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    AI by country · Northern Europe

    AI in Denmark: the rules, the readiness and where to start

    Last checked: 29 October 2026

    What should a company in Denmark know before starting with AI?

    Denmark already has a law that sets up supervision of the EU AI Act, Act no. 467 of 14 May 2025, and a replacement AI bill was put to parliament on 7 October 2026. Personal data in AI falls under the GDPR and the Danish Data Protection Act, supervised by Datatilsynet. A Danish company should check whether its AI use is banned, high risk or only needs transparency, and plan for the new dates set in 2026.

    At a glance

    Denmark at a glance

    Key facts about Denmark
    Data protection lawGDPR plus the Data Protection Act (Databeskyttelsesloven), consolidated as LBK no. 289 of 8 March 2024
    RegulatorDatatilsynet for data protection; Digitaliseringsstyrelsen (Agency for Digital Government) is the AI Act single point of contact
    AI policyEU AI Act, phased; Act no. 467 of 14 May 2025 in force since 2 August 2025; new AI bill (L 3) introduced 7 October 2026; Strategic Approach to AI, December 2024
    Time zoneCET, UTC+1 in winter and CEST, UTC+2 in summer (India is 4.5 or 3.5 hours ahead)
    CurrencyDKK (Danish krone)
    Business languageDanish, with English widely used in business

    Why now

    Why Denmark is worth watching

    Each point links to the document it comes from.

    • Eurostat reports that 42.03% of Danish enterprises with 10 or more staff used at least one AI technology in 2025, up from 27.58% in 2024. The EU figure was 19.95%.[9]

    • The government's Strategic Approach to Artificial Intelligence (December 2024) sets four initiatives, including a secure platform for Danish language models. DKK 62.5 million was set aside for 2024 to 2027 to fund three of them.[7]

    • A new AI bill (AI-loven, L 3) was introduced on 7 October 2026. It would replace Act 467/2025 and let the minister decide by order which authorities supervise AI.[4]

    • Since 20 January 2026 an executive order lets municipalities use AI for profiling in employment services, but not for decisions based solely on automated processing.[6]

    • Denmark is part of the LUMI AI Factory consortium, whose EUR 387.8 million LUMI-AI supercomputer in Finland is expected to be available in 2027.[8]

    The rules

    The rules that matter for AI

    What each law or policy means when you build or buy an AI system.

    General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679

    In force2016People have a right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing that has legal or similarly significant effects, with listed exceptions (Article 22). High-risk processing needs a data protection impact assessment (Article 35), and breaches must be reported within 72 hours where feasible (Article 33).[1]

    Danish Data Protection Act (Databeskyttelsesloven), LBK no. 289 of 8 March 2024

    In force2018A child must be at least 15 to consent alone to online services (section 6). Private companies may process CPR numbers only on listed grounds (section 11). Breaches of the GDPR are punished with a fine or up to 6 months in prison through the courts (section 41), not by fines set by Datatilsynet itself.[2]

    Act no. 467 of 14 May 2025 on supplementary provisions to the AI Act

    In force2025In force since 2 August 2025. It names Digitaliseringsstyrelsen as notifying authority, single point of contact and supervisor of most banned practices, Datatilsynet for the bans in Article 5(1)(d) and (g), and the Danish Court Administration for courts' own use of AI.[3]

    Bill for an AI Act (AI-loven), L 3, session 2026/1

    Draft2026Introduced on 7 October 2026. Digitaliseringsstyrelsen would stay single point of contact and coordinate the market surveillance authorities, which the minister would name by order. The law would start the day after publication and repeal Act 467/2025. It was not passed as of 29 October 2026.[4]

    EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744

    Phased2024Bans and AI literacy apply from 2 February 2025, general-purpose AI rules from 2 August 2025, and most other rules from 2 August 2026. High-risk duties now apply from 2 December 2027 (Annex III) and 2 August 2028 (AI in regulated products). Fines for banned practices can reach EUR 35 million or 7% of worldwide turnover.[5]

    Where AI fits first

    Where AI fits first

    Public sector and municipalities

    Case summaries, matching jobseekers to support and drafting letters, with caseworkers deciding.

    Executive order no. 101 of 20 January 2026 sets conditions for municipal AI in employment services and bars decisions based solely on automated processing.[6]

    Life sciences and health

    Literature search, clinical document drafting and quality checks in production.

    Health data is a special category under Article 9 GDPR. AI that is a safety component of a medical device falls under Annex I, with high-risk duties from 2 August 2028.[5]

    Banking and insurance

    Customer service in Danish and English, document reading and fraud signals.

    Credit scoring and life and health insurance pricing are Annex III high-risk uses from 2 December 2027. Fraud detection is excluded from the credit scoring entry.[5]

    Shipping and logistics

    Forecasting demand, reading shipping documents and planning routes.

    We found no Danish AI rule specific to this sector. The GDPR and AI Act transparency rules still apply where people or personal data are involved.[1]

    Your first steps

    Your first steps

    1. Check each AI use against the Article 5 bans, which have applied since 2 February 2025 and are supervised by Digitaliseringsstyrelsen and Datatilsynet.
    2. Give staff basic AI training, since the AI literacy duty has applied since 2 February 2025.
    3. Run a data protection impact assessment before AI processes personal data at scale, and make sure a person reviews decisions with legal effects.
    4. If your service is aimed at children, plan for the Danish consent age of 15.
    5. Follow bill L 3 in the Folketing, since it will change which authorities supervise which AI uses.
    6. Put a GDPR transfer mechanism in place before personal data goes to a country without an adequacy decision.
    7. Plan high-risk work for 2 December 2027 if you use AI in hiring, credit, insurance or education.

    AI services for Denmark

    AI consulting and development for teams in Denmark

    We work remotely with companies in Denmark, in your time zone, and keep your data under the rules described above.

    AI agents and automation

    Agents that finish multi-step work across your tools, with people approving what matters.
    Learn more

    Document Q&A (RAG)

    Answers from your own documents, with the source shown for every answer.
    Learn more

    AI governance and data protection

    Policies, review steps and audit trails that fit your local data law.
    Learn more

    Software and cloud engineering

    Web apps, integrations and cloud platforms built around your AI use case.
    Learn more

    How we work with you

    How we work with you

    We work remotely with clients worldwide, in the client's time zone. India (UTC+5:30) is 4.5 hours ahead of Denmark in winter (UTC+1) and 3.5 hours ahead in summer (UTC+2). Taking a 9:00 to 17:00 day in Denmark and 9:30 to 18:30 in India, the overlap is about 5 hours in winter (09:00 to 14:00 Danish time) and 6 hours in summer (09:00 to 15:00). India has no EU adequacy decision, so any personal data we handle needs a GDPR transfer mechanism such as standard contractual clauses.

    Questions

    Common questions about AI in Denmark

    Does Denmark have its own AI law?

    Yes. Act no. 467 of 14 May 2025 has been in force since 2 August 2025 and names the authorities that supervise the EU AI Act. A replacement bill, L 3, was introduced on 7 October 2026 and had not been passed as of 29 October 2026.

    Who supervises AI in Denmark?

    Under Act 467/2025, Digitaliseringsstyrelsen is the single point of contact and supervises most banned practices, and Datatilsynet supervises two of the bans. The new bill would let the minister name market surveillance authorities by order.

    How are GDPR breaches punished in Denmark?

    Through the courts. Section 41 of the Data Protection Act provides for a fine or up to 6 months in prison. The GDPR's ceiling of EUR 20 million or 4% of worldwide turnover still sets the maximum fine level.

    When do the high-risk AI rules start?

    The Digital Omnibus on AI moved them. Annex III uses such as hiring, credit and education apply from 2 December 2027, and AI in products covered by EU product law from 2 August 2028.

    Complimentary tools

    Try these first

    Three complimentary tools from our AI Toolkit that suit a team starting out.

    AI readiness score

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    AI use case triage

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    AI project cost estimator

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    Read next

    Sources

    Sources

    Facts checked on 29 October 2026. Numbers in square brackets above match this list.
    1. [1] Publications Office of the European Union, 2016-04-27. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), Official…(publications.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation), Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016. Primary. Official Journal text. Used for Articles 9, 22, 33, 35 and 83.

    2. [2] Retsinformation (Justitsministeriet), 2024-03-08. LBK nr 289 af 08/03/2024, databeskyttelsesloven(retsinformation.dk)
      Full title and what we used it for

      LBK nr 289 af 08/03/2024, databeskyttelsesloven. Primary. Consolidated act, read on 29 October 2026 when marked as in force. Used for sections 6, 11 and 41. The original act is Act no. 502 of 23 May 2018.

    3. [3] Retsinformation (Ministry of Digital Affairs), 2025-05-14. LOV nr 467 af 14/05/2025, Lov om supplerende bestemmelser til forordnin…(retsinformation.dk)
      Full title and what we used it for

      LOV nr 467 af 14/05/2025, Lov om supplerende bestemmelser til forordningen om kunstig intelligens. Primary. Marked as in force on 29 October 2026. Used for section 2 (authorities) and section 12 (in force 2 August 2025).

    4. [4] Retsinformation (Ministry of Digital Affairs), 2026-10-07. 2026/1 LSF 3, Forslag til Lov om supplerende bestemmelser til forordnin…(retsinformation.dk)
      Full title and what we used it for

      2026/1 LSF 3, Forslag til Lov om supplerende bestemmelser til forordningen om kunstig intelligens (AI-loven). Primary bill text. Used for sections 2, 3 and 19. An earlier bill with the same title, L 111, was introduced in the 2025/1 session; we did not confirm what happened to it.

    5. [5] European Commission, AI Act Service Desk, 2026-10-29. AI Act, Article 113 (Entry into force and application)(ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      AI Act, Article 113 (Entry into force and application). Primary text as consolidated after the Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force 27 July 2026). Article 99 (https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/article-99) was used for fines and Annex III (https://ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu/en/ai-act/annex-3) for high-risk areas.

    6. [6] Retsinformation (Ministry of Employment), 2026-01-20. BEK nr 101 af 20/01/2026 om kommunernes behandling af personoplysninger…(retsinformation.dk)
      Full title and what we used it for

      BEK nr 101 af 20/01/2026 om kommunernes behandling af personoplysninger med kunstig intelligens eller lignende digitale løsninger i beskæftigelsesindsatsen. Primary. Used for section 1, including the bar on decisions based solely on automated processing.

    7. [7] Ministry of Digital Affairs, 2024-12-01. Strategic Approach to Artificial Intelligence(english.digmin.dk)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Strategic Approach to Artificial Intelligence. Primary. Dated December 2024. Used for the four initiatives and funding figures.

    8. [8] EuroHPC Joint Undertaking, 2026-08-31. EuroHPC JU signs contract to deploy LUMI-AI supercomputer(eurohpc-ju.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      EuroHPC JU signs contract to deploy LUMI-AI supercomputer. Primary. Used for Denmark's place in the consortium, the contract value and expected availability.

    9. [9] Eurostat, 2026-06-15. Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (isoc_eb_ai)(ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (isoc_eb_ai). Primary statistics. Enterprises with 10 or more staff, excluding the financial sector, using at least one AI technology.

    10. [10] European Commission, 2026-10-29. Adequacy decisions(commission.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Adequacy decisions. Primary. Used to confirm that India has no EU adequacy decision.

    This is general information, not legal advice. A new Danish AI bill is before parliament and the AI Act dates changed in 2026, so details may move. Check with a qualified Danish lawyer before you act. Facts checked on 29 October 2026.

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