Driving License Denmark

In order to get a driving license Denmark and drive a car in Denmark you must be 18 years old and have a valid driving license. If your license is from within the EU, you can drive on it until it expires. EU licenses must be issued in the latin alphabet or they will need to be translated and exchanged for a new one.

Licenses from outside the EU, must be exchanged within 14 days from the date that your CPR number is assigned to you. If you drive on it longer than that, you will be issued a fine of 5,000DKK. I have read other sites that say you can drive on your non-EU license for 90 days - that is untrue and it can garner you a hefty fine.

If you need to switch licenses, it may be necessary to take a written and practical test. This will depend on where your original license came from.

All EU licenses DO NOT need to be exchanged.

Check with your local kommune for more details, since they took over this service from the police. To exchange your license take it your local kommune / borgerservice. Before you rush off to your local borgerservice ... read how to exchange your drivers license Denmark below.

Exchanging Your Driving License

In order to exchange your driving license, you will need to do some work.

First, get an appointment with your local doctor and have him/her issue a Health Certificate. You will need this when you exchange your license. Cost is about 350 kroner, but it varies. The doctore will check your vision, hearing and general health and issue the certificate if all is in accordance. Remember to bring a passport photo along for the certificate. See the Passport photo guidelines.

Next step in your process is to visit your local commune and talk to the borgerservice, where you will apply for your Driving License Denmark. Bring with you the following items:

Health Certificate from Doctor
Passport with work and resident visa
CPR card or proof of having one issued to you. You may not have gotten your card yet
Your present driver’s license, which will be turned in. It is later forwarded to the police, so you can get it back when you leave Denmark.
Fee to pay for processing the exchange. At present this is 260 kroner.
You will need two more passport photos for this process, so make sure to get at least 3 photos. You usually get a set of 4 at most photo shops, which is the best place to get it. They know the rules.

Please note if your present license is not in English, French or German, you must have a state certified translation of it with you in order to process a new license.

You will now receive a temporary license for driving in Denmark (valid for 2 months) and a new one will be mailed to you. Within the next 2 months you will need to complete the steps below.

This is the end of the process if you are exchanging an EU license.

Note: If you can’t complete the steps below within the 2 month window, you will need to prove to the borgerservice that you are taking the proper steps and they will extend the temporary license period. Sometimes it can take time, especially if you need translators or tests in another language. This can be extended up to 6 months.

Good news. If you are from Japan, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil or Switzerland, you will not need to pass a driving and theory test.

Bad news. IF you are NOT from Japan, Russia, Australia, South Korea or Switzerland or another EU country, you will need to take both a theory test and driving test before you get the new drivers license Denmark.

At this point you can approach this part of getting your Driving License Denmark as a do it yourself exercise or get professional assistance. You will have to pass a theory test given in Danish, so if you do not know Danish, a translator will be needed. This costs will be yours and can easily be 1000- 1500 kroner. Also you may wish to contact a driving school to help you prepare for the theory test. If you pass the test on the first try, you can schedule the driving portion of the test. Both tests are free to take the first time. If you fail and need to retake either test it is 870 kroner per test.

Here is a list of driving instructors in Denmark. There are more, but this list should get you started in seeking help. To find a driving license Denmark school do the following:

From the main page, click on køreskoler (driving Schools, click the box that says "Almindelig bil". This should be block B and it means ordinary car. Also go to the bottom of the column and click on "Undervisning på fremmede sprog" (teaching in other languages). Finally click on "start søgning" and wait for the results.

The law does not require that you take lessons before taking either of the tests (if you already have a driving license), but learning it on your own can be a hard process. Of course, if you have friends who have been through it, they can certainly assist you and save you the costs of going to a driving school.

You can also find alot of practical information on the theory test. It is in Danish, but use google translate and you can figure most of it out.

The whole site is quite good to study before taking your theory test.

The cost of taking the theory test is included in the 260 kroner fee, you paid at the borgerservice. If you fail the 1st test, you will need to pay another 870 kroner each time you retake the test.

The driving license Denmark test is scheduled after passing the theory test and the driving school can also help you prepare for that and schedule the test. Again, you may wish to have a translator with you, but it seems that most driving instructors do speak English.

You will also need a certified car for the driving test, so check with the school on this, so you do not show up in a car that can’t be used.

FYI: Did you know that learning to drive in Denmark is so expensive that banks actually give out loans for it. And the Danish drivers are still HORRENDOUS! (okay not all of them, but there sure are a lot of bad drivers on the road!)

If you pass the driving test, you will issued with a new temporary license and the final one will be posted to you within a month. The new license is only good in Scandinavian countries, but for an additional fee (25 kroner at present), you can have it changed to an international license. Do it - what are you going to use when you travel if you don't.

You can learn more about driving license Denmark and driving obligations here.

All the information posted here has been researched through our local borgerservice, but things change and each kommune has their own take on how a drivers license Denmark should be done. Take these rules as guidelines and than check with your local borgerservice as soon as possible about their rules, prices and time constraints.