The items you should keep in your car in Denmark

Danish traffic laws require you to have certain things in the car while driving. Other items may also be essential to keep in the car, or highly recommended even if there’s no legal requirement.

Warning triangle

It’s not a legal requirement to have a warning triangle in your car, so you can’t be fined for not having one if you are stopped for an unrelated reason. However, it is legally required for you to use a warning triangle if you break down or are involved in an accident and have to stop at the side of the road. So essentially, the law does require you to carry one. The potential penalty for not doing so is a fine.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that other countries do have traffic laws making the warning triangle an obligatory piece of inventory.

Note that if you are unfortunate enough to need your warning triangle, it should be placed 100 metres from the car (motorway) or 50 metres (other roads).

Safety equipment

Denmark does not have a legal requirement to carry any extra safety or first aid equipment in cars, but the following items are generally recommended, including by motorists’ organisation FDM: 

First aid kit
Reflective vest (should be kept inside the car, rather than the boot or luggage compartment, so you can put it on before getting out)
Emergency hammer to break glass
Spare headlight bulbs

As with the warning triangle, other countries, to where you might drive from Denmark, might have laws relating to obligatory safety equipment. Neighbouring Norway, for example, has since 2007 required both a reflective vest and warning triangle. A table showing requirements in different European countries can be found here.

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Driving licence and number plates

You must be able to produce a driving licence when stopped by police. 

This doesn’t have to be physically present in the car, because Denmark has a digital version of its driving licence which can be shown using an app. The digital driving licence is currently only available to Danish passport holders, however.

The fine for not being able to show a licence is 1,000 kroner.

Number plates go on a car, rather than in it, but these are obligatory on both the front and back of the vehicle.

Danish number plate rules work in such a way that they are proof a car is correctly registered. A car may only be used on the road if it is registered to an owner, insured, and the ejerafgift, the road tax, is paid. If this is not the case, the number plates must be removed from the car (and it will get a new number once re-registered). 

This is why you will see many cars without number plates at second-hand car dealerships: once a purchase has been agreed, the buyer will be registered as the new owner, the purchase registered with an insurer, and the seller will complete the necessary paperwork for a new number plate to be issued by the Motorstyrelsen, the branch of the Danish Tax Agency that deals with vehicle tax and registration.

The new number plate will then be fixed to the car before you drive away.

If you decide to take a car off the road (for example, if you don’t want to pay for it to be insured while it is not roadworthy during a restoration project), this must also be registered so the number plates can be removed.

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Spare tyre or puncture repair kit

It’s not a legal requirement and most new cars do not come with them as standard, but one thing to consider is having a suitable spare wheel.

Many car owners have a separate set of summer and winter tyres for their car (although universal ones are allowed). New rules will be introduced in 2025 requiring cars to have suitable tyres fitted in winter weather.

READ ALSO: Denmark to fine motorists for not using winter tyres in freezing conditions

With this in mind, it’s worth remembering the rules on tyres: all four wheels must have the same seasonal tyre (summer, winter, or universal) and the tyres on the same axle must have identical tread patterns.

If you will carry a spare wheel, you will also need a jack and wheel bolt wrench to actually change it. If you have a spacesaver wheel or puncture repair kit, make sure you have the right equipment and know how to operate it.

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Warm clothes and blankets

These are a very good idea to keep in the car in the winter. If your car loses its power, then it will get quite cold in the vehicle very quickly, and there have been incidences in Denmark in recent years of drivers being stranded on motorways during blizzards.

In the event of a breakdown, you don’t want to be left freezing cold for hours while you wait for a recovery vehicle.

Ice scrapers

These are not only useful but can help you to avoid a fine, because it is not legal to drive if your view through the windscreen is partially obscured, either by ice or condensation.

Using an ice scraper obviously cuts down the time you have to wait to get on the road.