Who this guide is for
If you have moved to Denmark and hold a driving licence from another country, whether you can keep using it depends on which country issued it. This guide covers category B only, meaning an ordinary car or van. It does not cover motorcycles, lorries or buses.
Words you will meet along the way:
- Kørekort: driving licence
- Borgerservice: the citizen service centre in your local kommune (municipality)
- Færdselsstyrelsen: the Danish Road Traffic Authority
- CPR-nummer: the personal ID number you receive once you register your address
- kontrollerende køreprøve: the qualifying driving test
Licence from an EU or EEA country
If your licence was issued in an EU or EEA country, you do not need to do anything. You may drive legally, in every vehicle category your licence covers, as long as you meet the Danish minimum age for that category. See How to obtain a driving licence in Denmark.
If you want a Danish licence, you can exchange yours directly, as a rule without a test, but there are two conditions:
- You must have registered residence in Denmark.
- Your driving rights must not be restricted, suspended or revoked anywhere else in the EU or EEA. See Udenlandsk kørekort i Danmark.
Licence from outside the EU/EEA
Færdselsstyrelsen's page states that once you have registered residence, you may keep driving on your foreign licence for 180 days. After those 180 days, you must exchange it for a Danish licence. See Foreign driving licences, exchanges and Visitor's Driving Licences.
Countries whose licences can be exchanged without a test
Færdselsstyrelsen keeps two lists, gruppe 1 and gruppe 2.
If your licence comes from a country on either list, you do not need to pass the qualifying test again to exchange it for a Danish category B licence.
- The lists are on Ombytning af udenlandsk kørekort. They change from time to time, and the country names on the Danish and English pages do not always match, so read the current official list rather than any copy of it, including this guide. This guide was last checked on 2026-09-11.
- The waiver applies to category B only.
- Both groups require a written declaration that your driving rights have not been revoked in the last five years.
- Group 2 requires one more declaration: that you have held and used category B driving rights within the last two years.
Every other country: theory test plus practical test
If the issuing country is on neither list, you can exchange your licence only after passing the qualifying test.
The test has two parts, a theory test (teoriprøve) and a practical test (praktisk prøve). You book the theory test at Borgerservice. You book the practical test through a driving instructor, and you rent the car for it from the instructor as well. Both steps are described on Udenlandsk kørekort i Danmark.
Special case: a Greenlandic licence. You have 180 days from registering residence, and a test is required to exchange it.
How long you may drive on your foreign licence
There are three different answers. Find yours:
- EU or EEA licence, living in Denmark: no deadline, no exchange required.
- Any other licence, once you have normal residence: 180 days from the day you register residence. After that, the foreign licence is no longer valid here.
- Visiting only, no registered residence: the licence itself decides, and no countdown runs.
Færdselsstyrelsen accepts EU and EEA licences, international driving permits issued under the international conventions, and other foreign licences that are either written in Latin letters or come with a translation into Danish, English or French. The translation must be made by a public authority or an authorised body in the issuing country. See Udenlandsk kørekort i Danmark.
How to apply: where, what to bring, what it costs
You can go to Borgerservice in any kommune, but you must apply in person.
Bring three things, per Udenlandsk kørekort i Danmark:
- A kørekortfoto, a driving-licence photo.
- Your foreign licence.
- A valid passport.
Færdselsstyrelsen's documentation page also asks for identity papers showing your CPR number, and for a valid residence permit or proof of residence if you are not a Danish or Nordic citizen. Photo rules follow the EU passport-photo standard. The details and a downloadable photo guide are on Foto- og dokumentationskrav.
Fees: exchanging an ordinary car licence costs 520 kr. If you also have to sit the qualifying test, that is a separate 1.690 kr. Both figures come from Priser på kørekort.
Timing: a licence that is not Faroese, Greenlandic or from an EU or EEA country can only be exchanged once you have stayed in Denmark for more than six months.
Sources
- How to obtain a driving licence in Denmark (lifeindenmark.borger.dk)
- Udenlandsk kørekort i Danmark (borger.dk)
- Ombytning af udenlandsk kørekort (Færdselsstyrelsen)
- Udenlandsk kørekort i Danmark (Færdselsstyrelsen)
- Priser på kørekort (Færdselsstyrelsen)
- Foto- og dokumentationskrav (Færdselsstyrelsen)
- Foreign driving licences, exchanges and Visitor's Driving Licences (Danish Road Traffic Authority)
- Apply to exchange a foreign driving license (Danish Road Traffic Authority)
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