How to get a CPR number in Denmark

What is a CPR number, and do you need one?

A CPR number is your Danish civil registration number. The letters stand for Det Centrale Personregister, the Central Person Register, and the ten-digit number it gives you is the key to almost everything in Denmark: your salary, a bank account, a doctor, insurance and any contact with the authorities borger.dk. You need one if you intend to stay in Denmark for more than three consecutive months Life in Denmark.

Everyone who lives in Denmark must be registered, and registration happens at the Civil Registration Office (folkeregister) in your municipality. The national CPR office does not issue numbers itself; your municipality’s Citizen Service does CPR-kontoret.

If you are an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen you may stay up to three months without registering. If your stay will last longer than three months, you must apply for an EU residence document within those three months, and you need that document before you can get a CPR number. Jobseekers get up to six months Life in Denmark.

The number is not random. The first six digits are your date of birth in day-month-year order, and the last four are unique to you. The final digit shows your sex: even numbers for women, odd numbers for men City of Copenhagen.

What do you need in place before you apply?

Two things, and you cannot skip either.

A real place to live. A permanent address in Denmark is mandatory. You cannot register at an address unless you actually live there, so a hotel booking or a friend’s address you only want to use for post will not work Life in Denmark.

Your residence paperwork. If you are an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, you need an EU residence document (also called a registration certificate) from SIRI, the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration. You need it before you can register your address, and therefore before you can get a CPR number Life in Denmark. Nordic citizens from Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden do not need one. If you are a non-EU citizen, you need a valid work or residence permit from SIRI or the Danish Immigration Service first International House Copenhagen.

Non-EU citizens should watch two deadlines: apply for CPR registration within six months of the date your permit was issued, and no later than five days after you move into your Danish address International House Copenhagen. If either deadline has passed, contact your ICS centre or Borgerservice straight away rather than waiting - they can tell you what still applies in your case.

How do you apply and book the appointment?

You apply online first, then attend in person. The order matters.

1. Apply online through your municipality, or through an International Citizen Service (ICS) centre if your municipality works with one. In Greater Copenhagen, ICS East at International House handles the City of Copenhagen and many partner municipalities City of Copenhagen.
2. Wait for the invitation. International House Copenhagen says the application may take two to three weeks to process, after which it emails you a personal link International House Copenhagen.
3. Book the in-person appointment with that link. Do not share it. One appointment covers everyone in the same application, so a family attends together ICS East.
4. Turn up in person with the originals of everything you uploaded. You cannot get a CPR number by email or post ICS East.

If you do not live in a municipality that partners with an ICS centre, apply and book through your local Borgerservice (citizen service centre) instead ICS East.

Which documents do you need?

• A passport or national ID card Life in Denmark.
• Proof of your Danish address, such as a rental contract or a housing confirmation from your landlord Life in Denmark.
• Your EU residence document, or your work and residence permit from SIRI or the Danish Immigration Service Life in Denmark.
• A marriage certificate if you are married, even when your spouse is not moving with you, plus divorce or death certificates if they apply ICS North.
• Birth certificates for accompanying children under 18 ICS North.
• Your social security number from your home country if you are moving from another Nordic country Life in Denmark.

Certificates in other languages normally need professional translation. Some countries’ marriage and birth certificates also need an apostille or legalisation, so check before you book ICS North.

What happens at the appointment?

Staff check your identity and your right to stay, then register you in the Civil Registration System at your Danish address Life in Denmark. You get your CPR number, and you choose a family doctor (GP) and a health insurance group. In group 1 you are attached to one GP and consultations are free, which is what most people choose; in group 2 you can go to any doctor or specialist without a referral, but you pay part of the fee yourself sundhed.dk.

Your health insurance card, the yellow card (sundhedskort), is ordered as part of the same process and sent by post. Life in Denmark says to expect it about two to three weeks after registration; the City of Copenhagen says up to four weeks, so allow for both Life in Denmark City of Copenhagen. The card shows your name, address, CPR number and your doctor’s details, and you should carry it Life in Denmark. Put your name on your mailbox, or posted cards can be returned to sender City of Copenhagen. While you wait for the plastic card, you can use the digital health card in the Sundhedskortet app once you have MitID Life in Denmark.

In many centres you can also ask for MitID at the same appointment ICS East.

After you are registered, letters from Danish authorities come to your Digital Post (mit.dk, e-Boks or borger.dk) instead of arriving on paper. You receive Digital Post from the age of 15 and you are obliged to read it, so get MitID working and check it regularly - missing a deadline in there can cost you money Life in Denmark.

What if your address is refused?

Sometimes a municipality will not register you at the address you have. The rule behind this is simple. You must be registered where you actually live. A c/o address is allowed, but only if you genuinely live there; you cannot be registered at an address just to receive post CPR-kontoret.

Housing can also be the problem. If the flat or room is not approved as a home, or the landlord’s arrangement is not legal, the kommune can refuse the registration. What newcomers call a “blacklisted” address is usually one where the municipality has stopped accepting registrations for these reasons.

If you are turned down, ask the caseworker to explain why and what would fix it. Then get proper documentation from your landlord or find housing the municipality accepts. Until the address is registered, you cannot get a CPR number CPR-kontoret.

What it costs and how long it takes

• CPR registration: free. The International Citizen Service states its services are free of charge International House Copenhagen.
• Online application processing: about two to three weeks at ICS East and International House Copenhagen ICS East International House Copenhagen.
• The in-person appointment: book ahead. Many ICS centres hand over the number the same day ICS North.
• Health insurance card by post: about two to three weeks, or up to four in Copenhagen Life in Denmark City of Copenhagen.
• EU residence document: no fee under EU rules New to Denmark.

Common mistakes

• Booking travel before you have an address. You cannot apply from abroad; you need to be in Denmark with somewhere to live CPR-kontoret.
• Bringing copies instead of originals to the appointment ICS East.
• Leaving your name off the mailbox. Your health card is posted to the address and can be sent back City of Copenhagen.
• Missing the five-day and six-month deadlines as a non-EU citizen International House Copenhagen.
• Assuming a c/o address means you do not have to live there. It does not CPR-kontoret.
• Forgetting marriage or children’s certificates when you register as a family ICS North.

If something goes wrong

If your application is stuck, or the invitation email never arrives, call your ICS centre or municipality directly. ICS East’s phone number and opening hours are on its page ICS East.

If your health card has not arrived after four weeks, contact your Borgerservice. The most common cause is a missing name on the mailbox City of Copenhagen.

If you already have a CPR number but have forgotten the last four digits, the folkeregister can give them to you City of Copenhagen.

If you move within Denmark, report the change of address to the folkeregister within five days CPR-kontoret.

One last thing. If you work in Denmark for three months or less, you get a tax number instead of a CPR number Life in Denmark.