An irreducible polynomial over Fq is said to be normal over Fq if its roots are linearly independent over Fq. We show that there is a polynomial hn(X1,…,Xn)∈Z[X1,…,Xn], independent of q, such that if an irreducible polynomial f=Xn+a1Xn−1+⋯+an∈Fq[X] is such that hn(a1,…,an)≠0, then f is normal over Fq. The polynomial hn(X1,…,Xn) is computed explicitly for n≤5 and partially for n=6. When charFq=p, we also show that there is a polynomial hp,n(X1,…,Xn)∈Fp[X1,…,Xn], depending on p, which is simpler than hn but has the same property. These results remain valid for monic separable irreducible polynomials over an arbitrary field with a cyclic Galois group.