An ansvarlig selskap (literally, "liable company") is a Norwegian company model, mainly used in small-to-medium businesses, in which the company's individual owners are held personally liable for any outstanding debts acquired by the company. It is similar to a partnership.
If one participant is unable to pay his or her share of the debt it can be collected in full from the other participants. It is usually abbreviated ANS when used in company names, however the abbreviation DA is also used. However, a DA, or ANS med Delt Ansvar, translates into "RC with shared liability". In this form, each of the participants can only be held liable for as high a percentage of debts as outlined in a predetermined founding contract. A third form of the ANS is the enkeltmannsforetak, which, despite its name "single-person business", can still employ a given number of workers. The name comes from that there can only be one actual owner responsible for the company, and despite the option to employ a workforce, most businesses of this model only employ its owner. Conversely, the ANS model can have one or several liable owners, while the DA can have two and more. The Enkeltmannsforetak model is particularly practical for freelancers, independents and other self-employed workgroups.