Nordland fylkeskommune

Twenty of the twenty-three county ferries are free

The Norwegian government decided that ferries carrying fewer than 100,000 passengers a year, serving islands and communities with no road connection to the mainland, should be free to the public. Nordland applied it from 16 August 2023, and it covers 20 of the county's 23 connections — including Forøy–Ågskardet, Jektvik–Kilboghamn, Horn–Andalsvåg, Sandnessjøen–Dønna–Løkta, Søvik–Austbø–Herøy–Brasøy, Svolvær–Skrova–Skutvik, Stokkvågen–Træna and Ørnes–Vassdalsvik–Meløysund–Bolga.

Three are deliberately excluded, because they do not serve road-less communities. Fiskebøl–Melbu, Nesna–Levang and Vennesund–Holm charge reduced fares instead. If you are crossing Vestfjorden between Lofoten and Vesterålen at Fiskebøl–Melbu, you are on one of the three exceptions.

Several crossings here are the state's, not the county's

Nordland publishes this list itself, on the same page as the free-ferry rules. These connections are statlige fergesamband — administered nationally rather than by the county — and their pricing does not follow the county's free-ferry scheme:

• Paid: Bodø–Moskenes, Bognes–Lødingen, Bognes–Skarberget, Drag–Kjøpsvik
• Free: Bodø–Røst, Bodø–Værøy, Moskenes–Røst, Moskenes–Værøy, Værøy–Røst

The practical upshot for anyone driving north: the long Bodø–Moskenes crossing into Lofoten is a paying route, as is the E6 crossing at Bognes–Skarberget, but the onward hops to Værøy and Røst are not.

Summer 2026: vehicles pay for six trips, then stop paying

From 1 May to 31 August 2026 Nordland has introduced a summer tariff on the connections that are otherwise free. Passengers still travel free — this applies to vehicles only. A vehicle pays for its first six crossings on a given connection, and from the seventh crossing on that same connection it travels free for the rest of the summer. The count runs per connection and across the whole period, so six trips in June means free passage on that route through August. From 1 September the connections are free again.

The catch is that the counter only works if the trips are registered, and that requires an active agreement: AutoPASS ferge prepaid, an AutoPASS agreement through a tag issuer, or FerryPay. Journeys paid for on board are not counted at all. The discounts on those first six crossings differ sharply too — 40 or 50 percent with an AutoPASS prepaid agreement, 10 percent through a tag issuer, and none at all with FerryPay.

No ticket, no booking — a camera tells you about the queue

You do not buy a ticket before travelling. Payment happens automatically by number-plate recognition as you drive aboard; there is nothing to stop for and nothing to reserve. What governs boarding is the queue on the quay. Fares are set by vehicle length group, with trailers and caravans added on. Vehicles without a registration plate — agricultural machinery, wheel loaders and similar — can register with FerryPay for a QR code or pay by card on board.

For the 2026 season the county has been fitting real-time cameras at twelve ferry quays on Helgeland, along county road 17 and on the Herøy and Dønna connections, with Sandnessjøen and Søvik among the first in service. The images feed into Statens vegvesen's map service at 175.no, so you can check whether there is a wait before you commit to the drive. On the busiest connections the county also deploys queue hosts to direct traffic, and notes that on the shorter crossings, waiting cars will usually fit on the next departure.