Driving and rest time when touring

Taken from the column Ask the lawyers / Yrkestafrikk issue 5 in 202 5

Question:
I work as a bus driver, and occasionally get tour assignments with a tour bus. This can involve driving to school, swimming pools, etc. I have driven without a driver's license, and was made aware that this may be illegal. Is that correct? These are short trips.

Answer:
It is true that you must use a driver's license when performing travel assignments. The driving and rest time regulations apply to all passenger transport for remuneration, regardless of whether it is scheduled or not. Exceptions apply to:
• pure volunteer work without any form of payment or reward, or by
• fixed routes of less than 5 miles

Please note that if you first drive a trip subject to driving and rest periods in between, you are obliged to register the regular bus driving as "other work". As a driver, you must register what you have done in the last 56 days before each trip assignment. This can be registered directly in the tachograph, or optionally manually on a printout or chart disc. If you are in doubt about how to do this, you must contact your employer and/or the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

Failure to register other work and/or failure to use a driver's card may result in sanctions such as a fine or penalty, and in more serious cases, loss of driving privileges and, in the extreme case, conditional or unconditional imprisonment.