Removals to Denmark: Customs and Moving Goods

What does Toldstyrelsen let you bring in tax-free when you move?

Your personal belongings can enter Denmark without customs duty or VAT if you move your normal place of residence from a country outside the EU and meet Toldstyrelsen’s requirements. They are set out on its page on removal goods (flyttegods) (opens in a new window), last changed on 8 September 2026. Alcoholic drinks, tobacco, commercial motor vehicles and business equipment still bear duty, VAT and excise duty.

For customs, the UK “is now treated as any other non-EU country”, says the European Commission’s page on the UK (opens in a new window), so goods coming from Great Britain arrive from a non-EU country. That page also notes that EU customs rules still generally govern goods moving into and out of Northern Ireland. None of the Toldstyrelsen pages we read names the UK or Northern Ireland, so a household in Northern Ireland should put the question to Toldstyrelsen. Goods arriving from another EU country such as Germany are a different case, which our Denmark and Germany removals guide covers.

We move nothing ourselves; we introduce you to removal companies. A company from our partner network receives your details and confirms that it covers the route, then tells you what it needs from you and by when. Whether the relief applies is for Toldstyrelsen to decide, on your evidence.

This page deals with the Danish end only. For the UK end of the move, with the export declaration, see our UK customs documentation checklist. Leaving Denmark for the UK involves different authorities and different steps, which this page does not set out.

Who files what: the import declaration and form 12.024?

Two filings reach Toldstyrelsen. Your carrier or forwarder (speditør) makes the import declaration (importangivelse) for your belongings. You fill in the removal-goods declaration yourself, flyttegodserklæring, form 12.024, and either send it in or have your forwarder do so. The form states what you bring and whether it meets the conditions for relief.

A number ties the two together. Box A (rubrik A) of the import declaration holds four digits that refer to the customs office (toldsted) where the form goes. Toldstyrelsen’s list of office numbers (opens in a new window) gives, for example, 7900 for Toldstyrelsen København and 4700 for Toldstyrelsen Aarhus. The form and your papers can be handed in or sent electronically.

Toldstyrelsen’s checklist gives the order. List what is coming, ask your forwarder for the import declaration, collect your evidence and fill in the form. Then email it to the customs office named on the declaration, or give it to your carrier or forwarder, before your belongings are sent off. The evidence it names as examples is:

A lease or a house purchase contract, or an employment contract.
A residence certificate (bopælsattest).
Other papers showing how long you lived abroad and that you are moving your home to Denmark.
Receipts showing that you have owned your belongings for six months, which the page says applies especially to items of significant value.

Toldstyrelsen’s page does not say how long it takes, what it sends back, or what it accepts if your country of departure issues no residence certificate. Its general fallback is “other documentation”, so ask before the goods ship.

If you carry the goods yourself, Toldstyrelsen gives Norway and Switzerland as examples and suggests asking a forwarder or carrier to prepare the papers. You may instead declare them yourself with the removal-goods form and pages 6, 7 and 8 of the single administrative document (opens in a new window) (enhedsdokument).

What does form 12.024 make you declare?

As owner you sign five statements on form 12.024, Erklæring om flyttegods. They are a continuous 12 months of residence abroad, personal property only, no commercial vehicles, possession and use of the goods at your former home, and the same use in Denmark. The form is a two-page PDF. The edition (opens in a new window) linked from Toldstyrelsen’s form page (opens in a new window), last changed on 20 April 2026, is marked 2026.04, and an English version, 12.024 EN (opens in a new window), sits beside it.

In full, the first page has you declare the information and the specification to be correct, and state that:

your normal place of residence has been in the country you name for a continuous period of at least 12 months (the English edition adds: outside the EU customs territory);
the shipment holds only your personal property;
it holds no commercial vehicles, and any motor vehicle you list will be used only for private purposes;
apart from things that are used up, you have possessed and used the goods at your former place of residence;
you will use them for the same purpose at your new place of residence.

The top of form 12.024 asks for your name, your address in the EU, your CPR number and passport number, your date of moving and a telephone number. It also asks for your address abroad and the dates you lived there, a container or trailer number, a customs reference number, the number and type of packages, and their gross weight.

The second page of form 12.024 is a specification. Vehicles, trailers, caravans, mobile homes, boats and private aircraft are listed by number and type, make, model and chassis number. Alcohol is listed by kind, number of bottles and bottle size, and tobacco by kind and amount. A box for a statement and a block reserved for Toldstyrelsen complete it.

Form 12.024 prints its own definition of personal property. The Danish text covers household goods and furnishings, bicycles and motorcycles for private use, trailers, caravans, boats and private aircraft. It also covers normal household provisions, pets and riding animals, and portable tools or instruments you need for your work. It does not mention cars, which the English edition, the regulation and the legal guidance do. The goods’ nature and quantity must not suggest a commercial import, and alcohol and tobacco get no relief.

How do Toldstyrelsen’s requirements compare with the legal guidance?

Toldstyrelsen’s page lists four requirements for an ordinary move: 12 consecutive months lived outside the EU, the same use of the goods afterwards, import within 12 months of the move, and import no earlier than six months before it. The Danish legal guidance (Den juridiske vejledning), section F.A.18.3 (opens in a new window), sets them out as conditions (a) to (f) and adds one the page does not list.

Six months of possession and use.
Condition (a) of the guidance says you must have possessed and used the goods for at least six months, and Article 4(a) of Regulation 1186/2009 (opens in a new window) allows exceptions in special cases justified by the circumstances. The guidance also lets Toldstyrelsen set conditions (a), (b), (d) and (f) aside for moves forced by exceptional political circumstances, though not the bar on alcohol and tobacco. Toldstyrelsen’s page mentions six months of ownership only in its list of evidence, and the form’s statement names no period, so plan on the six months applying.
Twelve months outside the EU.
The guidance accepts a shorter stay if you can show you really meant to stay at least 12 months. Toldstyrelsen’s page says the same of a stay cut short, with an employment contract or a tenancy agreement as proof, in a section addressed to people moving home to Denmark.
Normal place of residence.
The page calls it an overall assessment of, among other things, your private and occupational ties to Denmark. The guidance cites EU Court of Justice case C-528/14: if the centre of a person’s interests cannot be pinned down, the length of the person’s stay in the third country is given particular weight.
Lending and selling.
On Toldstyrelsen’s English page (opens in a new window), lending, pledging or renting out in the first 12 months means duty and VAT; the Danish page adds transferring and selling. Article 8(1) of the regulation bars these “without prior notification to the competent authorities”, which neither the Danish page nor the guidance repeats. Article 8(2) makes any such loan, pledge, hire or transfer inside the year liable to duty at the rate on that date, so ask before lending anything in that year.

Toldstyrelsen’s legal guidance also says VAT relief is given to the same extent and on the same terms as the duty relief, for removal goods and for the marriage, inheritance and study routes below.

How early can the goods come, and how late?

Goods may be imported no earlier than six months before your move and no later than 12 months after it. That is the window on Toldstyrelsen’s page, and the legal guidance repeats it. Goods that arrive before your move need security for the customs duty and VAT, and the guidance says Toldstyrelsen releases the security when the conditions for relief are met.

Neither Toldstyrelsen’s removal-goods page nor the guidance chapter on removal goods (F.A.18.3) says how much security, in what form, or how to arrange it. Article 9 of the regulation says the person undertakes to establish a normal residence in the EU within six months, and that the form and amount of the security are set by the competent authorities. Ask Toldstyrelsen, through your forwarder, what your declaration needs.

For goods that come early, Article 9(2) of the regulation counts the six months of possession back from the day they enter the EU, rather than back from the day you stop living abroad. Article 7(2) lets goods be released in separate consignments inside the 12 months, and Article 7(1) allows exceptions to the 12-month limit “in special cases”. Toldstyrelsen’s page mentions neither split loads nor exceptions to the 12 months, so tell your forwarder if yours will be split.

Do you need a Danish address and CPR number before you file?

Form 12.024 asks for your CPR number, the Danish personal identification number, and for an address in the EU. Neither Toldstyrelsen’s page nor the form says if you can send it before you have them, so ask Toldstyrelsen what to enter. What the registration pages say about getting a CPR number is below.

On borger.dk, the page on moving to Denmark (opens in a new window) has a group for citizens outside the Nordic countries, the EU/EEA and Switzerland. They must report their arrival to the municipality’s citizen service if they will stay over three months, have a home or fixed place to stay, and hold a residence permit or certificate. The deadline is five days after they have both a home and the permit, and they must appear in person. The page does not name the UK, so check which group applies to you.

The official site for newcomers, lifeindenmark.dk (opens in a new window), adds that a permanent address in Denmark is mandatory to get a CPR number. It says you cannot apply before you have found a place to live and actually live there, and that the minimum period of living there varies by municipality, usually one to three months. It lists six International Citizen Service centres: Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Aalborg, Odense, Sønderborg and Aarhus.

Residence permits are for the Danish immigration authorities, and we give no immigration advice. Tax is a separate matter too: skat.dk (opens in a new window) says you become subject to full tax liability when you move to Denmark and live here, and must then report non-Danish accounts, securities, pension schemes, property and income.

Do marriage, inheritance and study have their own Danish rules?

Yes. Toldstyrelsen’s removal-goods page gives separate conditions for each, and the legal guidance and the EU regulation cover the same three routes. This page deals with a move of home, so these are only outlines. The marriage and inheritance routes exclude alcohol and tobacco, and the inheritance route excludes more.

Marriage.
You need 12 consecutive months outside the EU and proof of the marriage. The wedding sets the window for equipment, movable property and household effects, new ones included: from two months before the wedding day, with security for duty and VAT, until four months after it. Customary wedding gifts from givers living outside the EU are covered up to EUR 1,000 each, about DKK 7,500.
Inheritance.
Your normal place of residence must be in Denmark and you must document the inheritance. The belongings must be imported within two years of the final settlement of the estate, and the guidance allows several consignments in that time. Commercial vehicles, business equipment other than the portable tools the deceased needed, stocks of raw materials and finished goods, and livestock beyond a family’s needs are excluded.
Study.
A full-time student from outside the EU pays no duty or VAT on personal equipment and teaching materials needed for the studies. The Danish page adds furnishings that form part of a normal student home; the guidance and the regulation speak of a student’s room, and the guidance says used furnishings. The guidance allows relief several times in each school year.

Which goods does Danish customs leave out or restrict?

Alcoholic drinks, tobacco products, commercial motor vehicles and equipment used in a trade or profession are outside the relief, apart from tools, equipment and instruments that are genuinely portable. Form 12.024 asks you to list alcohol and tobacco on its specification page. Toldstyrelsen’s page on goods with special rules (opens in a new window), changed on 6 January 2026, adds limits that catch ordinary households.

Fireworks.
A private person may not import fireworks, CE-marked ones included.
Pesticides and chemicals.
The page bars pesticides and poisons such as sprays, rat poison and insecticide, environmentally hazardous chemicals, and refrigerants such as freon in disposable containers.
Weapons and explosives.
A long list of weapons, firearms and explosives needs a permit, and the page points to borger.dk for a guide list.
Plants.
From a country outside the EU, plants need a phytosanitary certificate, notice in advance to Landbrugsstyrelsen for import control, and a fee. The page names removal loads (flyttelæs) only in its section on plants from other EU countries, so ask before packing plants from outside the EU.
Animal foods.
From outside the EU, the page says to avoid bringing milk, meat, eggs, cheese, honey and shellfish, raw or processed.
Cultural objects.
An item under 200 years old and worth under EUR 18,000 will probably not count as one. An item that does needs an import licence or importer statement, and only for imports from outside the EU.
Pets.
The form counts pets and riding animals as personal property, but the page’s list of authorities sends pets to Fødevarestyrelsen. Our guide to moving abroad with a pet gives the general picture. Our pet relocation to Denmark guide covers the Danish rules.

Cash has its own rule. A traveller carrying EUR 10,000 or more in cash, cheques or certain gold into or out of Denmark declares it to Toldstyrelsen (opens in a new window), even when only passing through. Money sent with a commercial carrier is not declared in advance, but if Toldstyrelsen finds it in a check it can require a form within 30 days (opens in a new window), and a late or incomplete form risks a fine. Toldstyrelsen’s cash pages do not say how these rules treat cash packed in a removal load, so ask before packing any.

Where do a car and a motorbike fit in?

A car or motorbike for private use counts as removal goods on Toldstyrelsen’s page, but special rules apply and the page sends you to Motorstyrelsen, the Danish motor vehicle agency. Its page on importing a vehicle (opens in a new window), changed on 8 October 2026, says a vehicle from outside the EU normally attracts duty and VAT, but removal goods can in some cases come in free of both or at lower rates.

The legal guidance gives the conditions for a used vehicle to enter duty-free and VAT-free as removal goods. You must have possessed and used it for the past six months, shown by a foreign registration certificate, and you may not sell, pledge or rent it out in the first 12 months. The 12 months lived outside the EU must also be shown.

Customs clearance is a separate step from registration. Motorstyrelsen says that on reaching the first customs office in the EU you should ask a forwarder to clear the vehicle, and that the clearance is your proof it was imported correctly for customs and VAT. Danish plates then need registration tax. Motorstyrelsen’s English page (opens in a new window) says “You need to pay registration tax in order to get Danish number plates.” If you live in Denmark and import a vehicle on foreign plates, you have 30 days to register it. This page stops there.

Shipping a vehicle means a container or a RoRo (roll-on roll-off) ship, and our guide to shipping a car when moving abroad covers the general steps. We’re an enquiry and introduction service, so we don’t ship vehicles ourselves.

Who does what: you, your forwarder and Toldstyrelsen?

Toldstyrelsen’s pages give a separate task to each of three parties: your forwarder or carrier, you and Toldstyrelsen itself. The order matters, because where you send the form depends on a number from the forwarder’s import declaration, which comes first in Toldstyrelsen’s checklist.

Your forwarder or carrier
makes the import declaration, which carries the four-digit office number in box A, and can hand in your form for you. Ask in writing who files what, and whether customs work is charged, with the quotation.
You
fill in and sign form 12.024, gather the evidence and keep the dates straight: the months you lived outside the EU, your move date and the day each load arrives. The form is yours, so read it before signing.
Toldstyrelsen
decides whether the relief applies and releases any security once the conditions are met.

Our international moving checklist places each customs task on a calendar. To see where customs work can add to a quotation, read what international removals cost.

Questions about Danish customs and form 12.024

Do I fill in the customs form myself, or does my forwarder?

You fill in form 12.024 yourself, as owner, and sign it.

Your forwarder or carrier makes the separate import declaration and can hand in your form for you. Toldstyrelsen’s checklist says to send the form and evidence to the customs office named on that declaration before your belongings leave.

How do I find the customs office to send form 12.024 to?

Look in box A of the import declaration, which carries four digits naming the customs office.

Toldstyrelsen publishes a list of office numbers, such as 7900 for Toldstyrelsen København, so your forwarder can confirm which office gets your form.

Can I file before I have a CPR number?

Toldstyrelsen does not say.

The form has fields for a CPR number and an address in the EU, and lifeindenmark.dk says a CPR number needs a permanent Danish address where you actually live. Ask Toldstyrelsen what to enter before the goods ship.

Can my furniture arrive before I move?

Yes, no earlier than six months before your move.

Toldstyrelsen asks for security for the customs duty and VAT on goods that arrive early, and the legal guidance says the security is released when the conditions for relief are met. The pages do not give an amount.

Are things I bought in the last few months covered?

Generally not.

The legal guidance requires possession and use for at least six months, and Toldstyrelsen asks for receipts showing six months of ownership, especially for valuable items. The regulation allows exceptions in special cases, and the guidance adds one for moves forced by exceptional political circumstances. Tell your forwarder which items are newer.

Can I pack fireworks, garden chemicals or wine?

Wine and other alcohol never get the relief, and the form asks you to list them.

A private person may not import fireworks, CE-marked ones included. Pesticides, rat poison and refrigerants such as freon in disposable containers are also barred, so leave them behind.

Does a car come in tax-free as removal goods?

Possibly for customs duty and VAT.

The legal guidance allows a used vehicle that you have possessed and used for six months, shown by its foreign registration certificate. Registration tax is separate: Motorstyrelsen says you need to pay it to get Danish number plates.

Tell us which Danish town your belongings are going to

Give us your UK postcode, the town in Denmark you are moving to and the day your home moves. Tell us if some belongings will come early or in a second load, and whether a car or motorbike is coming, so your removal company knows what else is travelling and when.

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About International Removals Companies

International Removals Companies is an enquiry and introduction service run by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, in partnership with AGM Group. We don't move goods ourselves: the removal company quotes for your move and carries it out, so check its credentials and terms before you book. Our service is free. Discuss the quotation and booking terms directly with the removal company.

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