Contracts and the Fine Print

Norwegians are notoriously allergic to overly verbose contracts and extensive legal agreements. I learned this the hard way over my years of doing business here.

My Initial Mistake

Upon arrival here I started by using the same type of legal documents I was accustomed to at home in America. These, I soon found out, were incredibly offensive to Norwegians.

In general they feel like too much fine print shows a lack of trust. Since trust is the key pillar to Norwegian business, too much fine print is thought to erode that trust. This is also because legal English or legalese is difficult to understand even for native English speakers.

"I'll get back to you soon on this. It may take me some time to digest the 'fine print' here" — he passively aggressively replied in email.

Trust as Foundation

The contract, especially by American standards, was rather light. It included two pages of the terms of our arrangement but also another two pages of the terms and conditions. None of these terms would have been considered offensive in most other international business dealings but things are a little different in Norway.

Since business is done on the basis of trust here, it's not recommended to over burden your business partners with extensive fine print. To do so can start your relationship off without this foundation of trust.

Digital Signatures Accepted

In Norway, it's usually not required for a contract to be signed in person. As a fairly tech savvy population digital signatures are widely accepted. I have also received contracts that don't even require a signature—it's more of a statement of work between two parties.