The 2012 1. divisjon (referred to as Adeccoligaen for sponsorship reasons) was a Norwegian second-tier football season.
[2] Two clubs, Start and Sarpsborg, were relegated from the 2011 Tippeligaen, while Notodden, Tromsdalen, Ull/Kisa, and Bærum were promoted from the 2011 2.
Start and Sarpsborg were directly promoted, and five teams entered a play-off for the last Tippeligaen spot in the 2013 season.
These were: The four Adeccoligaen teams first played a single game knockout tournament, with the winner (Ull/Kisa) advancing to a two-legged tie against the Tippeligaen team (Sandnes Ulf) for the 16th and final spot in the 2013 season.
Sandnes Ulf retained their Tippeligaen spot with an aggregate 7–1 win over Ull/Kisa.