How to get a doctor in Denmark and how the healthcare system works for newcomers

How does the Danish healthcare system work for newcomers?

Denmark’s health service is funded by taxes and mostly free at the point of use. If you work legally in Denmark you are covered by it, but you have to register and get a health card first. Once registered, you are expected to go through a named family doctor (egen læge) rather than turning up at a hospital for routine care.

What is the yellow health card (sundhedskort)?

Everyone registered in the Danish national register (folkeregister, the CPR register) is covered by the health service and receives a yellow health card, the sundhedskort. It is your proof of cover and shows your name, CPR number and the name and address of your doctor. Carry it whenever you see a doctor, a dentist or go to hospital. You can also use the free Sundhedskortet app, which works in English.[8]

The card normally arrives about two weeks after you register.[1] If you need care before it arrives, your municipality can issue a temporary certificate straight away.[1]

Group 1 or group 2: which should you choose?

Everyone with a yellow card chooses between two insurance groups.[1]

Group 1 is the default and the usual choice. You are registered with one named GP. Your GP refers you to specialists, physiotherapists, podiatrists and psychologists, and the region pays for treatment with doctors who hold a regional agreement. You do not need a referral to see an ear, nose and throat specialist, an eye specialist, a dentist, a dental hygienist or a chiropractor.

Group 2 lets you see any doctor, specialist, dentist or chiropractor without a referral. You receive the same subsidy as a group 1 patient, but the practitioner sets their own fee and you often pay the difference yourself. Group 2 suits people who travel a lot or want to keep a doctor they like outside their area.

You can switch groups on borger.dk. A change takes effect from the date you choose, and you cannot change again for a year.

How do you get a doctor (egen læge)?

You choose your GP on borger.dk, picking a doctor or clinic that has open intake of new patients. You can see who is open on sundhed.dk’s “Find behandler” tool. Children under 15 are normally registered with a parent’s doctor.

Changing doctor is free if you have just moved, if your doctor closes their practice, or when you turn 15. Otherwise a change costs 40 kr (2026), as sundhed.dk states. If you choose a doctor more than 15 km away (5 km inside Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Tårnby or Dragør), you accept that you cannot seek a closer doctor for non-life-threatening illness.

What is free and what do you pay for?

With the yellow card you get free or subsidised treatment with several types of practitioner, as sundhed.dk lists.

Free: consultations with your GP, treatment at public hospitals, and specialist treatment with practitioners who hold a regional agreement (your GP refers you to most specialists in group 1).

Subsidised, so you pay part: dentist and dental care, physiotherapy, podiatry, chiropractic, prescription medicine, and psychologist help (only with a GP referral, and only for the conditions the region covers).[14] Medicine subsidy starts once you have spent 1,135 kr on subsidy-eligible prescription medicine in a 12-month period, and your own medicine costs are capped at 4,850 kr (2026).[13] You can also get help with these costs from the voluntary supplement sygeforsikringen “danmark”, which pays fixed amounts towards more than 350 treatments and services and covers children free until they turn 16.[11]

What is the out-of-hours doctor service (lægevagt)?

Outside your GP’s opening hours, and at weekends, call your region’s out-of-hours doctor service (lægevagt) if you are suddenly ill or injured and it is not life-threatening. Each region runs its own line: 1813 in the Capital Region (Region Hovedstaden), 1818 in Region Zealand, 70 11 07 07 in the Region of Southern Denmark, 70 11 31 31 in the Central Denmark Region and 70 15 03 00 in the North Denmark Region.[12] It is staffed by nurses and doctors who advise you, can refer you to a hospital emergency department or an urgent care centre, and can tell you where the wait is shortest. For anything life-threatening, call 112.[7]

How much does the dentist cost?

Children and young people under 22 registered in a municipality get free municipal dental care.[5] For adults, the region subsidises part of the bill: the subsidy is between 15 and 65 per cent of the dentist’s fee, depending on the treatment and your age, and for dental hygienists it is 30 to 65 per cent.[5] The subsidy applies only to the treatments the region has agreed a price for, such as check-ups, cleaning, fillings and root-canal work; treatments outside that agreement, such as crowns and implants, are not subsidised.

Many common treatments, such as routine check-ups, cleaning and X-rays, have fixed national prices. Other treatments are priced by the individual dentist, and you can compare those on sundhed.dk’s price tool. If your total treatment is expected to cost more than 2,500 kr, the dentist must give you a written estimate before starting.

Do you need EHIC or extra health insurance?

For treatment inside Denmark, no. For a temporary stay in another EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you use the blue European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to get treatment on the same terms as a local. If you live in Denmark, are an EU/EEA or Swiss national and are covered by Danish health insurance, you can order the EHIC free online, as lifeindenmark.dk explains.

EHIC does not cover everything, for example private treatment, repatriation or lost luggage. If you travel outside the EU, or want faster private treatment at home, buy travel insurance or a private sundhedsforsikring.

What it costs & how long it takes

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the card before choosing a doctor. Choose your GP as soon as you have a CPR number.
• Going to A&E for something minor. Call your region’s out-of-hours service first (1813 in the Capital Region); it will send you to the right place.
• Ignoring the group 1 or group 2 choice. Group 2 can leave you paying more.
• Assuming dentistry is free as an adult. It is not.
• Expecting the EHIC to cover everything abroad. It does not.

If something goes wrong

If you cannot get an appointment with your GP and feel you need urgent care, call your region’s out-of-hours doctor service (1813 in the Capital Region), or 112 if it is life-threatening. If you are unhappy with treatment, you can complain to the patient adviser (patientvejleder) in your region. If you are travelling in the EU without your EHIC, you can still be treated but you may have to pay up front and claim back later.