Support for assistive devices in Denmark

If you are legally resident in Denmark and have a permanent physical or mental impairment, you are entitled to apply to the public authorities for support for assistive devices.

Assistive devices in daily life

If you or your child have a permanent physical or mental disability that can be ameliorated with assistive devices in daily life, you can apply to your municipality to borrow a device, or for a subsidy so that you can buy a device yourself.

Your municipality can provide support for assistive devices, certain consumer goods, and changes to your home or relocation costs if you have a permanent physical or mental disability. The aim is for you to be able to live as normal and independent a life as possible, even if you have a disability.

The reason for your disability is irrelevant – it may be congenital, or have occurred later after illness or accident. It is not your diagnosis that is the crucial factor, but the consequences that you have experienced due to your disorder.

The municipality must provide support for an assistive device if the device significantly:

• Can significantly alleviate the lasting effects of your disability
• Can facilitate everyday life in your home
• Is necessary in your working life.

Assistive devices can be technical devices, such as:

• Walking aids
• Wheelchairs
• Special beds
• Small assistive devices for your kitchen or bathroom

Assistive devices can also be body-worn, such as:

• Supportive corsets
• Artificial limbs
• Breast prostheses
• Wigs (for permanent hair loss)
• Ostomy aids
• Orthopaedic footwear or insoles
• Hearing aids
• Special clothing
• Vision aids

When assistance is granted for some kinds of assistive devices, such as orthopaedic footwear, there is also a user charge.

You must apply to the municipality before you buy an assistive device, and you can obtain support for the most suitable and cheapest device. If you want a more expensive device, you will have to pay the extra cost yourself.

It is free for you to borrow an assistive device from the municipality, and your own finances have no bearing on whether you can obtain a subsidy, or on how much you can receive. The subsidy is tax-free.

You can obtain more information from your municipality. See the link at the end of the text.

If you have a disability that is a hindrance in connection with your work, your education, or a work offer under the Act on Active Employment Efforts, you can be granted a supportive device. The support may be granted as a loan or subsidy.

Assistive devices can be:

• Teaching materials
• Work tools
• Small workplace readjustments

It is a condition that:

• The assistive device is not commonly found in your workplace or educational institution
• The expense is beyond what your employer can be expected to incur
• The assistive device is crucial for you to be able to participate in the work offer or maintain your employment or self-employment
• The assistive device compensates for the limitation in your working ability.

Contact your local municipal job centre for more information. See the link at the end of the text.

Pensioners can apply to the municipality for an ordinary or extended health subsidy for medicines, dental care, hearing aids, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychological help and chiropractic treatment. It is your finances that determine whether you can receive a subsidy.

You can obtain more information from your municipality. See the link at the end of the text.

If you are moving to Denmark from another Nordic country and receive support for assistive devices, you will often have to apply for the support in Denmark instead of in the country you are moving from. Before you move, you should therefore contact the authority that has granted your assistive devices in the country from which you are moving and the Danish municipality to which you wish to move. See the link at the end of the text.

Who should you contact if you have questions?

If you have any questions, you can contact your municipality.