Black or white cleaning? How to check if your cleaner is legal
Check that the cleaning company is listed as approved in the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority's Renholdsregisteret (Cleaning Register), demand that the cleaner has a valid HMS card, and be skeptical of hourly rates below NOK 236.54/hour – the generalized minimum wage for cleaners in 2026. It is illegal to purchase cleaning services from an unregistered business. If the search takes two minutes, you avoid undeclared work in your home.
What is the Renholdsregisteret, and why does it exist?
The cleaning industry was long notorious for undeclared work and social dumping. Therefore, the authorities established a public register with the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority: all businesses selling cleaning services must apply for approval and be listed there.
The register is not a voluntary quality mark. It is a legal requirement. An approved business must, among other things, have an agreement with an occupational health service (BHT), have occupational injury insurance in place, and equip employees with HMS cards. If the company is listed as approved, someone has actually checked that the basic requirements are met.
The most important thing for you as a private individual: it is illegal to purchase cleaning services from a business that is not approved and listed. The responsibility does not only lie with the seller – you, as the buyer, are also obliged to check. It sounds strict, but the point is simple: when no one wants to buy undeclared services, it doesn't pay to sell them.
How do you look up a cleaning company?
You don't need a login or specialized knowledge. Here's how:
- Go to the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority's Renholdsregisteret (search "renholdsregisteret arbeidstilsynet").
- Enter the company name or organization number. You can find the organization number on their quote, invoice, or website.
- Check that the business is listed with the status approved.
- Verify that the name and organization number match the entity you are actually paying.
If you get no hits, or if the company is listed as "under processing" or "not approved," you should stop there. An unserious company hopes you never do this search. A serious company will often provide the link themselves.
What is an HMS card, and why should you ask to see it?
The HMS card is a personal ID card that cleaners are required to carry at work. It shows name, photo, employer, and organization number, and it links the person in your home to a registered business.
Ask to see the card the first time someone comes. It takes five seconds, and it tells you two things: that the person works for a real company, and that the company follows the rules. If the cleaner completely lacks an HMS card, they are likely working undeclared – regardless of what is on the invoice.
What is a legal hourly wage – and when should the price alarm you?
Cleaning is a generalized industry. This means that the minimum wage is set by regulation and applies to everyone, including foreign and temporary workers. For adult cleaners, the minimum wage is NOK 236.54/hour (2025/2026). The rate is revised annually, usually in June, so the actual floor may be slightly higher when you read this.
Then add employer's national insurance contributions, holiday pay, pension, insurance, equipment, and a small profit. Then you understand why serious cleaning help through an agency normally costs around NOK 450–550/hour. Prices vary between cities and providers, but the logic holds.
| Offered hourly rate | What it actually means |
|---|---|
| Under ~NOK 237/hour | Impossible to pay legal wages – clear warning sign |
| ~NOK 250–400/hour | Suspiciously low; ask how the number adds up |
| ~NOK 450–550/hour | Normal level for a serious agency with everything included |
| Over ~NOK 600/hour | Common in central areas or for special assignments |
If you receive an offer of "NOK 300 an hour, all inclusive," the math is impossible. Either someone is being paid below the collective agreement, or taxes are not being paid. Both are your problem the day something goes wrong.
Are there tax deductions for cleaning services?
No. There is no separate tax deduction for private cleaning services in Norway in 2026. You cannot deduct the cost from your taxes, and a lower price does not become legal because someone calls it a "deduction." If a seller promises you a tax deduction for cleaning, it is either ignorance or an attempt to sugarcoat an undeclared offer. Treat it as a warning sign.
What do you risk with undeclared cleaning?
It feels cheap at the time. The bill comes later, and it can be large.
- Insurance. If the cleaner breaks an heirloom or scratches the parquet floor, an undeclared agreement covers nothing. A registered business has liability insurance.
- Personal injury. If someone falls on your stairs while working undeclared, you could end up with the responsibility. Only a real company has the occupational injury insurance that protects you.
- No guarantee. If you are dissatisfied with the job, you have no right to complain without a proper agreement. You have paid cash to someone without a receipt.
- Co-responsibility. As a buyer of undeclared cleaning, you can be held co-responsible. You saved a few hundred kroner and bought yourself a risk.
A serious company reverses this: you get a written agreement, an invoice, insurance as a foundation, and a guarantee that the job will be redone if it's not up to standard.
How to check that the cleaner is serious
Use this checklist before you sign or let anyone in:
- Look up the company in the Renholdsregisteret and see that the status is approved.
- Ask for an HMS card the first time the cleaner shows up.
- Verify the organization number – the same number on the quote, invoice, and in the register.
- React to low prices. Below ~NOK 450/hour for agency help, you should ask how it adds up legally.
- Demand a written agreement and invoice. Never just cash without a receipt.
- Check that insurance exists – liability and occupational injury insurance.
- Ignore promises of tax deductions. They do not exist for private cleaning services in 2026.
- Ask about quality standards. Serious providers are familiar with NS-INSTA 800 and can document their routines; an Svanemerket (Nordic Swan Ecolabel) also requires ≥90% eco-labeled products and collective agreement wages.
The entire check takes less than ten minutes. It's cheap insurance against an expensive problem.
Declared work pays off
The difference between undeclared and declared cleaning is not just the price. It's whether you have someone to hold accountable when something goes wrong, whether the person in your home is insured, and whether you sleep well at night. An offer that seems too good to be true usually is.
If you want to compare real prices, see what move-out cleaning costs and what office cleaning costs. If you want to know how to choose the right company, read our guide on choosing a cleaning provider. At Vaskeladden, we are approved in the Renholdsregisteret, pay collective agreement wages, and provide a written agreement for everything we do – in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Stavanger.
