Danish Patient Safety Authority: Authorisation and Exams

• Nurse (sygeplejerske)
• Midwife (jordemoder)
• Physiotherapist (fysioterapeut)
• Occupational therapist (ergoterapeut)
• Radiographer (radiograf)
• Clinical dietitian (klinisk diætist)
• Biomedical laboratory scientist (bioanalytiker)
• Psychologist (psykolog)

• Medical doctor (læge): authorisation and permission to work independently
• Dentist (tandlæge): authorisation and permission to work independently
• Social and healthcare assistant (social- og sundhedsassistent)
• Other authorised groups, including chiropractors, chiropodists, optometrists, contact lens opticians, dental hygienists, clinical dental technicians and prosthetists and orthotists: STPS says 20 groups in all must hold an authorisation

• In 2026, for doctors and nurses who are citizens of or trained in a country outside the EU/EEA: an exemption from the zero quota, such as legal residence in Denmark or a job offer as a specially requested healthcare professional.
• A completed basic education in the profession that STPS can assess as equivalent to the Danish basic education; for nurses, postgraduate education of up to 120 ECTS points can be taken into account.
• For doctors: primary source verification through ECFMG's EPIC of your final medical diploma, final transcript and licence to practise from your most recent country of work, with the licence report no more than 3 months old.
• For nurses: certified copies of your diploma and transcript, plus a confirmation of degree from your school and a Certificate of Current Professional Status no more than 3 months old, each sent in a sealed envelope.
• If your basic education was completed more than 6 years before you apply: documentation of at least 12 months of recent full-time work in the profession.
• Prøve i Dansk 3 with at least 10 in oral communication and 7 in reading comprehension and written communication, passed within 12 months before you apply unless you have lived in Denmark continuously since.
• For doctors and dentists: passes in the professional tests and the course in Danish health legislation.
• A job for adaptation and training purposes in Denmark, which you find yourself, and a positive evaluation at the end of it.

Check your route with the route finder

1. 1

   1. Check the quota and your exemption

   Before you pay anything, confirm that you fall into an exempt group. Applicants relying on legal residence upload their residence permit letter and both sides of the residence card; specially requested professionals upload the job offer, which for doctors must cover the full four-year evaluation period. Without one of these, STPS will reject a doctor's or nurse's application in 2026.
2. 2

   2. Complete ECFMG EPIC verification (doctors)

   Create an EPIC account and submit your final diploma, final transcript and licence to practise. ECFMG emails you as each credential is verified; when all three are done, you ask for the EPIC reports to be sent to STPS. Start early, because verification depends on how quickly your medical school and licensing body respond.
3. 3

   3. Apply online and pay the fee

   Fill in the online form for your profession and upload a colour, fully readable passport copy, CV, diploma, transcript and any postgraduate or name-change documents. The current fee is DKK 3,689 for doctors and DKK 1,362 for nurses, paid when you submit. Documents not in English, Norwegian or Swedish need certified translations in the same file as the original.
4. 4

   4. Send sealed documents (nurses)

   After the online application, nurses post certified copies of their diploma and transcript, a confirmation of degree from the educational institution and a Certificate of Current Professional Status from the health authority, the last two in sealed envelopes. STPS starts processing within a few working days once everything is in.
5. 5

   5. Receive the education assessment

   For doctors, STPS says it assesses a complete application in about 14 days. If your education is approved, the letter sets out what you must do to obtain authorisation; it is not an authorisation. The deadline clock now starts: 5 years for doctors to complete the first adaptation job and start or secure the final one, and 3 years for nurses to meet every requirement.
6. 6

   6. Pass the Danish 3 exam and send the certificate

   Take Prøve i Dansk 3 in May/June or November/December and send the original or a certified copy of the result. STPS confirms it within up to 14 days. Getting the grades (10 oral, 7 reading, 7 written) is the step that takes longest for most applicants.
7. 7

   7. Sit the medical tests (doctors)

   You are registered automatically for the written test once the language requirement is approved. The written test (March or September) must be passed before the oral test (May or November). If you are ill on the day, tell the exam office by 9:00 and send a medical certificate within three working days, or the attempt counts.
8. 8

   8. Complete the course in Danish health legislation

   The online course is free and in Danish, and you are enrolled once your language documentation is received. The final test has 20 questions and you need 18 right, with three attempts. It must be completed within one month of starting your adaptation job.
9. 9

   9. Apply for temporary authorisation and start your adaptation job

   Once you have a job offer, apply for a temporary authorisation (evalueringsautorisation). Nurses send an updated CV, a certificate of good standing and the application form stamped by the employer, and STPS says processing takes at least 14 days. For doctors, the Regional Councils for Postgraduate Medical Training must approve the specific posts.
10. 10

    10. Evaluation and authorisation

    Your department assesses your clinical and communication skills and completes an evaluation form at the end of the employment. A positive evaluation leads to Danish authorisation, and for doctors permission to work independently. After a negative evaluation you may try again, but only within your original deadline.

• Written medical test (doctors)

  A four-hour written test covering all medical specialties at the level of a Danish medical graduate, held in March and September at the University of Copenhagen. It is graded on the 7-point scale with external examiners, is in Danish and is free. You have three attempts.

• Oral medical test (doctors)

  A two-hour test with several stations assessing different specialties, held in May and November after you pass the written test. It is graded pass or fail, in Danish and free, with three attempts. Detailed dates are published in Danish by the University of Copenhagen's faculty.

• Dental tests (dentists)

  A written test held in March and September, then oral tests in children's dentistry and adult dentistry held in May and November. The written test must be passed first.

• Course in Danish health legislation (doctors and dentists)

  An online e-learning course in Danish with five modules and a final test of 20 questions; 18 correct answers are needed to pass, with three attempts. It is free.

• Adaptation employment evaluation

  The final assessment for every profession: 12 months in two 6-month posts in different specialties for doctors without recognised specialist training, 6 months for doctors with it, and 6 months for nurses, extended if you lack clinical teaching hours. Your employer's evaluation decides the outcome.

• STPS tests Danish, not English. The requirement is Prøve i Dansk 3 with at least 10 in oral communication, 7 in reading comprehension and 7 in written communication.
• For nurses educated outside the EU/EEA, the Danish 3 requirement applies from 1 July 2025. Nurses who had started or been offered adaptation employment by that date, or whose 3-year deadline ended before 1 July 2026, were exempt.
• The pass must be no more than 12 months old when you apply, unless you have lived in Denmark continuously since passing it.
• Danish upper secondary education, the higher preparatory examination (HF), GIF, a Danish IB or a Danish university education also meet the requirement.
• No English test is listed. Documents in English, Norwegian or Swedish are accepted without translation; others need a certified translation by a university, an authority or a certified translator.
• The medical tests, the dental tests and the course in Danish health legislation are all held in Danish.

Estimate your total cost

• Education assessment for doctors: about 14 days after STPS receives complete documentation, according to STPS.
• Language documentation: confirmed within up to 14 days of receipt; the Danish 3 exam itself is held only twice a year.
• Medical tests: written in March or September, oral in May or November, so a doctor who passes each first time needs at least two exam rounds.
• Temporary authorisation for nurses: at least 14 days to process.
• Adaptation job: 6 or 12 months, longer if clinical teaching hours are missing; doctors have 5 years and nurses 3 years from the education assessment to meet the requirements.
• Overall: STPS says obtaining authorisation and permission to work independently may take several years, depending on how quickly you learn Danish and pass the tests.