on 28 july 2012 harding joined nottingham forest for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, hoping to win over the hearts of fans as a left back. harding made his debut in the opening game of the season at left-back in a 1–0 win over bristol city. harding assisted an own goal from pablo ibáñez, in a 2–2 draw against birmingham city on 15 september 2012 and then provided another assist for andy reid in a 1–0 win over peterborough united on 6 october 2012. soon after, harding suffered a hamstring injury. after making his return to the first team against wolverhampton wanderers on 24 november 2012, harding managed to regain his left-back position before being injured against bristol city on 9 february 2013. after months on the sidelines, where he appeared on the bench on two occasions, harding made his return in a 1–0 win over millwall. harding finished his first season at nottingham forest making twenty league appearance.