Compare record retention requirements for up to four countries on the comparison summary chart page. 🔍
Document
Retention Period
Beginning of Retention Period
Legal Reference
EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
Contracts (new hire agreements, severance, etc.)
Minimum 3.5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
Time records (work hours, rest periods, vacation/sick/holiday, etc.)
Minimum 3.5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004; Regulation on Bookkeeping (Bokføringsforskriften), Sec. 5-6
Performance records (performance reviews, promotions/demotions, licenses/certifications, investigations, disciplinary actions, etc.)
General: minimum 1-3 years; Internal investigations: Delete after reasonable time during employment, based on a concrete assessment
Termination of employment agreement
Best practice based on local legislation; Claims generally time-barred after 3 years
Data and personnel files
Applicants who are not hired: Retain until conclusion of hiring process. Consider retaining for 1 - 3 years; Employees: General minimum 1-3 years; Internal investigations - Delete after reasonable time during employment, based on a concrete assessment
Applicants who are not hired: From end of hiring process. Employees: From termination of employment
Best practice based on local legislation; Claims generally time-barred after 3 years
Government verification records (work papers, immigration, eligibility to work, etc.)
General: minimum 1-3 years; Internal investigations: Delete after reasonable time during employment, based on a concrete assessment
Termination of employment agreement
Best practice based on local legislation; Claims generally time-barred after 3 years
Collective bargaining/union
No maximum/minimum retention period for Collective Bargaining Agreements
N/A
N/A
Background checks and drug tests
Drug testing/storing: Not permitted by local legislation; Background checks: Only allowed when permitted by law (by obtaining print outs from police records). Storage of related police record/transcript is not allowed.
N/A
Law on processing of information in the police and prosecutor's office (Police Registry Act - politiregisterloven)
Acknowledgements, policy agreements and required notices
General: minimum 1-3 years; Internal investigations: Delete after reasonable time during employment, based on a concrete assessment
Termination of employment agreement
Best practice based on local legislation; Claims generally time-barred after 3 years
Recruitment (interview notes, resumes/CVs, reference checks, etc.)
Applicants who are not hired: Retain until conclusion of hiring process. Consider retaining for 1 - 3 years; Employees: General minimum 1-3 years; Internal investigations - Delete after reasonable time during employment, based on a concrete assessment
Applicants who are not hired: From end of hiring process; Employees: From termination of employment
Best practice based on local legislation; Claims generally time-barred after 3 years
Tracking/recordings (biometric, geo-location, online tracking, camera recordings, etc.)
Tracking/recording employee or workspace: Usually not permitted, when allowed under Working Environment Act retain until purpose is fulfilled; Camera recordings: Max. 7 days, unless contains data (e.g. criminal activities) which requires extended storage (max. 30 days), Longer storage may be allowed under GDPR if documented need; E-mails stored in employee's account: Generally maximum 6 months after termination. Company-related emails should be stored in another place where remains available for employer.
From recording
Norwegian Working Environment Act, Ch. 9 and GDPR for control measures. Camera recording: The Norwegian Regulations on employers recording in the workplace; Camera recordings & log data: Recommendation by Norwegian Data Protection Authority; E-mails: The Norwegian Regulations on employer's access to e-mailbox and other electronically stored material;
BENEFIT/PENSION/EQUITY RECORDS
Benefits (plan documents, enrollment records)
For economic benefits: Minimum 5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
Pension and retirement records
Minimum 5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
Equity records
General: As long as individuals own equity; Payments to shareholder: Minimum 5 years
General: Upon disposal of the equity; Payments: After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Equity records: Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act, § 4-2 (Shareholder register); Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
Miscellaneous 1
Other economic compensation: For economic benefits minimum 5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
PAYROLL/WAGE/TAX RECORDS
Payroll and wage data (payslips, etc.)
Mandatory accounting documents and reports: Minimum 5 years; Secondary documents, including agreements relating to the business (excluding agreements of minor importance) and correspondence that provides significant additional info. in connection with recorded information: Minimum 3.5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
Tax records
Mandatory accounting documents and reports: Minimum 5 years; Secondary documents, including agreements relating to the business (excluding agreements of minor importance) and correspondence that provides significant additional info. in connection with recorded information: Minimum 3.5 years
After end of fiscal year to which records relate
Bookkeeping Act (Lov om bokføring), Sec. 11 - Documentation of the balance etc., § 13, 2004
MEDICAL/SAFETY/LEAVE RECORDS
Leave (family, medical, etc.)
General: minimum 1-3 years; Internal investigations: Delete after reasonable time during employment, based on a concrete assessment
Termination of employment agreement
Best practice based on local legislation; Claims generally time-barred after 3 years
Injury and illness incident reports
Retain until purpose of processing is fulfilled
From date of report/registry
Best practice based on GDPR; Working Environment Act § 5-1 and § 5-2
Medical records
Employer cannot legally process medical records. Only limited health data is permitted, such as sick leave, or workplace injury and illness reports/registration.
N/A
Hazardous material and other exposure records
Register of exposure to ionizing radiation: Until employee reaches 75 years of age and for at least 30 years
From end of radiation exposure
Regulation on radiation protection and use of radiation (radiation protection regulation), Ch. 4, § 34, 2016
Ultimate Software's HR Compliance Assist team relies on a network of internal and external compliance experts and lawyers to provide clients with best practices and recommendations on topics such as HR document retention, employee data privacy, and HR electronic records. HR Compliance Assist also provides local compliance monitoring and alert services in select countries where Ultimate Software's customers have employees. HR Compliance Assist is a service exclusively available to Ultimate Software customers.
