Denmark

Last modified on 14 April, 2026

Legislative basis for CCAM testing

Legal basis for testing:

Denmark regulates the testing of self-driving motor vehicles, by the “Danish Road Traffic Act” Chapter 15. The legislation was recently evaluated, and based on the results, the Road Directorate and the Danish Road Traffic Authority recommended simplifying the application process, allowing area-based applications, and considering a more relaxed process for safety show trials or vehicles with UN/EU type approval.

Additionally, the testing framework is specifically regulated by two key Executive Orders that entered into force on July 1, 2025:

Executive Order No. 843 of 25/06/2025: Dictates the requirements, competencies, and supervision of the independent assessors evaluating the road safety consequences of autonomous vehicle trials.
Executive Order No. 925 of 24/06/2025: Establishes the detailed rules for experiments with autonomous vehicles, replacing previous local trial orders.

Contact information: Vejdirektoratet (The Danish Road Directorate / Administration) is the first point of contact regarding applications for tests and is the authority that grants the trial permits. The Directorate ensures that the relevant road authority, the police, and any private road owners are consulted before granting permission. The Danish Road Traffic Authority is the competent authority for the approval and supervision of the trial assessors.

Application Requirements

Link to application form: Digital applications are accepted.

Entities allowed to apply to the exemption: There is no restriction on who can apply for permission for testing. Legal entities (companies) can be held criminally liable if rules are broken.

List of requirements:

Completed application form.
Insurance for vehicle.
Registration of the vehicle.
Description of the modifications to the test vehicle (if based on type-approved vehicle).
Conducted risk assessment/analysis.
Confirmation of / information to road operator.
Documentation of successful pre-tests on proving ground.
Performing a successful pre-testing phase on public roads with no passengers.
All other legislation relating to the trial must be complied with.
Assessor Requirements:
- The assessor evaluating the trial must be strictly impartial and independent (complying with DS/EN ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standards or equivalent).
- They must hold valid professional liability insurance and possess required competencies in general traffic, IT and data, vehicle technology, infrastructure, organization, and risk management.

List of the required documents: According to Executive Order No. 925, the application to the Danish Road Directorate must contain a detailed description of the experiment, specifically including:

A description of the motor vehicles used in the experiment.
A detailed plan for implementation, including the levels of automation.
A description of the area where the experiment will be carried out, including an indication of the road sections covered in a map appendix.
A description of the expected traffic and weather conditions for the trial.
A description of the organization behind the experiment.
A highly detailed data plan prepared for the collection, recording, systematization, storage, use, disclosure, correlation, and deletion of data generated in connection with the journey.
A road safety evaluation from an approved assessor, compliant with the rules established in the Executive Order on Assessors.
Assessor Approval Documents: The separate application to approve the assessor must include a preliminary description of the experiment, a declaration of the legal person applying, and documentation of the assessor’s competencies.

Responsible for the safety validation: Independent assessor / Technical service (by means of expert reports). The assessor must be formally approved by the Danish Road Traffic Authority for the specific trial and maintain impartiality and independence.

Average handling time for the process: When a fully and satisfactorily informed application has been received, the processing time will be approx. 4 months depending on, among other things, the course of the political part of the case processing.

Application fee: For CCAM motor vehicles there is no application fee.

Is a test permit issued by another country accepted? No. However, if the autonomous vehicle holds a UN or EU type approval, the assessor can use this type approval as a baseline for evaluating its technical characteristics.

Conditions for Testing

Vehicle categories:

Cars.
Trucks.
Shuttles.
Buses.
Small urban goods delivery vehicle robots.
Other small self-driving units.

SAE levels:Testing activities are legally permitted up to SAE Level 4, in accordance with the SAE J3016 standard.

ADAS / AD systems: No limitations.

Use-Cases: No limitations.

Geographical areas:Trials must be conducted in specific defined areas and can be further restricted to specific times.

Permit validity: The permit can be granted for a period of up to 2 years, with the possibility of renewal after consultation with authorities. However, the Danish Road Directorate may at any time revoke a permit, which requires the immediate termination of the experiment.

Other conditions: An assessor’s safety evaluation can be reused entirely or partially if the applicant applies for a new trial using the same vehicle type in a new geographical zone. Furthermore, if a physical safety driver is present in the vehicle, the evaluation requires less emphasis on mitigating measures.

Driver Requirements

Safety driver / Operator: Experiments require the participation of a physical person who can act as a driver (present inside the vehicle) or as an operator (present outside the vehicle) who is responsible for taking over control when indicated by the technical equipment or when they consider it necessary.

The physical person must hold a valid driving license for the relevant category and comply with the Road Traffic Act’s rules regarding driving under the influence of alcohol and intoxicating substances. It is the strict responsibility of the license holder to ensure that the physical person has received the necessary instruction to direct the vehicle with its special control unit.

Data Requirements

Black box needed: Not explicitly required as a standard “black box,” but strict data logging is mandated.

Obligation to report to authority during/after CCAM tests: There is no mandatory reporting. However, the approved assessor is legally obligated to report any changes in the information provided during their approval to the Danish Road Traffic Authority.

Test reports availability to the public: Not available.

Obligation to report to authority in case of accident: In the event of a traffic accident, the license holder has the same duty to report the accident to the authorities as with ordinary vehicles. The assessor follows the trial and must be notified of malfunctions during the trial.

National database for storing reports provided: Not existing.

Requirements on data recording: During the execution of the tests, data must be recorded and stored specifically indicating when the vehicle is in manual driving mode versus automated driving mode. Furthermore, applicants must provide a comprehensive plan covering the entire data lifecycle (collection, systematization, storage, disclosure, and deletion). Assessors must also maintain comprehensive documentation of their evaluation work and keep it for at least 3 years after the trial ends.

Requirements on disclosing data during/after tests:The assessor and their employees are legally bound by a duty of confidentiality regarding the information they obtain, though this does not apply to competent administrative authorities.

Data exchange mechanism specified: Not existing.

Test vehicle needs to be connected and / or cooperative during test: Not necessary.

Cross-border CCAM Testing

A permit issued by another country is not accepted. However, Denmark participated in the European Truck Platooning Challenge 2016 and in the Easyway and NordicWay projects on ITS. Currently is participating in the MODI project.