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DRIVING

What medical conditions can lose you your driving licence in Denmark?

If you become seriously ill, or are diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, you can have your Danish driving licence suspended or revoked. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:05 CEST
What medical conditions can lose you your driving licence in Denmark?
A woman ready to take a driving test. Photo: Bård Asle Nordbø / Norwegian Road Administration

As a general rule, any medical condition or illness which makes you unsafe on the road will lead to your licence being suspended and perhaps even permanently revoked. 

There is a long list of medical conditions which could cause this, including certain sight and hearing problems, cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological illnesses, and psychiatric conditions. You might lose your licence temporarily, for good, or in the case of progressive conditions, be given a temporary licence which requires a new health assessment before being renewed.

Who might decide to remove my licence for health reasons? 

The decision to suspend, revoke or limit your driving licence is most likely to be taken by a GP, specialist doctor, psychologist or optician after a medical condition has been diagnosed, or in the case of elderly patients, if their age makes them unsafe behind the wheel. 

Under Danish law, doctors are obliged to issue a driving ban “in cases where the doctor detects changes in a patient’s health conditions, and the doctor assesses that the patient can no longer safely drive a motor vehicle.”

If a doctor is unsure, or feels they lack the information needed to tell whether it would be dangerous for you to continue to drive, they can start a driving licence case by filling in a medical certificate detailing the health conditions and sending it to the patient’s municipality.

The health conditions will then be assessed in the same way  as health conditions are assessed when applying for or renewing a licence, with the licence either denied, issued for a limited time, or granted for the full 15 years. 

They can also recommend that the patient’s driving ability be assessed by an expert at the Danish Road Traffic Authority. 

Denmark no longer requires people to automatically have their driving ability tested, with driving licences instead renewed after 15 years, regardless of the holders age. 

READ ALSO: Can you drive a friend or relative’s car in Denmark?

How are health conditions treated when applying for or renewing a driving licence? 

Everyone applying for their first driving licence in Denmark needs to present a medical certificate (unless they want their licence to be limited to small mopeds). The certificate can either be obtained by contacting your doctor, or else by applying digitally on Borger.dk. 

You will also need to present a medical certificate if applying to extend your driving license so you can drive a tractor, car, taxi, or a motorcycle with a sidecar, or applying for or renewing a licence to drive a truck, bus or large trailer. 

People who have been issued with a temporary licence due to a health condition will need a medical certificate in order to have it extended. 

Finally, if you have been stripped of your licence due to a health condition or because of addiction to alcohol or drugs, you will need to present a medical certificate to have it reissued. 

You don’t normally have to submit a medical certificate, however, if you are renewing an ordinary licence to drive a car or motorbike. 

READ ALSO: New digital Danish driving theory test to be offered as English-language version

What health conditions might lead to a driving ban? 

In general the conditions that could lead to a ban include: 

  • Dementia
  • New onset or recurrence of a neurological disorder such as seizures
  • apoplexy (stroke) affecting perception and/or physical ability
  • New onset or relapse of mental illness such as manic psychosis, schizophrenia with significant hallucinations/delusions, with or without forced hospitalisation 
  • Heart disease with risk of sudden loss of consciousness
  • Change in field of vision and/or visual acuity to such an extent that the patient no longer meets the vision requirements even with glasses or contact lenses 
  • Treatment with and consumption of certain medicines

You can find a detailed guide to the various conditions that can lead to a driving ban here, (in Danish), as well as an explanation of the more demanding rules for driving heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses. 

If you have such difficulties with attention that it warrants a diagnosis with ADHD, your doctor will judge whether they think you are safe, and if you are you will be issued with a licence valid only for two years, after which, if you have driven successfully over the period, you can have a normal licence.   

READ ALSO: What to know about taking the Danish driving test as a foreigner

What can I do if I disagree with the ban? 

You still have to follow it and if you don’t, you risk your insurance company refusing to pay out in the event of an accident, and if the police find out, your licence may be confiscated. 

If your doctor suspects you of continuing to drive despite a ban, they will report you to the Danish Patient Safety Authority, who may then forward this report to the Danish Road Traffic Authority, who might in turn recommend to the police that your driving licence be revoked .

If they believe your continued driving represents an acute danger, they should contact the police directly. 

To have your doctor’s opinion reviewed by others, you need to send their medical assessment to your local municipality, who will forward it to the police, who will then contact you to hear your side of the story, and consult with the Danish Patient Safety Authority before deciding on whether to uphold the ban. 

If you disagree with the police’s decision, you can appeal once again, after which the case will be handled and a final decision made by the Danish Road Traffic Authority, which cannot be appealed. 

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For members

DRIVING

Can you drive a friend or relative’s car in Denmark?

If you're visiting or staying in Denmark for any length of time and are planning on doing some travelling, a generous neighbour or relative might offer you access to their vehicle. But what does the law say about driving someone else's car in Denmark?

Published: 16 September 2024 16:44 CEST
Can you drive a friend or relative's car in Denmark?

In Denmark, car insurance covers the vehicle rather than the driver, meaning that in principle anyone with a valid driving licence (including foreign licences recognised by Denmark) can drive someone else’s car with their permission.

There are, however, some restrictions that it’s important to be aware of.

READ ALSO: How and when should I exchange my foreign driving licence for a Danish one?

Danish motorists’ organisation FDM recommends that anyone lending a car to another person uses a written agreement to cover themselves in the event of any mishap.

The written agreement should – as a minimum – state that the borrower of the car will pay for any damage that might occur and any fines they happen to pick up. It should also state that they have a valid driving licence.

Although your car insurance covers other drivers, there can be some consequences for your premium if a claim is made for damage that occurred while another driver was using it, including a possible increase in the deductible (the amount you must pay for damages out of your own pocket before the insurance coverage kicks in).

This is even more likely to be the case if the borrower of the car is 26 or under. The exact terms should be set out in your insurance policy.

If a car is lent to another driver for an extended period, you should contact your insurance provider who may advise adding the other driver’s name to the policy.

All traffic fines – for example, speeding fines issued by police or caught by speeding cameras, as well as parking fines – are automatically sent to the owner of the car. For this reason, there should be an agreement in place as to who will pay any fine should one happen.

You cannot be held responsible for criminal punishments for things like reckless driving, but you may be asked to provide identification details of the person who was driving your car, if they broke the law while using it.

However, a Danish law allowing police to confiscate a car that is used for reckless driving (vanvidsbilisme in Danish) can apply even if the driver isn’t the owner of the car. In other words (and from the point of view of the borrower), if you borrow a car and are subsequently found guilty of reckless driving, the police can confiscate the car from its owner.

READ ALSO: 

If you want to borrow a Danish car to take it abroad, FDM recommends using a “letter of authority” or fuldmagt which states that you have given permission for the car to be used. A template for this can be found on the organisation’s website. In such cases, you should also ensure you the right registration and insurance documents are kept in the car.

Foreign authorities can check your insurance is valid. You can document this with the International Motor Insurance or “Green” card, which serves as proof you have motor insurance when you drive outside of the EU (you don’t need it within the EU).

This means that (in theory) the driver of a borrowed car can be asked to present it when driving the car abroad.

The Green Card can be printed via your insurance company websites. You’ll need your MitID secure login to access the platform and print off your document. Here is an example of the relevant page on the website of insurance company Tryg. If you can’t find the right section on your insurance company’s website, contact them by phone.

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