It took its present name in 1981, after it had been reorganised into five regional offices, located in Arendal, Haugesund, Ålesund, Kabelvåg and Honningsvåg.

In 2002 the head office was moved from Oslo to Ålesund and in 2006 the construction division, Secora, was demerged and became a separate limited company owned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

In 2002, the agency was moved from Oslo to Ålesund, along with six other directorates and inspectorates, in a program initialized by Victor Norman, Minister of Government Administration and Reform of the Conservative Party.

An official report from 2009 concluded that the agencies had lost 75 to 90% of their employees, mostly those with long seniority, and that for a while critical functions for society were dysfunctional.

In a 2010 report, Professor Jarle Trondal concluded that none of the agencies had become more independent after the move, despite this being one of the main arguments from the minister.