User-directed personal assistance

If you are severely disabled or are under 67 years of age and have a significant, long-term need for practical and personal assistance in your daily life, you can apply for user-directed personal assistance.

Personal assistance includes practical help and training and a personal support contact. The right to relief services applies for people with parental responsibility for disabled children under the age of 18 who live at home.

Within the number of hours you have been allocated, you can generally control who you wish to have as a helper and what your helper(s) should do. The goal is for you to have the most active life possible, despite your disability.

• People with a complex and extensive need for services and who are able to supervise an assistant (take on the role of work supervisor)
• People who cannot perform this role themselves, such as people with mental impairments 
• Families with children who are physically disabled.

People who are unable to care for themselves or who are totally dependent on practical or personal assistance to manage their daily tasks.

Hjelpetilbud i kommunen
Patient and interpreter. A brochure about interpretation in the health services
Brukerstyrt personlig assistanse (rundskriv fra 2005)
Brukerstyrt personlig assistanse (rundskriv fra 2000)

This is a statutory service under the Health Care Act and the Patient Rights Act. See

Sections 3-2 and 3-8 of the Health Care Act

Sections 2-1a and 2-1d of the Patient Rights Act.

Forvaltningsloven
Helse- og omsorgstjenesteloven
Pasient- og brukerrettighetsloven

You can contact the municipality for assistance in applying for user-directed personal assistance, or you can ask others to help you if necessary. If someone else applies on your behalf, he or she must have authorisation.

You must provide authorization if someone else applies for you.

The municipality will obtain the information necessary for making a decision on the case. It will then come to a decision. You will normally receive an explanation together with the notification of the decision. You will always receive an explanation if there is a possibility that you will be dissatisfied with the decision. If an explanation is 

The municipality will process the case as soon as possible. If a decision cannot be reached on the case within one month, you will receive a written message stating the reason as to why. You will also be informed of when the decision is expected to be made.

If you are dissatisfied with the decision, you can appeal to the municipality within three weeks from the date on which you received it. Explain what you are dissatisfied with and why you believe the decision should be changed. If you need guidance, you can enquire with the municipality. If the municipality upholds its decision, the case will be passed on to the county governor, who will determine whether the appeal should be sustained..