Landowner Rights

In Norway the landowner has the exclusive right to hunt and trap on their land. This page explains what the law says about who holds the hunting right, how it can be passed to others, and where other rules apply.

The Wildlife Resources Act (viltressursloven) replaced the Wildlife Act (viltloven) on 1 July 2026. The sections on this page refer to the new act, and the links go to the Norwegian text on Lovdata.

In short

  • The hunting right belongs to the landowner (Wildlife Resources Act § 33).
  • The landowner can give the hunting right to others, but not for more than ten years at a time (§ 35).
  • Moose, red deer and roe deer require a felling permit from the municipality. It is given to an approved vald, not to the individual hunter (§ 42).
  • The right to roam lets you walk in the outfield, but gives no right to hunt (Outdoor Recreation Act § 2).
  • Hunting on someone else's land without the right is a criminal offence (§ 60).

Who holds the hunting right where?

Who holds the hunting right where? The numbers are explained below.
  1. The farm. The landowner hunts. The hunting right belongs to the land.
  2. The hunting team. The landowner has given the hunting right to a hunting team, for at most ten years at a time.
  3. The vald. Three properties have joined to reach the minimum area. The municipality gives the felling permit to the vald.
  4. The road. The road is the boundary between two properties. If neither landowner owns the road, both may hunt on it.
  5. The lake. The hunting right reaches as far as the property does, out on the water too.
  6. The fjord. Beyond the dry land, the public may hunt, within the rules that otherwise apply.
  7. The footpath. Anyone may walk here, but nobody may carry a loaded gun where they have no hunting right.
  8. The state common. The mountain board manages the hunting, and small game hunting is open to everyone resident in Norway.

Exclusive, but within the law

The main rule is in Wildlife Resources Act § 33:

Grunneieren har enerett til jakt og fangst på sin grunn med de innskrenkningene som er fastsatt i eller i medhold av denne loven.

Viltressursloven § 33

In English: the landowner has the exclusive right to hunt and trap on their land, with the limits set in or under the act. Nobody else may hunt or trap on the property without the landowner's consent. The right does not let the landowner hunt freely. The landowner is bound by the same rules as every other hunter:

  • Hunting is only allowed for the species and periods the hunting season regulations open (§ 10).
  • Moose, red deer, roe deer and wild reindeer require a felling permit (§ 42).
  • Anyone who hunts must have passed the hunter's exam, be registered in the Hunter Register and have paid the hunting fee (§ 14, § 15 and § 16).

The landowner also has the exclusive right to collect bird eggs and down on the property (§ 41).

How far the hunting right reaches

§ 34 sets the boundary where the property meets water, the sea and roads:

  • Rivers and lakes. The hunting right reaches as far as the property does.
  • Sea and fjord. The hunting right reaches as far as the land is dry at any given time. Beyond that, the public may hunt, within the limits that otherwise apply. The same goes for shoals and skerries covered at ordinary high tide, unless the right has belonged to a property since old times.
  • Roads. Owning a road gives no hunting right on it unless you also own the land next to it. If you own the land on both sides of a road, you hold the hunting right on the road even if someone else owns it. If a road runs along the boundary between two properties and neither landowner owns it, both may hunt on it.
  • Railways, pipelines and power line corridors follow the same rule as roads.

When others hunt on the property

The landowner can hunt, let family and friends hunt, or make an agreement with a hunting team, an association or individual hunters. No permit from the authorities is needed to offer hunting. § 35 sets the frame:

  • Ten years at most. The hunting right cannot be separated from the property for more than ten years at a time. A longer arrangement has to be agreed again.
  • The user gets the hunting right. If the landowner lets someone else use the property, such as a tenant farmer, the hunting right follows unless something else is agreed. This does not apply to renting farmland without a house.
  • Subletting needs consent. Whoever has been given the hunting right cannot pass it on without the landowner's consent.
  • The hunting fee is your responsibility. Whoever makes hunting available to others must make sure the hunter has paid the hunting fee, and is responsible for it. A breach is a criminal offence (§ 60).
  • Damage to the user. If the landowner gives the hunting right to someone other than the person using the land, the landowner is also liable for damage the hunting causes the user.

If the land consolidation court has decided otherwise in a land consolidation, that decision applies. Hunters must carry proof of the paid hunting fee, and the landowner or someone acting for the landowner may ask to see it (§ 16).

Moose, red deer and roe deer: the vald

Hunting moose, red deer and roe deer is only allowed where the municipality has opened it by regulation, and it requires a felling permit from the municipality (§ 42). The number of animals is calculated from a minimum area the municipality sets. The details are in the regulation on the management of deer, which still applies under the new act.

  • The permit goes to the vald. The municipality gives felling permits to approved valds, and they apply inside the vald (deer regulation § 18). Individual hunters do not get a permit directly.
  • Small properties join up. A vald must be one connected area with at least as much counted area as the minimum area (§ 9). Counted area is, as a rule, forest and bog below the tree line (§ 8).
  • Apply by 1 May. The application to approve a vald goes to the municipality with a map, a list of the properties and a signature from each one (§ 10). The holders of the hunting right appoint a vald representative who deals with the municipality.
  • Leave by 1 April. A property that wants out of the vald must give written notice to the vald representative, with a copy to the municipality (§ 11).
  • Wild reindeer require a felling permit from the wild reindeer board (Wildlife Resources Act § 42).

When a landowner offers deer hunting, the agreement should say how many of the vald's animals are included. The municipality also charges a felling fee for each moose and red deer taken (Wildlife Resources Act § 9, regulation on wildlife funds and felling fees § 6). It goes to the municipal wildlife fund and is not the same as a harvest fee agreed between landowner and hunter.

What the law says, and does not say, about the relationship between landowners and hunters in a vald is covered in Hunting districts and bylaws.

Jointly owned land

When several properties own an area together, the exclusive right applies to the joint ownership (§ 36). If it is unclear who the landowners are, because the right to forest, grazing, mowing or land belongs to several properties, all of those properties have a hunting right. Only one person may then hunt at a time for each property, unless an agreement or another legal basis says otherwise.

Commons and state land

Some areas have their own rules on who may hunt:

  • State commons (statsallmenning). The mountain board (fjellstyret) manages the hunting under the Mountain Act (fjellova). Everyone who has been permanently resident in Norway for the past year has an equal right to hunt small game without a dog (Mountain Act § 23). The board decides on hunting with dogs and trapping, and may limit the number of hunters. Hunting requires a hunting card and a fee (§ 25).
  • Other state land. On state land that is not a state common, small game hunting is allowed for Norwegian citizens and anyone resident in Norway for the past year, against a hunting card and a fee (Wildlife Resources Act § 37).
  • The Finnmark Estate. People living in Finnmark have the right to hunt big and small game on the Finnmark Estate's land (Finnmark Act § 23). Others have access to small game hunting there (§ 25), within the rules that apply.

The right to roam is not a right to hunt

Anyone may walk in the outfield all year (Outdoor Recreation Act § 2). That gives no right to hunt. Nor may you carry a gun or traps on land where you have no hunting right. The exception is when you need to pass through to get to or from a place where you may hunt lawfully, and then the gun must be unloaded (Wildlife Resources Act § 39). It is also forbidden to deliberately drive game away from other people's hunting grounds (§ 40).

Tracking onto the neighbour's land

If you wound big game, you may follow and take the animal on land where others hold the hunting right (§ 23). You must be able to show the pursuit is lawful. The right lasts until the end of the day the animal entered the neighbour's land, unless the municipality extends it. You must tell the landowner and the municipality as soon as possible about the search and how it ended.

You may not shoot in someone else's garden or farmyard, and you must pay for any damage you cause. The landowner may not hunt the animal, but may put it down on your behalf when animal welfare requires it. Read more in Wounded game tracking obligations.

Hunting without the right

Anyone who intentionally or negligently breaches the landowner's exclusive right is punished with a fine, and attempts are punishable too (§ 60). Carrying a gun where you have no hunting right, or driving game away from other people's hunting grounds, can lead to a fine or up to one year in prison.

The hunting agreement

The law does not require the agreement to be in writing, but a written agreement makes things simple for both sides. It should cover:

  • the area, ideally with a map, and how long the agreement lasts (ten years at most)
  • which species are included, and for deer how many of the vald's animals
  • how many may hunt, and whether they may bring guests
  • price, and any harvest fee per animal
  • use of dogs, motorised transport and use of a cabin
  • who checks that the hunters have paid the hunting fee
  • reporting of animals taken and seen
  • termination, and what happens if the agreement is broken

What the agreement should say in detail, and how animals taken are settled, is covered in Hunting leases and settlement.

Landowners, associations and others with hunting rights can offer hunting on Hunta and reach hunters across the country.

Sources

This page is an overview, not legal advice. Where in doubt, the text of the law applies. Checked against Lovdata on 3 November 2026.