Denmark · Healthcare
How the Denmark healthcare system works — public vs private care, eligibility, and costs for residents and visitors.
AI-drafted, editorially reviewed. Confirm specifics with the official authority.
Danish public healthcare is tax-funded and residence-based, run mainly through the regions — it is not employment-based health insurance, so there is no premium to buy. Residents registered with a CPR number normally receive the yellow health card, which documents your entitlement and your chosen GP. Visitors and people still awaiting registration should verify temporary coverage: EU visitors use EHIC rules, non-EU visitors may need private travel insurance.
Denmark has tax-funded, residence-based public healthcare run mainly through the regions. Residents registered with a CPR number normally receive the yellow health card and choose a GP; visitors and people awaiting registration should verify temporary coverage.
- The yellow health card documents entitlement and the selected GP.
- Most public healthcare is funded through taxes, not employment-based health insurance.
- EU visitors use EHIC rules; non-EU visitors may need private travel insurance.
- 1
Obtain your CPR number
Registration with a CPR number is what brings you into the public system. Everything downstream, including the health card, follows from it.
- 2
Receive the yellow health card
The yellow health card documents your entitlement and the GP you have selected. Carry it, because it is the practical proof of both.
- 3
Choose your GP
You select a GP, and that choice is recorded on the card. Make the selection deliberately rather than leaving it to default, since the GP is your main access point.
- 4
Do not look for an insurance premium
Most public healthcare is funded through taxes rather than employment-based health insurance. There is no policy to shop for, which is a real difference from insurance-mandate countries.
- 5
Bridge the gap before registration
People still awaiting registration should verify temporary coverage. EU visitors use EHIC rules; non-EU visitors may need private travel insurance for the interim.
- CPR number obtained
- Yellow health card received
- GP selected and recorded on the card
- Region of residence identified
- Understood that cover is tax-funded, not premium-based
- Temporary coverage verified for the pre-registration period
- Health card carried for appointments
- Life in Denmark — health insurance card
Official guide to the yellow health card.
- Danish Regions
Public regional-healthcare organisation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the yellow health card?
The card that documents your entitlement to public healthcare and the GP you have selected. Residents registered with a CPR number normally receive it, and it is the practical proof of both things.
Do I need to buy health insurance in Denmark?
Most public healthcare is funded through taxes rather than employment-based health insurance, so there is no premium to shop for as a resident. The thing to arrange instead is your CPR registration and health card.
What covers me before my CPR registration is done?
Verify temporary coverage for that window. EU visitors use EHIC rules, and non-EU visitors may need private travel insurance until the registration and health card are in place.
Government portals
- Life in Denmark — The state's English-language guide to moving to, living and working in Denmark.
- Skattestyrelsen — Danish Tax Agency — Tax card, preliminary and annual tax assessment, and deductions.
- New to Denmark (SIRI) — Residence and work permits, the Positive List, and family reunification.