Dokumentet må bli godkjent før jeg kan sende det.

Dokumentet means the document, while dokument means a document or just document in a general sense.

Norwegian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun:

• et dokument = a document
• dokumentet = the document

Because the sentence is talking about a specific document, Norwegian uses dokumentet.

That ending shows that dokument is a neuter noun.

In Norwegian, indefinite and definite forms depend on gender:

• en bil → bilen
• ei bok → boka / boken
• et dokument → dokumentet

So:

• et = the indefinite article for a neuter noun
• -et = the definite ending for a neuter noun

That is why you get dokumentet.

Må means must or has to.

It is the present tense of the modal verb måtte in the sense of obligation/necessity.

So:

• Dokumentet må bli godkjent = The document must be approved

Like English modal verbs, må is followed directly by an infinitive, without å:

• må bli
• not må å bli

Bli godkjent is a very common Norwegian way to express a passive idea.

Literally, bli means become, but in sentences like this it often works like English be in a passive construction:

• bli godkjent = be approved
• literally: become approved

This is often called the bli-passive.

So:

• Dokumentet må bli godkjent = The document must be approved

This structure emphasizes that something needs to happen to the document.

Yes. Dokumentet må godkjennes is also correct and means essentially the same thing: The document must be approved.

There are two common passive patterns here:

• må bli godkjent
• må godkjennes

A useful difference:

• bli + past participle often sounds a bit more concrete or event-focused
• -s passive (godkjennes) can sound slightly more formal or written

In everyday use, both are very normal.

Because godkjent is the past participle of godkjenne.

• godkjenne = to approve
• godkjent = approved

After bli in this kind of passive structure, Norwegian uses the past participle:

• bli godkjent = be approved

Compare:

• Jeg må godkjenne dokumentet = I must approve the document
• Dokumentet må bli godkjent = The document must be approved

Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same.

• før jeg kan sende det = before I can send it
• før jeg sender det = before I send it

With kan, the sentence emphasizes ability/permission/possibility: the document has to be approved before sending becomes possible.

Without kan, the sentence is more neutral and simply refers to the action of sending.

So kan adds the idea: approval is a condition that must be met first.

Because after før here, Norwegian has a subordinate clause. In subordinate clauses, the normal word order is:

subject + verb + ...

So:

• før jeg kan sende det

not:

• før kan jeg sende det

The order kan jeg would be normal in a main clause question-like inversion or after certain fronted elements in a main clause, but not here.

Compare:

• Jeg kan sende det. = main clause
• før jeg kan sende det = subordinate clause

Det means it, and it refers back to dokumentet.

So:

• Dokumentet = the document
• det = it

Norwegian usually repeats the object as a pronoun just like English does:

• jeg kan sende dokumentet = I can send the document
• jeg kan sende det = I can send it

Since the document has already been mentioned, using det is natural.

Because Norwegian modal verbs are followed by the infinitive without å.

That includes verbs like:

• må
• kan
• skal
• vil
• bør

So you say:

• må bli
• kan sende

not:

• må å bli
• kan å sende

This works similarly to English, where we say must be and can send, not must to be or can to send.

The basic verb is å sende, meaning to send.

In the sentence, it appears after the modal verb kan, so it stays in the infinitive form without å:

• å sende = to send
• kan sende = can send

So:

• jeg kan sende det = I can send it

It sounds completely natural.

Dokumentet må bli godkjent før jeg kan sende det is a very normal Norwegian sentence. It is the kind of thing you might see in an office, school, government, or administrative context.

It has a natural Norwegian structure:

• specific noun in definite form: dokumentet
• necessity: må
• passive approval process: bli godkjent
• condition introduced by før
• repeated object as pronoun: det

So this is not an awkward translation from English; it is standard, idiomatic Norwegian.

You can do that:

• Før jeg kan sende det, må dokumentet bli godkjent.

This means the same thing.

The main difference is emphasis:

• Dokumentet må bli godkjent før jeg kan sende det.
  Focuses first on the document needing approval.
• Før jeg kan sende det, må dokumentet bli godkjent.
  Focuses first on the condition: before I can send it.

Notice that when the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause still keeps normal Norwegian main-clause inversion:

• må dokumentet bli godkjent

not:

• dokumentet må bli godkjent

after that fronted clause.