Denmark tests your Danish and health law, then watches you work

Medical and health education in Denmark

Medicine in Denmark is a six-year Master’s programme in two parts, a three-year bachelor’s and a three-year candidate degree, awarded as cand.med. It is taught in Danish at four universities: Copenhagen, Aarhus, Southern Denmark in Odense, and Aalborg. The Danish Accreditation Institution approves programmes, and admission is competitive. Pharmacy and dentistry are five-year Master’s programmes, and nursing is a three-and-a-half-year professional bachelor’s at university colleges.

Authorisation as a doctor comes from the Danish Patient Safety Authority (Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed). It is granted to Danish graduates with no licensing exam. New doctors then complete clinical basic training (KBU), a year of paid hospital and general practice posts, which is the gateway to specialist training. Specialty posts are competitive and are applied for individually. Doctors trained outside the EU and EEA follow a different route: the Danish language test (Prøve i Dansk 3), a health-law course and test, and a period of evaluation employment of about six months, after which the Authority decides on authorisation. Confirm the current steps on the authority’s website.

In Denmark the "exam" is a job

Almost every other country in this series asks for a paper that tests clinical knowledge. Denmark does not. After you have shown Danish and legal knowledge, competence is judged in the workplace. A consultant or supervisor watches how you work, and a report is written. That period is the assessment.

This has practical effects. You cannot study your way through it with a question bank, and you cannot book a date. You need a hospital or clinic that will employ you as an evaluation candidate, and that is the hard part.

Who needs what in Denmark

EU and EEA graduates use recognition under Directive 2005/36/EC. They are not put through this route.

Doctors: language, law, then evaluation

The doctors' route has four elements.

1. Prøve i Dansk 3. The Danish language test at the level used for professional access. Medical Danish is tested too.
2. Health-law course and test. A course on Danish health legislation and the organisation of the health service, ending in a test.
3. Evaluation employment. A period of supervised work, about six months, in which your clinical performance is assessed.
4. Authorisation. STPS grants authorisation to practise once the elements are complete and the evaluation is satisfactory.

Because there is no MCQ medical exam, nothing in this route can be answered by recall. The tests that exist are of language and of law. The clinical judgement that other countries test with a paper is observed in the workplace.

Nurses, midwives, dentists, physiotherapists and pharmacists

The pattern for the other five professions is the same, with different content. You prove Danish with Prøve i Dansk 3, complete a health-legislation course, and go through an adaptation or evaluation period suited to your profession. Pharmacists are authorised by STPS, with the Lægemiddelstyrelsen (Danish Medicines Agency) involved in the pharmaceutical field.

The adaptation period can differ in length depending on the decision on your qualification. STPS assesses the equivalence of your education and may set its length and content. Ask for the decision in writing.

Language

Danish is the language of every step. Prøve i Dansk 3 is the standard proof and is taken through a language school that offers the test. Danish pronunciation is hard for many learners, and clinical conversation is faster than classroom Danish. Plan for exposure, not only for study.

How Denmark compares

What this means for preparation

The things you can prepare are the Danish test and the health-law test. For the clinical side, the best preparation is revision of core practice in the form you will use it: a clear history, a structured examination, a safe plan and a short, accurate note. A question bank has limited value here, so we say so. If Denmark is your target, join the waitlist and tell us whether a language and health-law pack would help.

Common questions about the Danish route

How do I find an evaluation employment?

You apply to hospitals and clinics that accept evaluation candidates. Regional health authorities and individual departments handle recruitment, so a covering letter, a CV in Danish if possible, and a clear statement of your language level help. Ask STPS for any list of eligible workplaces.

Is the evaluation paid?

Evaluation employment is a job, so it is paid under the terms of the post. Conditions vary by employer, so ask before you accept.

What if the evaluation is not satisfactory?

STPS sets the rules on extensions and repeats. Read them early, so you know the risk of a weak first placement.

Why does Denmark do it this way?

The country relies on direct workplace assessment of clinical competence, backed by language and law tests, rather than a standard knowledge paper. Whatever the reason, it changes how you should prepare: spend your effort on Danish and on being a safe, communicative clinician.

How to organise your time

Begin with Danish, since every later step depends on it. Apply to STPS early for an assessment of your education, because its decision tells you the length of the adaptation or evaluation period and any extra requirements. While you wait, build contacts with departments that take evaluation candidates, and keep your CV, references and certified translations ready. The sequence is slow, but the steps that can run in parallel are the language, the decision and the employer search.

What to ask STPS in your first email

Ask which documents it needs, how long assessment currently takes, what length of adaptation or evaluation period applies to your profession, which language certificates it accepts, and whether any step can be waived given your experience. Keep the replies. They are your record if a later decision differs from what you were told.

Last reviewed October 2026