Elections in Denmark

Your right to vote in elections in Denmark depends on the type of election and your citizenship

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Members of the Folketing are elected for a 4-year term. Elections for the Folketing must be held at least every 4 years, but the prime minister can call an election at any time. During the election, 179 members are elected to the Folketing, 2 of whom are elected on the Faroe Islands and 2 in Greenland.

You are entitled to vote in the Folketing election if you are above 18 years of age, a Danish citizen and permanently reside in the country. In order to be entitled to vote, you must also not be under guardianship with full deprivation of your legal capacity to act (legally incompetent).

Most people who are entitled to vote in Folketing elections are automatically registered in the electoral register. Only Danes living abroad have to apply for enrolment in the electoral register.

If you have any questions about your participation in an election, you must contact the municipality in which you live.

If you have any general questions, you can read more about Folketing elections at:

Members of municipal councils and regional councils are elected during elections held every 4 years. These elections take place on the third Tuesday in November in the election year. The timing of municipal and regional elections is laid down in the Municipal and Regional Elections Act.

If you are a Danish citizen, a citizen of an EU Member State or a citizen of Iceland, Norway, or the UK you will be entitled to vote in municipal and regional elections if you are above 18 years of age and permanently reside in the municipality/region.

If you are a citizen of a country other than those mentioned above, you will not be entitled to vote until you have been permanently residing in Denmark for a period of 4 years.

You will not be entitled to vote in municipal and regional elections if you are a:

  • Foreign national on tolerated stay,
  • Foreign national who has been expelled from Denmark through a final decision or judgement (under Sections 22 – 25(c) of the Danish Aliens Act), or a
  • Foreign national staying in Denmark in order to serve a sentence, etc. imposed by an international criminal court.

Persons who are entitled to vote in municipal and regional elections are automatically registered in the electoral register.

If you have any questions about your participation in an election, you must contact the municipality in which you live.

You can also read more about municipal and regional elections at:

Elections to the European Parliament are held every 5 years. These elections take place in the Member States in May or June.

The next election to the European Parliament takes place in Denmark in 2029.

When are you entitled to vote?

You will be entitled to vote in the European Parliament elections in Denmark if you are above 18 years of age and either:

  • have Danish citizenship and legally reside in Denmark or another EU Member State, or
  • are a citizen of another EU Member State and legally reside in Denmark.

You will not be entitled to vote in the European Parliament elections if you are a:

  • foreign national who has been expelled from Denmark through a final judgement (under Sections 22 – 24 or Section 25(c) of the Danish Aliens Act), or
  • foreign national who has been expelled from Denmark through a final decision (under Sections 25 – 25(b) of the Danish Aliens Act).

In Denmark, voting is not mandatory. It is therefore your own choice, whether you want to vote.

Apply to vote the first time

If you are an EU citizen and registered as being legally residing in Denmark in the Civil Registration System (CPR) and you wish to vote in the European Parliament elections in Denmark, you need to apply for it the first time you wish to vote in Denmark. You must fill in and submit an application to enrol in the electoral register.

Please note that you are not automatically registered with voting rights for European Parliamentary Elections in Denmark even though you have previously voted for the local and regional elections in Denmark.

The application must be submitted to the municipality in which you live. 

Application form

The application form to apply to vote in European Parliament elections in Denmark as an EU citizen resident in Denmark can be found here in various languages:

Once you have been registered in the electoral register, you will also be able to vote in subsequent European Parliament elections in Denmark for as long as you continue to live in Denmark.

If you wish to be removed from the electoral register, you must submit a written request to the municipality in which you live.

You can read more about the European Parliament elections at:

According to the Danish Constitution, a binding referendum must be held in certain situations concerning a government bill which the Folketing has adopted. It can also be determined by law that an advisory referendum must be held concerning a particular issue.

You will be entitled to vote in national referendums if you can vote in Folketing elections and are registered in the electoral register.

You will be entitled to vote in Folketing elections if you are above 18 years of age, are a Danish citizen and are a permanent resident in the country. In order to vote in Folketing elections in Denmark, you must be permanently residing in Denmark. In order to be entitled to vote, you must also not be under guardianship with full deprivation of your legal capacity to act (legally incompetent).

You can read more about referendums at:

If you wish to complain in connection with a Folketing election, a European Parliament election or a national referendum, you must send your complaint to the Ministry of the Interior and Health within 1 week after the election. The Folketing will then reach a decision concerning the matter.

If you wish to complain in connection with a municipal or regional election, you must send your complaint within 1 week after the election to the municipal council or regional council, who will then reach a decision on the matter. The decision may be brought before the Ministry of the Interior and Health.

The legal basis for elections to the Folketing is set out in the Danish Constitution and the Act on elections to the Folketing. You can find them under Related information.

 The legal basis for municipal and regional elections is set out in the Act on municipal and regional elections. You can find it under Related information.

The legal basis for elections in Denmark to the European Parliament is set out in the Act on election of Danish members to the European Parliament. You can find it under related information. 

Written by the Ministry of the Interior and Health

Last updated: 13 August 2024

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