Before you start

CPR number
The yellow health card, which arrives by post after registration
MitID, for sundhed.dk and prescription records
Insurance covering the gap between arrival and registration

Step-by-step

1
Wait for the yellow card and check which GP you were assigned
The card arrives by post after CPR registration and names your GP. You can change to another practice with open capacity for a small fee, and it is worth checking the assigned one is somewhere you can actually reach.
In personWho: YouWeek 2–4
2
Register with sundhed.dk
Log in with MitID to see your medical record, prescriptions, referrals and test results. It is genuinely comprehensive and is how you follow what is happening rather than waiting for letters.
OnlineWho: You
3
Use your GP as the entry point for everything non-urgent
Specialists, physiotherapy, psychology and hospital investigation almost all require a GP referral. Attempting to book a specialist directly is generally not possible in the public system. Build the relationship early rather than at the point of need.
In personWho: You
4
Call 1813 before any out-of-hours or emergency visit
In the Capital Region, 1813 is answered around the clock and decides whether you need to be seen, where, and when. Emergency departments here operate by appointment through 1813 rather than as walk-in facilities. This is different from the rest of Denmark and different from almost everywhere else.
OnlineWho: You
5
Understand what is and is not covered
GP and hospital care are free at the point of use. Adult dental care is largely private with only partial subsidy, physiotherapy is part-subsidised on referral, and prescription medicines are reimbursed on a rising scale within a twelve-month period. Many employers offer supplementary health insurance covering exactly these gaps — ask.
Via employerWho: You
6
Consider Group 1 versus Group 2
Group 1, the default, gives you free care through your assigned GP with referrals. Group 2 lets you consult any doctor or specialist directly but you pay part of the cost. Almost everyone stays in Group 1; the choice exists and few newcomers know it does.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Yellow sundhedskort
CPR number
MitID for sundhed.dk
Vaccination records and existing prescriptions from your previous country
EHIC or private cover for the pre-registration gap

Things most newcomers don’t know

1813 is not an advice line, it is the door — and the Capital Region does it differently from the rest of Denmark.

Region Hovedstaden runs its emergency departments as appointment-based facilities accessed through the 1813 medical helpline. Arriving without calling means being redirected, sometimes after a long wait. Elsewhere in Denmark the out-of-hours arrangement uses a different number and works differently, so advice from a friend in Aarhus or Odense will be wrong here. 1813 is answered around the clock and is the correct first call for anything that is urgent but not life-threatening; 112 remains the number for genuine emergencies.

Source: Region Hovedstaden

The treatment guarantee lets you go private at public expense when the wait is too long.

Denmark's udvidet frit sygehusvalg gives patients the right to treatment at a private or out-of-region hospital, paid by the region, when the public system cannot treat them within the guaranteed period. The region does not always volunteer this; the patient asks. It is the most valuable right in the Danish system and one of the least exercised by people who have not grown up with it.

Source: Sundhedsstyrelsen

Your GP is assigned, not chosen, and they are the gate to everything else.

The yellow card names a practice, allocated on geography and capacity. Almost all specialist access runs through a referral from that practice, so a GP you cannot easily reach becomes a structural problem rather than an inconvenience. Changing practice is possible for a small fee if the one you want has capacity, and it is much easier to do in your first weeks than during an illness.

Source: borger.dk / Life in Denmark

Adult dental care is the conspicuous gap, and it is why employer health insurance exists here.

Danish public healthcare covers dentistry for children but only partially subsidises it for adults, so a routine check-up and any real work are largely out of pocket. This is the main thing the widespread employer-funded supplementary health insurance actually buys, along with physiotherapy and quicker private specialist appointments. Ask what your contract includes — it is often not mentioned at signing and is worth a real amount.

Source: Life in Denmark

Common mistakes to avoid

Going to an emergency department in the Capital Region without calling 1813 first.
Applying advice about out-of-hours care from another Danish region, where the arrangements differ.
Accepting an assigned GP miles from home instead of changing practice early.
Assuming adult dental care is covered the way GP care is.
Not asking about the treatment guarantee when quoted a long specialist wait.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.