§ 18. The confirmation you should receive after your purchase
After you have bought something online or by other means of distance communication, you are entitled to a written confirmation on a durable medium (varig medium) — typically an email. It must arrive within a reasonable time, and no later than when the goods are delivered or the service starts. The confirmation must contain all the information from § 8 if you have not received it before.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
The trader (næringsdrivende) shall, within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the contract, and at the latest at the time of delivery of the goods or before the performance of the service begins, provide the consumer (forbruker) with written confirmation of the concluded contract on a durable medium.
The confirmation shall contain the information referred to in § 8 first paragraph, if this has not previously been provided to the consumer on a durable medium, and information that the consumer has given such consent as referred to in § 22 letter n.
What does this mean?
§ 18 ensures that you, as the buyer, are left with written documentation of what you have actually bought and which terms apply.
What is a valid confirmation? It must be on a "durable medium" — typically email, PDF, SMS or a paper letter. A message on "my page" that the seller can change later is not enough. You must be able to save the confirmation and view it in unchanged form later.
When should it arrive? Within a reasonable time after the contract was concluded, and no later than when the goods are delivered or before the service begins. For goods, this means the email must be in your inbox no later than when the postman rings the doorbell. For a subscription (abonnement) or a service, you must have the confirmation before the first delivery.
What should the confirmation contain? All the information from § 8 — price, right of withdrawal (angrerett), return costs (returkostnader), the seller's contact information and the rest — if you have not received this earlier on a durable medium.
In practice, this means: if the online shop only had all the information on the website during the order, the confirmation email must repeat everything. If the online shop sent a PDF with complete information during the order, the confirmation email can refer to it.
Specifically for digital content (digitalt innhold) (§ 22 letter n): If you have consented to immediate download and thereby waived the right of withdrawal, the confirmation must show this clearly. You should never "lose" the right of withdrawal without being reminded of it in writing.
Examples
Tom buys a book from a Norwegian online shop. A few seconds after he has clicked "Order and pay", he receives an email: an order confirmation (ordrebekreftelse) with order ID, price, estimated delivery, return terms, withdrawal form (angreskjema), and the seller's full contact information. This satisfies § 18. The email is a durable medium, arrives within a reasonable time, and contains all the information Tom is entitled to. He can save it and use it as documentation in any dispute.
Ingrid signs up for a subscription to a streaming service. She receives an email that only says "Welcome! Log in to our website to see the terms." The terms on the website change regularly. This does not satisfy § 18. The confirmation must contain all the information in § 8 on a durable medium — or refer to a specific version of the terms that is locked in time. A link to a website that the seller can change is not a "durable medium". Ingrid can complain and demand that a correct confirmation is sent.
Common mistakes
- You delete the confirmation email. It is your documentation. Keep it for at least the withdrawal period (angrefrist) — and preferably for the entire complaint period (2-5 years).
- You think "my page" is the confirmation. It is not. The seller can change the content there. You must have an unchanged copy that you control yourself.
- You think the order confirmation is the same as the invoice. An order confirmation must arrive before or at delivery. The invoice can come later. § 18 is about the confirmation, not the invoice.
What should you do?
If you do not receive a written confirmation by the time of delivery, the seller has breached § 18 — and thereby their duty to provide information (opplysningsplikt) under §§ 8 to 16. This can extend your withdrawal period to 12 months under § 21 third paragraph.
After every online purchase:
- Check your inbox for a confirmation email (including the spam folder)
- Save the email in a separate folder or star it
- Check that all key information is included: order ID, price, delivery date, right of withdrawal information, contact information
- If the confirmation is missing or incomplete, contact the seller and demand a complete confirmation