark, or see Switzerland for a stricter consent rule.