Brønnøysund Register (Norway) API

Free Brønnøysund Register Centre API with no key: search every Norwegian company by name or organisation number, with address, industry code, employees and name history.

No API key requiredCORS enabledHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 2026-08-21

What is the Brønnøysund Register (Norway) API?

The Brønnøysund Register Centre publishes Norway's Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities as a free JSON API with no key. Search by name or organisation number to get legal form, address, industry code and registration history.

Norway made its company register properly open, and this API is the result: every registered entity, searchable by name, organisation number, industry code, postcode or legal form, with no key and no quota. The nine-digit organisation number is the stable key and is worth storing in preference to a name, which can and does change.

The `historiskeNavn` array is the feature that distinguishes this from a simple lookup. It records every previous registered name with the exact timestamps it was in force — Equinor's record still carries Den norske stats oljeselskap, Statoil and StatoilHydro with their date ranges. That turns a rename from a data-quality problem into queryable history, and it is why matching historical documents against this register works where matching against a current-names-only source does not.

Quick facts

Base URL: https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api
Authentication: No key or registration. Published as Norwegian open government data.
Rate limit: No documented limit for reasonable use. Bulk downloads are offered separately for large extractions.
Pricing: Free.
CORS: Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
Official docs: Read the docs

How to use the Brønnøysund Register (Norway) API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 2026-08-21, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. Search the Norwegian company register for Equinor

GET https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api/enheter?navn=equinor&size=1

curl

curl 'https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api/enheter?navn=equinor&size=1'

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api/enheter?navn=equinor&size=1");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.get("https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api/enheter?navn=equinor&size=1", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200 (truncated)

{
  "_embedded": {
    "enheter": [
      {
        "organisasjonsnummer": "923609016",
        "navn": "EQUINOR ASA",
        "organisasjonsform": {
          "kode": "ASA",
          "beskrivelse": "Allmennaksjeselskap",
          "_links": {
            "self": {
              "href": "https://data.brreg.no/enhetsregisteret/api/organisasjonsformer/ASA"
            }
          }
        },
        "historiskeNavn": [
          {
            "navn": "Den norske stats oljeselskap a.s",
            "fraDato": "1995-03-12 16:23:00",
            "tilDato": "2001-05-11 08:32:09"
          },
          {
            "navn": "STATOIL ASA",
            "fraDato": "2001-05-11 08:32:09",
            "tilDato": "2007-10-01 06:44:33"
          },
          {
            "navn": "STATOILHYDRO ASA",
            "fraDato": "2007-10-01 06:44:33",
            "tilDato": "2009-11-02 07:56:24"
          },
          {
            "navn": "STATOIL ASA",
            "fraDato": "2009-11-02 07:56:24",
            "tilDato": "2018-05-16 07:05:45"
          }
        ],
        "hjemmeside": "www.equinor.com",
        "postadresse": {
          "land": "Norge",
          "landkode": "NO",
          "postnummer": "4035",
          "poststed": "STAVANGER",
          "adresse": [
            "Postboks 8500"
          ],
          "kommune": "STAVANGER",
          "kommunenummer": "1103"
        },
        "registreringsdatoEnhetsregisteret": "1995-03-12",
        "registrertIMvaregisteret": true,
        "frivilligMvaRegistrertBeskrivelser": [
          "Utleier av bygg eller anlegg"
        ],

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`navn`	query	Optional	Free-text search on the entity name. `equinor`
`organisasjonsnummer`	query	Optional	Exact nine-digit organisation number. `923609016`
`size / page`	query	Optional	Page size and zero-based page number. `1`
`naeringskode`	query	Optional	Filter by NACE industry code. `06.100`
`/enheter/{orgnr}`	path	Optional	Fetch a single entity directly by organisation number. `923609016`
`/underenheter`	path	Optional	Sibling collection covering sub-entities such as branches and sites.

Response fields

_embedded.enheter[]array: Matching entities. HAL-style embedding, so the list is nested rather than at the top level.
organisasjonsnummerstring: Nine-digit organisation number — the stable key for a Norwegian entity.
navnstring: Current registered name.
organisasjonsform.kode / beskrivelsestring: Legal form code such as `ASA`, with its Norwegian description.
historiskeNavn[]array: Every previous name with `fraDato` and `tilDato` timestamps marking when it was in force.
naeringskode1object: Primary NACE industry classification with code and description.
forretningsadresse / postadresseobject: Business and postal addresses, structured with municipality and country.
antallAnsatteinteger: Registered employee count.
konkurs / underAvviklingboolean: Bankruptcy and liquidation flags.
pageobject: Paging metadata — total elements, total pages and current page number.

What you can build with the Brønnøysund Register (Norway) API

Validate a Norwegian organisation number during customer onboarding
Autocomplete a company name field from the official register
Match historical contracts to a company through its former names
Filter companies by NACE industry code for market research

Common errors and how to fix them

Empty `_embedded`

No entity matched the search.

Fix: Free-text name search is fuzzy but not forgiving of typos. Try the organisation number if you have it.

404 on a direct lookup

The organisation number does not exist or has been deleted.

Fix: Numbers are nine digits with no spaces. Deleted entities return 404 rather than a tombstone record.

Results look truncated

The default page size is small.

Fix: Set `size` explicitly and follow the `page` metadata; the API pages rather than returning everything.

Brønnøysund Register (Norway) API — frequently asked questions

Is the Norwegian company register API free?

Yes. The Brønnøysund Register Centre publishes it as open government data with no key, no registration and no documented quota for reasonable use.

What is an organisation number?

A nine-digit identifier assigned to every registered Norwegian entity. It is stable across renames and is the right field to store as a foreign key.

Can I see a company's former names?

Yes. The `historiskeNavn` array records every previous registered name with the exact dates it was in force, which makes matching older documents to a current entity straightforward.

What is the difference between enheter and underenheter?

`enheter` are main legal entities and `underenheter` are their sub-entities — branches, sites and business units. A company with many locations appears once in the former and many times in the latter.

Tools that pair with this API

JSON Formatter

Format, beautify and minify JSON online with 2-space, 4-space or tab indentation. Sort keys alphabetically and catch syntax errors instantly — free and private.

CSV to JSON Converter

Convert CSV to a JSON array of objects online. Header-row detection, comma/semicolon/tab delimiters and pretty-printed output — 100% in your browser.

JSON Path Finder

Evaluate a dot/bracket path against your JSON and list every leaf path for discovery. Free online JSON path finder that runs 100% in your browser.

Brønnøysund Register (Norway) is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 2026-08-21; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.