The National Archives of Norway changed its name to the National Archives from January 1, 2026. The name change took place as a result of the new Archives Act that came into force at the turn of the year, adopted by the Norwegian Parliament as part of a major modernization of the archive sector.
According to the agency, the new name will make it clearer to the public what role the institution has. Terms such as Arkivverket, Riksarkivet, riksarkivaren and statsarkivene have previously been used in parallel, which over time has contributed to a lack of clarity about responsibilities and functions. With the name The National Archives, the activities are brought together more clearly under one common name that signals national responsibility for archives and documentation.
National Archivist Inga Bolstad says that the name change better describes the agency's social mission. The National Archives shall ensure that public authorities document their decisions and processes, so that citizens have access to information that is important for the rule of law, democracy and verifiability. At the same time, the archives must be preserved for the future as part of the collective memory.
As a result of the name change, the title of National Archivist was also changed to National Archivist. This happened in parallel with the National Archives formally becoming the National Archives. The change was planned to be implemented without major costs. Existing material will continue to be used, and new profiling will take place gradually.
The National Archives of Norway will continue to be responsible for the preservation and accessibility of archival material, as well as overseeing archival work in the public sector. The agency manages archives that are of great importance both for the rights of individuals and for society as a whole, including administration, research, genealogy and historical documentation.
The name change marks a desire to make the archive institution more understandable and visible to the public, and is intended to clarify its role as Norway's highest archival authority at a time when both digital and physical archives are becoming increasingly important.
The case is based on a press release from Arkivverket that can be read in its entirety here
