Utstedelsen følger identitetskontrollen.

Utstedelsen means the issuance or the issuing.

The ending -en is the definite article attached to the noun. In Norwegian, instead of usually saying a separate word for the, you often add it to the end of the noun.

• utstedelse = issuance / issuing
• utstedelsen = the issuance

So this is not just issuance follows..., but specifically the issuance follows....

Here, følger means follows, in the sense of comes after or takes place after.

So in this sentence, it does not mean physically walking behind someone. It means that one step in a process happens after another.

• føl­ge = to follow
• følger = follows / is following

In this context, a natural English interpretation is:

• The issuance follows the identity check
• or more naturally, The issuance comes after the identity check

Identitetskontrollen is a compound noun:

• identitet = identity
• kontroll = check / control / inspection

Together, identitetskontroll means identity check or identity verification.

Then the ending -en makes it definite:

• identitetskontroll = identity check
• identitetskontrollen = the identity check

So identitetskontrollen means the identity check.

Both nouns are definite because the sentence is talking about specific steps in a known procedure.

• utstedelsen = the issuance
• identitetskontrollen = the identity check

This is very common in formal or administrative Norwegian. If you are describing a standard process, Norwegian often uses the definite form for the steps in that process.

So the sentence sounds like it refers to a specific sequence:

1. the identity check
2. the issuance

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun rather than appearing as a separate word before it.

Compare:

• en kontroll = a check

• kontrollen = the check

• en utstedelse = an issuance
• utstedelsen = the issuance

That is why you do not see a separate word corresponding to English the.

Yes, the word order is completely normal.

The sentence follows the standard Norwegian pattern:

subject + verb + object

• Utstedelsen = subject
• følger = verb
• identitetskontrollen = object

So literally:

The issuance follows the identity check.

This is the most straightforward word order for a simple statement.

Yes, absolutely.

A direct translation is:

• The issuance follows the identity check

But in more natural English, especially in procedural or administrative language, you might say:

• The issuance comes after the identity check
• Issuance takes place after the identity check

So follows is correct, but comes after may sound more natural in some contexts.

It is common in formal, legal, bureaucratic, and administrative contexts, but not especially casual or everyday.

You often see it in contexts like:

• passports
• IDs
• permits
• certificates
• official documents

It refers to the act of issuing something officially.

In everyday speech, people might sometimes use a more specific or less abstract phrasing depending on the context.

That s is a linking element often used in Norwegian compound nouns.

• identitet
  • kontroll
• becomes identitetskontroll

This s does not mean possession here. It just helps connect the two parts of the compound in a natural-sounding way.

This is common in Norwegian compounds, though not every compound uses it.

It has a formal, official, and somewhat bureaucratic style.

The abstract nouns utstedelsen and identitetskontrollen make it sound like the language of:

• government instructions
• official procedures
• application processes
• administrative guidelines

A more conversational version might use more verbs and fewer abstract nouns, but this sentence is perfectly natural in formal written Norwegian.

If you changed it to indefinite form, it would be:

En utstedelse følger en identitetskontroll.

That means something like:

An issuance follows an identity check.

Grammatically, that is possible, but it sounds less natural in a real procedural context, because official procedures usually refer to specific known steps, so the definite forms sound better:

Utstedelsen følger identitetskontrollen.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

FØL-ger

A few notes:

• ø is a vowel that does not exist in standard English; it is somewhat like the vowel in French peur or German schön, depending on accent
• g in følger is pronounced here, unlike in some other Norwegian words
• the stress is on the first syllable: FØL-ger

If you are learning pronunciation, the hardest part for many English speakers is the vowel ø.