TheoryQuest

How the Danish driving test works

The Danish driving test for a car (category B) has two parts: a theory test and a practical test. Here is what happens at each, what to bring, what it costs and what happens if you don't pass.

Checked against the rules on 1 November 2026

In short

questions in the theory test
25
to answer them
25 min
mistakes at most to pass
5
vehicle checks at the car
3
  • The theory test comes first. The practical test can only be booked once you have passed it, and you must pass the practical test within 18 months.
  • The practical test starts with a check of the car, followed by at least 25 minutes of driving. Expect 30–45 minutes in total.
  • Bring photo ID, your approved licence application and your module plan – and MitID if your theory test is digital.
  • The test costs 1,600 kr. If you fail, you pay again, and after a failed practical test you have to wait seven days before you can retake it.

Before the test

Haven't started yet? How to get a driving licence in Denmark walks you through the whole process, from the application and the lessons to the rules for new drivers.

You need to have completed your driver training with an approved driving instructor. For a car it has five modules with at least 30 theory lessons and 24 driving lessons of at least 45 minutes each. If this is your first licence, you also need a course in road-traffic first aid.

  • Application. You apply for a licence at borgerservice (citizen service) in any municipality, with a photo, a medical certificate and your first-aid certificate. Once the municipality has approved it, the test can be booked.
  • Age. A car licence can be issued from the age of 17. Until you turn 18, you may only drive in Denmark, and between 8 pm and 5 am you must have an accompanying adult with you. You can take the theory test one month before you reach the age.
  • Booking. Tests are booked online. From 1 October 2026, MinKøreprøve is gradually replacing Køreprøvebooking: until 15 February 2027 you use the system your licence case was created in. In MinKøreprøve you can book yourself or give someone, such as your instructor, power of attorney to do it.
  • Cancelling. By 12 noon five working days before the test. If you cancel later or don't show up, you pay again. If you or your instructor are ill, you get a new test free of charge by handing in a doctor's note at borgerservice.

If you started your driver training before 1 July 2026, you may have chosen to continue under the old rules, where a few details differ. That only applies if you pass before 1 January 2027.

The theory test

The theory test is held by Færdselsstyrelsen (the Danish Road Traffic Authority) at a test centre, and you have to attend in person. You must pass it before the practical test can be booked.

  • 25 pictures with questions. Each picture has up to four answer options. At least one is correct, but several can be, and you have to pick all the correct ones.
  • At most 5 mistakes. A picture counts as one mistake, however many wrong or missing ticks it has.
  • 25 minutes. The test begins with one or two practice questions.
  • Digital or on paper. In the digital test you answer on a screen, can move back and forth, and can flag questions to come back to. You log in with MitID and see your result straight away. In the paper test the questions are read aloud and shown as text, you can't go back, and you get your result once the tests have been marked.
  • Language. You can take the test in Danish, English, Greenlandic or Faroese, and in German in the municipalities of Aabenraa, Haderslev, Sønderborg and Tønder.
  • Be on time. The room is closed at the start time; if you are late, you have to book and pay for a new test. Phones, watches and other electronics must be switched off. If you are caught cheating, you have to wait six months before you can take a test again.

The questions cover road signs and markings, right of way, speed, alcohol and tiredness, distance and braking, weather and road conditions, children, pedestrians and cyclists, accidents and first aid, and the car's safety equipment, among other things. Practise the theory test with 25 questions and 25 minutes, like the real one, and learn the road signs.

A passed theory test is valid for 18 months. If you fail, you can take it again. The rules set no waiting period after a failed theory test, but you pay again.

The practical test

At the practical test you drive with an examiner from Færdselsstyrelsen, called a prøvesagkyndig (or just "den sagkyndige"), who sits next to you and decides whether you pass. Your instructor may come along and watch. You provide the car yourself, and it must meet the requirements for test vehicles.

The vehicle check

First the examiner checks your ID and papers and explains how the test will go. Then comes the vehicle check (kontrolprøven): you get three tasks from a task card and have to check parts of the car, such as the brakes, lights, tyres or fluids. You must also always check that the mirrors are adjusted correctly and are clean and undamaged.

It is a practical test, not an exam on theory. You may not use tools, but you have to show how you check something and say whether it is in order – for example that the brake fluid is between min and max, that the brake pedal doesn't sink under steady pressure, that the brake lights are clearly brighter than the rear lights, and that the tyres have at least 1.6 mm of tread. The examiner may also ask you to point out where to top up the engine oil or the washer fluid. See all the control questions with answers, or practise them.

The drive

The drive itself lasts at least 25 minutes and should, as far as possible, cover all kinds of roads: in town, on country roads and on an expressway or motorway. With the vehicle check, manoeuvres and your result, the test usually takes 30–45 minutes. Along the way you do at least two of these manoeuvres, and at least one of them in reverse:

  • reverse in a straight line or to the right around a corner
  • turn the car round by driving forwards and reversing
  • park and leave a parking space (parallel, angled or at right angles)
  • brake precisely to a stop

How you are assessed

You don't have to drive without a single fault. The examiner tells minor faults, faults, serious faults and very serious faults apart and judges your driving as a whole. One very serious fault, such as putting oncoming traffic in danger when you turn left, is enough to fail. The examiner should not normally make a decisive judgement in the first few minutes, to allow for nerves.

Manual or automatic

You can take the test in a manual or an automatic car. If you pass in an automatic, your licence gets code 78 and you may only drive automatics – unless at least seven of your driving lessons were in a manual car. Then you don't get code 78 (this is a trial scheme).

After the test

  • Passed. You get a temporary paper licence on the spot. It is valid for three months and only in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden (in Denmark only, if you are under 18). The plastic card arrives about four weeks after it has been ordered.
  • Not passed. The examiner goes through an assessment form with you that shows what you didn't meet. If this is your first car licence, you have to wait seven days (until the same weekday the following week) before you can retake the practical test. The new test has to be paid for.
  • Deadline. You must pass the practical test within 18 months of the theory test. Otherwise you have to take the theory test again.
  • Complaints. You can complain about the result to Færdselsstyrelsen. Your complaint must reach them within four weeks of the decision.

What to bring

  • Photo ID: a valid passport or driving licence, an ID card from borgerservice, or the ID card in the AltID app. If you have none of these, you can use a birth or name certificate or your health insurance card together with photo ID issued by a public authority, such as a residence card. Student cards, screenshots and copies are not accepted.
  • Your approved licence application, stamped and signed by borgerservice and your instructor.
  • Your module plan with your instructor's signatures. If it is digital, you show it on your phone.
  • MitID, if you are taking the digital theory test.
  • Your current licence, if you already have one, for example for a moped or motorcycle. It has to be the physical card; the digital one isn't enough.

If something is missing, the test may not go ahead.

What does the test cost?

The driving test for a car costs 1,600 kr., paid to Færdselsstyrelsen (2026 rate). That covers the theory test and the practical test, and includes a 200 kr. surcharge set by the Road Traffic Act. If you fail either part, or cancel too late, you pay again before a new test can be booked. Your lessons are paid to the driving school separately.

Frequently asked questions

How many mistakes are allowed in the Danish theory test?
At most 5. The theory test for a car has 25 questions, and a question counts as one mistake however many wrong or missing ticks it has.
How long is the Danish theory test?
25 minutes for category B, both the digital test and the paper test.
How long is the practical driving test?
The drive itself lasts at least 25 minutes. With the vehicle check, manoeuvres and your result, the test usually takes 30–45 minutes.
What are the control questions (kontrolspørgsmål) at the driving test?
The practical test starts with a vehicle check: you get three tasks from a task card and have to check parts of the car, such as the brakes, lights, tyres or fluids, and explain whether they are in order. You must also always check the mirrors.
How soon can you retake the test if you fail?
If you fail the practical test and this is your first car licence, you have to wait seven days before you can retake it. There is no waiting period after a failed theory test. Either way, the new test has to be paid for.
Can you take the Danish driving test in English?
Yes. Both the theory test and the practical test can be taken in English, as well as in Danish, Greenlandic and Faroese, and in German in four municipalities in southern Jutland.

Practise for the test

Practise the theory testPractise control questionsPractise road signs

Sources

This page is based on these rules and pages (in Danish), checked on 1 November 2026. The rules change from time to time.