Norwegian IBAN Format (NO): Europe's Shortest IBAN Explained

The Norwegian IBAN is the shortest IBAN in Europe at just 15 characters. Norway is a SEPA member through its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA), but it retains the Norwegian krone (NOK) and is not part of the eurozone. The brevity of the Norwegian IBAN reflects Norway's compact domestic banking system, where the full account identifier fits in 11 digits after the 4-character IBAN prefix.

Norwegian IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: NO
• Total length: 15 characters (always — the shortest IBAN in Europe)
• Format: NOkk bbbb cccccc x
• BBAN length: 11 digits
• Character types: digits only after the country code

Norwegian IBAN Structure Explained

1. Country Code — NO (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Norway. Every Norwegian IBAN begins with NO.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits calculated using the MOD-97 algorithm. Standard across all IBANs.

3. Bank Code — bbbb (4 digits)

A 4-digit bank code identifying the Norwegian bank or bank group. Assigned by Finance Norway (Finans Norge). Examples:

• 8601 — DNB (Den Norske Bank)
• 1503 — SpareBank 1 SR-Bank
• 0404 — Nordea Bank Norway
• 9710 — Handelsbanken Norway

4. Account Number — cccccc (6 digits)

A 6-digit domestic account number identifying the individual account at that bank.

5. Check Digit — x (1 digit)

A single domestic check digit computed using a modulo-11 algorithm over the bank code and account number. This is a Norwegian-specific integrity check carried over from the legacy domestic account format (kontonummer). The check digit is the last character of the IBAN.

Norwegian IBAN Example Explained

NO93 8601 1117 947

• Country: NO
• Check digits: 93
• Bank code: 8601 (DNB)
• Account number: 111794
• Domestic check digit: 7

Second Example — SpareBank 1

NO42 1503 5002 0001 7

• Country: NO
• Check digits: 42
• Bank code: 1503 (SpareBank 1 SR-Bank)
• Account number: 500200
• Domestic check digit: 17 — Note: the last two digits together form the domestic check

How Norwegian IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code check: First two characters must be exactly NO.
2. Length check: Total character count (spaces removed) must be exactly 15. This is the shortest IBAN format globally — any string longer than 15 characters is not a Norwegian IBAN. Do not confuse with Danish IBANs (DK, 18 characters) or Swedish IBANs (SE, 24 characters).
3. Character type check: Positions 3–15 must all be decimal digits.
4. MOD-97 check: Standard modulo 97 computation. Result must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator recognizes Norwegian IBANs by their 15-character length and displays the bank code and account breakdown.

Common Norwegian IBAN Mistakes

Length Confusion — 11-Digit Kontonummer vs. 15-Character IBAN

The Norwegian domestic kontonummer is an 11-digit number in the format XXXX.YY.ZZZZZ (with dots). When displayed without dots it is 11 digits. This is the full domestic account number — not the IBAN. The IBAN prepends NO and check digits to give 15 characters total.

Currency Confusion for SEPA Payments

Like Sweden, SEPA Credit Transfers to Norway settle in euros. If the Norwegian account holds NOK, the receiving bank converts. For payments specifically in Norwegian krone, use a SWIFT wire.

Spaces in Electronic Transmission

Remove all spaces: NO9386011117947.

Norwegian IBAN and SEPA

Norway participates in SEPA through its EEA membership. Norwegian IBANs are accepted for SEPA Credit Transfers, but settlement is in euros. For NOK transactions and payments from outside SEPA, SWIFT is used. Look up any Norwegian bank's BIC using the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

Validating Norwegian IBANs in Bulk

Finance teams with Nordic payment lists can validate Norwegian IBANs alongside Swedish and Danish ones using the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload a CSV with up to 100 IBANs and receive per-row validation with bank code and error details.

Last updated: June 2026