Normal Subgroup Criterion: Let GG be a and let N≤GN\le G be a . Then NN is a subgroup of GG if and only if for every g∈Gg\in G and every n∈Nn\in N one has gng−1∈Ngng^{-1}\in N.

Equivalent characterizations

Equivalently, NN is normal if and only if gNg−1=NgNg^{-1}=N for all g∈Gg\in G (where gNg−1={gng−1:n∈N}gNg^{-1}=\{gng^{-1}:n\in N\}). This says precisely that NN is invariant under the of GG on itself.