Driving licence in Denmark
You must have a valid driving licence to drive a car, lorry, bus, moped or motorcycle in Denmark. You also need a driving licence to drive with a large trailer. If you are 15, 16 or 17 years of age, you must have a driving licence to drive a small moped.
Danish driving licences
What kinds of driving licences exist?
Danish driving licences are divided into various categories:
- Moped: small (LK), large (AM)
- Motorcycle: small (A1), medium (A2), large (A)
- Car: ordinary (B)
- Lorry: van (C1), lorry (C)
- Bus: small (D1), large (D)
- Trailer: large (E)
- Vehicle with trailer: normal car (B/E), van (C1/E), lorry (C/E), small bus (D1/E), large bus (D/E)
What requirements do you need to meet to obtain a driving licence?
If you have not previously had a driving licence, or if you wish to extend your licence to a new category, you must take a course of driving lessons for the licence category you want, given by an approved driving instructor. You must also pass a driving test (a theory test and a practical test). In order to obtain a driving licence in Denmark, you must also be normally resident in the country. This means that you must live in Denmark.
In addition to a declaration of consent, you will need the following when you apply for a driving licence:
- A lifelike photo
- Your passport or other ID
- A medical certificate documenting your vision, hearing, etc.
- A certificate for a course in traffic-related first aid
- A residence permit, if you are not a Danish or Nordic national and cannot be legally resident in Denmark without a permit.
The municipality may ask you to provide additional documentation, for example if the municipality considers it necessary for you to prove that you are normally resident in Denmark.
You can find driving schools at Dansk Kørelærer-Union:
When can you obtain a driving licence for an ordinary car?
If you intend to obtain a driving licence at age 18, you can start taking driving lessons at the earliest at 17 years and 9 months, and you can obtain your driving licence when you are 18 years of age.
With a category B driving licence, you can drive a passenger car or a van.
To obtain a driving licence for a car, you must:
- Enrol in a driving school
- Fill in the driving licence application form with your driving instructor
- Complete your driving lessons
- Complete a course in driving-related first aid
- Pass your driving test.
You must normally fill in the application for a driving licence together with your driving instructor. The application may be filled in using the self-service solution in Køreprøvebooking (Driving Test Booking), which is an online platform for learner drivers, driving instructors and the citizen service. Alternatively, an application form may be downloaded from the website of the Danish Road Safety Authority and filled in on paper.
Driving licence at age 17
You can also obtain a driving licence for a car at age 17, but special rules apply.
To obtain a driving licence at age 17, you must:
- Begin taking driving lessons at age 16 years and 9 months.
- Drive with an accompanying person in the car between 8:00 pm and 5:00 am until you turn 18. The accompanying person must meet certain requirements and sign an accompanying person form before you drive together.
- You may only drive a car in Denmark.
- You also automatically have the right to drive a small moped or a tractor, even if you have not taken a driving licence for these two categories. However, you may not drive a large moped on the basis of your driving licence until you reach age 18.
If you obtain a driving licence for a car at age 17, your licence will show code 141 – also called an endorsement. The endorsement means that you can only drive under special conditions, and that your driving licence will only become a fully valid EU category B driving licence when you turn 18.
You can read more at borger.dk and at the website of the Danish Road Safety Council.
When should your driving licence be renewed?
The various categories of driving licences have different periods of validity.
- Driving licences for ordinary cars, mopeds and motorcycles are generally valid for 15 years at a time. However, the period may be shorter if there are health reasons for this.
- Driving licences for vans, lorries and buses are generally valid for five years at a time.
Driving licences issued before 2013 are valid until the date indicated on the card.
You can read about how to renew a driving licence at borger.dk.
Can you use your Danish driving licence abroad?
Your normal driving licence can be used throughout the Nordic countries, the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
If you are visiting a country outside the EU or the EEA, you may need an international driving licence. Contact the embassy of the country to which you are travelling for more information. Please note that you may need several international driving licences if you will be driving in several countries on the same trip.
If you move to another Nordic country and have a Danish driving licence, it is usually necessary to exchange your Danish driving licence for one issued in your new country of residence before the Danish licence expires.
Can you use your foreign driving licence in Denmark?
You can generally use valid driving licences in Denmark if they have been issued in a Nordic country, an EU country, Switzerland, Liechtenstein or the Faroe Islands. Special rules apply to Greenlandic driving licences.
If you have a driving licence issued in an EU or EEA country, you can drive the same vehicles in Denmark as you can under your valid licence from the country of issue. However, you must meet the age requirements for the issue of an equivalent Danish driving licence (with certain exceptions for driving licences from EU and EEA countries).
Although there is no obligation to exchange your licence, you can apply for a Danish licence if you wish. You are not normally required to take a driving test in connection with the exchange.
A Faroese driving licence is equivalent in all respects to a Danish driving licence and entitles you to drive the same vehicles in Denmark as it entitles you to in the Faroe Islands during the period of validity, unless you turn 70 before the end of this period, in the case of a driving licence for a lorry or bus.
Although there is no obligation to exchange your licence, you can apply for a Danish licence if you wish. You are not normally required to take a driving test in connection with the exchange.
If you have a Greenlandic licence and live in Denmark, your Greenlandic licence can be assessed as being equivalent to a Danish one. You must be able to document that you have completed two lessons of at least 45 minutes’ duration, given by an approved Danish driving instructor. The lessons must include urban, rural and motorway driving.
You document that you have completed the driving lessons by presenting a form, which you can download from the website of the Danish Road Traffic Authority. The form must be signed by both you and your driving instructor.
Once you have completed the lessons and the form is signed, your Greenlandic driving licence will be considered equivalent in all respects to a Danish driving licence, and will entitle you to drive the same vehicles in Denmark as it entitles you to drive in Greenland during the period of validity, unless you turn 70 before the end of this period, in the case of a driving licence for group 2. You must have both your Greenlandic driving licence and the signed form with you when driving in Denmark.
If you have a Greenlandic driving licence and live in Denmark, you can also exchange your Greenlandic licence for a Danish licence by taking a driving test.
If you have a driving licence issued in another country, or if you have a driving licence that was exchanged with a driving licence issued in another country, special rules apply. You can read about these rules on the website of the Danish Road Traffic Authority.
How do you exchange a foreign driving licence for a Danish one?
If you live in Denmark and have a driving licence issued in an EU or EEA country or the Faroe Islands, you can in most cases exchange your licence for a Danish one. Contact the citizen service centre (Borgerservice) in your municipality. You can read about the documentation you need to take with you on the website of the Danish Road Traffic Authority.
In order to exchange a Greenlandic driving licence for a Danish one, you must first take a driving test.
Who should I contact if I have questions?
If you have questions about applying for or exchanging a driving licence, contact the citizen service centre (Borgerservice) in your municipality. If you have general questions, you can contact the Danish Road Traffic Authority.
Further information
Please fill in our contact form if you have any questions or if you have encountered an obstacle in another Nordic country.
NB! If you have questions regarding the processing of a specific case or application, or other personal matters, please contact the relevant authority directly.