Mechanic jobs in Norway: car, truck and construction-machinery workshops
- Skilled minimum
- 257.00 NOK/h
- Helper minimum
- 223.50 NOK/h
- Median (SSB)
- 290 NOK/h
- Legal minimum
- 223.50 NOK/h
- Arbeidstilsynet, verified · 2026-11-05
- Schedule
- Long-term, all year
- 37.5 h week · overtime at least +40 %
- Who can apply
- EU and EEA citizens
- no visa or work permit needed
Pay
What a mechanic earns in Norway
The minimum applies per hour and depends on whether you hold a trade certificate (fagarbeider) and how long you have worked in the trade. Overtime is paid at least 40 % on top, and holiday pay is at least 10.2 % of what you earned the year before.
What mechanics in Norway are actually paid sits above the minimum. Statistics Norway's figures for 2025 are in the second table; they describe people already employed in Norway, so read them as the level of the trade, not as an offer.
| Worker | NOK an hour |
|---|---|
| Skilled worker (fagarbeider), newly qualified | 249.00 |
| Skilled worker, after 1 year in the trade | 257.00 |
| Helper (hjelpearbeider), from age 18 | 223.50 |
| Helper, after 1 year in the trade | 228.00 |
| Occupation (SSB) | Lower quarter | Median | Upper quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car mechanics (bilmekanikere) | 250 | 290 | 325 |
| Construction-machinery and industrial mechanics | 278 | 312 | 353 |
Who it covers
Which mechanics the minimum wage covers
It covers employees in the car trade (bilbransjen): repair, servicing, maintenance, painting, panel beating and stock work. Biloverenskomsten counts car workshops, body and paint shops, forklift and tractor workshops and construction-machinery workshops as the car trade, so truck, bus and machinery mechanics in those workshops are covered as well.
It does not apply in businesses that mainly sell vehicles, replace windscreens or run petrol stations, to apprentices, or in a company that follows its own agreement with a union; that agreement then sets the pay. A building contractor that employs its own machine mechanic is not a car-trade workshop, so ask which agreement the contract names.
The same regulation makes the employer provide workwear and safety footwear, free of charge.
The work
Three mechanic jobs in Norwegian workshops
- bilmekaniker
Car mechanic
Servicing and fault finding on cars and vans with the manufacturer’s diagnostic tool, brakes, suspension, electrics, air conditioning and the two tyre changes a year. - tungbilmekaniker
Truck and bus mechanic
Lorries, trailers and buses: air brakes, hydraulics, engines and electrics, and preparing vehicles for the periodic roadworthiness test (EU-kontroll). The vehicles run all winter, so the workshop does too. - anleggsmaskinmekaniker
Construction-machinery mechanic
Excavators, wheel loaders and dumpers: hydraulics, engines, electrics and undercarriage. Much of the work is field service from a service van on the site, outdoors.
Northern Norway
What workshop work is like in the north
In Nordland, Troms and Finnmark studded tyres may go on from mid-October and must come off by the end of April, two weeks earlier in autumn than in the rest of Norway (Statens vegvesen). A car workshop in the north has two tyre-change rushes a year, and the weeks around them are long days.
Road salt, slush and gravel are hard on brakes, springs and exhaust systems, so winter brings a steady flow of repairs rather than a quiet season. Machinery and heavy-vehicle mechanics work in the cold and the dark months, often outside, so warm workwear matters as much as tools.
Papers
What a Norwegian workshop asks for
Trade certificate (fagbrev)
Workshops ask for the bilmekaniker or anleggsmaskinmekaniker trade certificate, or for years in the trade they can check. NOKUT can recognise foreign vocational training as the Norwegian bilmekaniker trade for light and heavy vehicles, but the employer still decides.Driving licence
An EU or EEA driving licence is valid in Norway. A test drive needs the class of the vehicle, so a C or CE licence matters for a truck and bus mechanic.References and photos of your work
Send references from workshops you worked in and the makes and machines you know. I pass them to the workshop with your application.Language
Some workshops work in Norwegian, some in English. Tell me honestly how much of either you speak; I tell you what the workshop expects before the interview.
Questions
Mechanic jobs in Norway: questions
Is there a minimum wage for mechanics in Norway?
Yes, in the car trade. From 6 November 2026 a skilled mechanic earns at least 249.00 NOK an hour when newly qualified and 257.00 NOK after one year in the trade; a helper earns at least 223.50 NOK, and 228.00 NOK after one year. The rates come from the regulation on Biloverenskomsten (FOR-2026-10-22-2237).
How much does a car mechanic earn in Norway?
Statistics Norway puts the median agreed pay of full-time car mechanics in 2025 at about 290 NOK an hour, with the middle half between 250 and 325 NOK. Overtime, at least 40 % extra, comes on top. These are figures for people employed in Norway, not an offer.
Does the minimum wage cover truck and construction-machinery mechanics?
Yes, when they work in a car-trade workshop: Biloverenskomsten counts car, forklift, tractor and construction-machinery workshops as the car trade, so truck, bus and machinery mechanics there are covered. A mechanic employed by a building contractor or by a company with its own union agreement is paid under that agreement instead.
Do I need a Norwegian trade certificate to work as a mechanic?
Not by law for most mechanic jobs. The workshop decides whether your certificate and years in the trade are enough. NOKUT can recognise foreign vocational training as the Norwegian bilmekaniker trade, which helps where a workshop asks for a fagbrev.
Who pays for workwear and safety boots?
The employer. The regulation on the car trade requires the workshop to provide the workwear and safety footwear the work needs under health and safety rules, free of charge. You do not buy them yourself or have them deducted from your pay.
Can I test-drive customers’ vehicles on my own licence?
An EU or EEA driving licence is valid in Norway, so yes, as long as it covers the class of the vehicle. A truck or bus test drive needs a C or D class licence.
Sources
Where the figures come from
- Lovdata: FOR-2026-10-22-2237, forskrift om delvis allmenngjøring av biloverenskomsten
- Arbeidstilsynet: minimum wage in the automotive industry
- Statistics Norway (SSB): table 11418, monthly earnings by occupation
- Fellesforbundet: Biloverenskomsten 2024-2026, § 1.1 scope
- Statens vegvesen: winter tyres and studded tyre periods
- utdanning.no: recognition of foreign upper secondary and vocational education
What happens after you apply
A chat with TANA
Our own AI, TANA, may start the conversation. It asks about your trade and the work you are after.
We read it and get in touch
Our team goes through your application and the chat. If a job fits, we contact you personally. If we do not get in touch right away, you stay on file and we may write a month or two later.
We put you forward
Your profile goes to the Norwegian employer and we set up the call.
Contract and travel
Your contract is with the Norwegian employer. We meet you in Norway and take you to your place.
Every application gets an answer within a month.
Apply
Send your application
Write which vehicles or machines you work on, how many years, and which certificates and licence classes you hold. I read every application and answer it.