[2] The association was founded 1 October 1945, and is a member of the Norwegian Confederation of Sports (NIF).
As per December 2007 Norges Orienteringsforbund had 400 associated clubs and just above 24,000 members, distributed over eighteen districts.
About 300 instructors were educated, and about 2,800 compasses were brought to Norway from Sweden during the war.
[5] After the establishment of the federation in 1945 the sport faced a series of challenges, including scarcity of equipment such as maps, compasses and boots, and transportation problems.
In 1961 NOF was among the founding members of the International Orienteering Federation, along with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland and West Germany.