Driving licence

Persons who have no usual residence in Denmark may drive a motor vehicle in this country if they are in possession of one of the types of driving licences listed in section 116 (1) of the Executive Order on Driving Licences (kørekortbekendtgørelsen), including driving licences issued in an EU Member State or an EEA country.

The rules regarding driving in Denmark on a foreign driving licence are set out in sections 114-128 of the Executive Order on Driving Licences. You will find more information about foreign driving licences on the website of the Danish Road Safety Agency.

• Foreign driving licences, exchanges and Visitor’s Driving Licences (new window)

If you establish usual residence in Denmark, you will in a number of cases need to exchange your foreign driving licence for a Danish driving licence.

Usual residence means that you have personal or occupational ties to Denmark i.e. that you spend a minimum of 185 days in Denmark within one calendar year. Usual residence in Denmark is established from the date when you move to this country with a view to establishing usual residence in Denmark.

If you have exclusively occupational ties to Denmark but personal ties to another country, you will be regarded as having usual residence in the country where you have personal ties if you regularly return to that country.

You are not required to regularly return to the country to which you have personal ties if you reside in Denmark exclusively for the purpose of practicing a profession for a limited period of time. In this case, you will be regarded as having usual residence in the country to which you have personal ties.

If you do not have usual residence in Denmark, you may drive on your foreign driving licence in Denmark in the following cases:

• It is a driving licence issued in the Faroe Islands.
• It is a driving licence issued in Greenland.
• It is a driving licence issued in an EU Member State or an EEA country (Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein).
• It is a provisional driving licence issued in Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden.
• It is a foreign driving licence (not issued in an EU Member State or an EEA country) drawn up in Latin letters or accompanied by a translation into Danish, English or French. The translation must have been performed by an official authority or by an organisation authorised to perform this task by the issuing country.
• It is an international driving licence.

You may drive the same vehicles in Denmark as you are allowed to drive in the country where the driving licence was issued.

If you have a foreign driving licence and you have established usual residence in Denmark, you must in certain cases exchange your driving licence for a Danish driving licence.

Whether you must exchange your foreign driving licence and whether you, before the exchange, must pass a driving test to check your skills depends on the country in which your driving licence has been issued. Furthermore, there are various rules for how long you can wait before exchanging your foreign driving licence for a Danish driving licence. It depends on the country in which your driving licence has been issued.

If your driving licence was issued in the Faroe Islands or in an EU Member State or an EEA country, you do not need to exchange your driving licence. Consequently, you are allowed to drive the same type of vehicles in Denmark as you are according to your valid driving licence from the issuing country.

Requirements

In order to exchange your foreign driving licence for a Danish driving licence, you must meet the age-related requirements that apply to the issue of a corresponding Danish driving licence (with certain exemptions regarding driving licences from EU Member States and EEA countries).

Furthermore, the validity periods of Faroese driving licences which allow the holder to drive after the age of 70, are not accepted in Denmark.

Even if there is no requirement that you must exchange your foreign driving licence for at Danish driving licence, you may apply to have your driving licence exchanged if that is what you wish.

If you come from another country than those mentioned above, please read the information below.

How long you may drive in Denmark on your foreign driving licence and whether you must pass a driving test to check your skills in connection with the exchange of the driving licence will depend on the country or federal state, etc. in which your driving licence was issued. A distinction is made between various groups of countries, etc.

The price of having your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Danish driving licence is DKK 280 (2020).

If your driving licence was issued in:

• Australian Capital Territory
• Brazil
• Japan
• Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
• The Republic of Korea (South Korea)
• Russia
• Ukraine or
• Switzerland

It is a characteristic of these countries that driver training there is comparable with Danish driver training. It is, however, a condition that your foreign driving licence is valid. Furthermore, the driving licence must have been issued in Latin letters or be accompanied by an official translation into Danish, English or French. Moreover, you must meet the age-related conditions that apply to the issue of a corresponding Danish driving licence.

After 90 days from the date when you established usual residence in Denmark, you must have your foreign driving licence exchanged for a corresponding Danish driving licence for category B vehicle, if you wish to continue to be able to drive a car in this country.

It will be a condition for exchange of your driving licence that you sign a declaration of honour, stating that your driving licence has not been revoked within the last 5 years and that your licence is not otherwise limited or given on special terms.

In order to have your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Danish driving licence, you are not required to pass a driving test to check your skills if your driving licence was issued in one of the countries in question.

Price

The price of having your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Danish driving licence is DKK 280 (2020).

If your driving licence was issued in:

• Singapore
• USA
• Canada
• Australia (other than the ACT)
• Chile
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Isle of Man
• Serbia
• New Zealand

If your driving licence was issued in one of these countries, you may have your driving licence for category B exchanged without a driving test to check your skills.

It is the country, etc. (potentially through an Embassy/Consulate) that must draw up the application to be included among the Group 2 countries. For the application, the country/Embassy must use a special application form to provide information about road traffic conditions in the country, etc. in question. The Danish Road Agency will decide whether the country can be entered on the list of Group 2 countries.

It is a characteristic of the countries, etc. that may be included by Group 2 that driver training there is not quite comparable with Danish driver training. However, general road safety standards are comparable with Danish standards. In light of their driving experience, citizens from these countries are therefore given the opportunity to have their driving licences exchanged without a driving test to check their skills.

Countries, etc. that become comprised by Group 2 will be made public on the website of The Danish Road Agency.

If your driving licence was issued in a Group 2 country, you may wait 90 days before exchanging your driving licence when you have establish usual residence in Denmark.

It will be a condition for exchange of your driving licence that you sign a declaration of honour, stating that you have two years’ actual driving experience, that your driving licence have not been revoked within the last five years, and that your licence is not otherwise limited or given on special terms.

Price

The price of having your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Danish driving licence is DKK 280 (2020).

• Ministry of Justice (new window)
• The Danish National Police (new window)

If your driving licence was issued in another country than those previously mentioned, you have a right to drive on your foreign driving licence up to 90 days after you have established usual residence in Denmark. This is, however, only the case if your foreign driving licence is valid and if the driving licence was issued in Latin letters or accompanied by an official translation into Danish, English or French (this, however, does not apply to Greenland). Furthermore, you must meet the age-related requirements that apply to the issue of a corresponding Danish driving licence.

If you wish to continue to drive motor vehicles in Denmark, you must have your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Danish driving licence no later than 90 days after you have established usual residence in Denmark. In order to have your foreign driving licence exchanged, you must pass a driving test to check your skills (a driving theory test and a practical driving test).

You must contact one of the municipalities in Denmark in order to have your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Danish driving licence.

On the website of The Danish Road Safety Agency you will find more information about what to bring with you when you apply for exchange of your driving licence.

• Foreign driving licences, exchanges and Visitor’s Driving Licences (new window)