New in Denmark: how to get your prescription medicine, renewals and what happens with prescriptions from abroad

What are the steps to get prescription medicine after moving to Denmark?

Register for a CPR number and health card, get assigned a GP, have a Danish doctor issue an e-prescription, and collect the medicine at any pharmacy on your CPR number.

1. Register with the municipalityWith a residence address and the required permit or registration certificate you get a CPR number at the citizen service or an International Citizen Service, and the yellow health card naming your GP follows by post.
2. Book your GP or an online doctorYour GP is free with the health card but may have a wait and a Danish-language booking system. Private and online clinics can see you earlier, in English, and without MitID.
3. Get the e-prescriptionThe doctor sends it electronically to the shared prescription system on your CPR number. There is no paper to carry.
4. Collect at the pharmacyAny pharmacy in Denmark, usually the same day or the next, or a registered Danish online pharmacy with delivery. You pay at the counter.

Until the CPR number is in place, emergency care is open to everyone, and EU citizens can use the European Health Insurance Card for necessary public care. For routine prescriptions the pharmacy needs the CPR number, so the first weeks are the gap to plan for.

Can I use a prescription from my home country in Denmark?

If it was issued in another EU or EEA country, a Danish pharmacy can dispense it when the prescription meets the EU requirements for cross-border prescriptions and the medicine is authorised in Denmark; prescriptions from outside the EU normally cannot be dispensed.

The EU rules on cross-border healthcare let a prescription issued in one member state be dispensed in another. The prescription must identify you, the prescriber with contact details and signature, and the medicine clearly, normally by its active substance; the pharmacist decides whether it can be dispensed and may substitute an equivalent Danish product. Controlled substances are excluded, and the medicine must be on the Danish market. The Danish Medicines Agency (Lægemiddelstyrelsen) publishes the requirements.

A prescription from the United States, the United Kingdom or another country outside the EU and EEA is not valid at a Danish pharmacy. See a Danish doctor, bring your documentation and current medicine, and have a Danish e-prescription issued before your supply runs out.

Can I bring my medicine with me when I move?

Medicine for your own personal use can normally be brought into Denmark from another EU country, with stricter rules for controlled substances and for imports from outside the EU, so check the Danish Medicines Agency's rules before you travel.

Keep medicine in the original packaging with your name, and carry a list of active substances and doses in English. A Danish doctor can read the active substance even when the brand name differs, and many medicines are sold under another name, or as generics, in Denmark.

How do renewals and refills work in Denmark?

Only a doctor can renew a prescription, and renewal is usually a written request to your GP or part of the programme at an online clinic, not a new visit each time.

A Danish prescription can allow several dispensings, which the pharmacy counts down in the system; your Shared Medication Record on sundhed.dk shows what is left. GPs usually take renewal requests through their website, in Danish. At Recepta renewals are included: the doctor follows up every 4 weeks during weight loss dose increases, renews hair loss prescriptions every 4 weeks, and includes all renewals in the erectile dysfunction membership.

When is an online doctor the better route for a newcomer?

When you want a time this week in an English booking flow, have no GP yet, or need a treatment area that online clinics specialise in, such as weight loss, erectile dysfunction, hair loss or testosterone.

A licensed Danish doctor may prescribe after a video or phone consultation when it is medically responsible, and the e-prescription is identical to the one your GP issues. At Recepta you book with your name and e-mail, without MitID, the consultation is free, the first 4 weeks cost DKK 0, and after that the membership is DKK 69 to 199 per 4 weeks depending on treatment and binding. Medicine is paid at the pharmacy. You still need a CPR number for the pharmacy to find the prescription; write to kontakt@recepta.dk if you do not have one yet. Booking is on the English front page.

Online clinics are not the route for acute illness, children or anything that needs a physical examination; acutely, call 1813 in the Capital Region or 112 for emergencies.

What will my medicine cost in Denmark?

The same at every pharmacy: prices are set nationally every 14 days, generics are often far cheaper than originals, and for medicine without public subsidy you pay the full price.

Pharmacies offer the cheapest equivalent package unless the doctor has written otherwise. Weight loss, erectile dysfunction and hair loss medicine have no general subsidy: Wegovy costs DKK 1,284.25 to 2,296.55 per 4 weeks, generic sildenafil from DKK 34.30 for 12 tablets of 50 mg, and finasteride 1 mg from DKK 124.10 for 30 tablets (28 September to 11 October 2026). See medication prices in Denmark and the daily pharmacy prices.

Frequently asked questions