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Foreign owners use a Denmark company in three main ways: as an operating company selling in Denmark and across the EU single market, as the Danish subsidiary of a group based elsewhere, or as a holding company relying on the EU directives and Denmark’s treaty network. Almost all of them choose the anpartsselskab, the ApS, which the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) calls a private limited liability company: its owners answer only with what they contribute, and its minimum share capital was halved to DKK 20,000 on 27 February 2025.
Two features set Denmark apart from its Nordic neighbours. Danish law asks nothing about the residence or nationality of the owners, managers or board of an ApS, while Sweden, Norway and Finland each tie part of the board to residence in Europe. And administration is digital by design: the company sits in the Central Business Register (CVR), files through virk.dk and acts through MitID Erhverv, so for a founder abroad the real obstacle is Danish digital identification.
| Form | What it is | Share capital | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ApS (anpartsselskab) | Private limited company that may be run by a direktion alone, even a single person | At least DKK 20,000, paid in before registration | Operating, holding and subsidiary companies; the form we sell ready-made |
| A/S (aktieselskab) | Public limited company with a board or supervisory board of three or more | At least DKK 400,000, a quarter or more of it paid in | Larger companies and those offering shares to the public |
| P/S, K/S and I/S | Limited partnership company, limited partnership and partnership, as the Business Authority lists them | Not covered on our pages | Owners who prefer a partnership structure |
There is no LLP among the Danish forms. The founding document, the payment of capital and the filing on virk.dk are taken in order on our page about company formation in Denmark.
| Item | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Corporation tax | 22% of taxable profit; 26% for certain financial companies |
| VAT (moms) | 25% standard rate; compulsory registration once sales pass DKK 50,000 in a twelve-month period |
| Dividends to individuals abroad | 27% withheld, or less where the Danish Tax Agency has approved net withholding |
| Dividends to companies | 22% withheld, reduced to 15% or 0% where the conditions are met |
| Tax treaties | About 75 comprehensive agreements; none with Spain since that treaty ended with effect from 1 January 2009 |
| EU directives | Parent-Subsidiary Directive and Interest and Royalties Directive |
| Sale of shares | No stamp duty |
Treaty and directive relief is not automatic, as the holding company question below explains.
Owners, managers and board members may be of any nationality and live anywhere, and one person can own every share and form the whole direktion. Two conditions remain: an address in Denmark at which the company can actually be contacted, which the Business Authority may verify on site, and managers who genuinely act as managers, so a name on the register for someone who does not manage is unlawful.
Ownership is recorded in three places. The ejerbog, the owners’ register, stays with the company. Holders of 5% or more of the capital or votes appear in the open register of legal owners in the CVR. Individuals with more than 25% or other decisive control are registered as reelle ejere, the beneficial owners, whose entries since 1 September 2025 go only to authorities, obliged entities such as banks and people with a legitimate interest.
Where a client wants the shares held by a nominee, which Danish law permits, we use only providers registered for that service with the Danish Business Authority under the Anti-Money Laundering Act; the nominee’s holding is then public in the register of legal owners, while the client is entered as the beneficial owner. We offer no nominee managers, since registered managers must manage in fact.
The capital may be paid to a lawyer, so a Danish bank account is not a legal condition of formation, but a trading company needs one, and Danish banks build onboarding around MitID and the CPR number. One large bank identifies business customers online only with Danish identity documents, another needs a MitID created with a CPR number for online banking, and an app-based bank takes only owners who live and pay tax in Denmark. The statutory right to a basic business account, in force since 1 January 2025, covers only companies with a member of the direktion living in Denmark. Deposits are covered by Garantiformuen up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per bank, and each company should name a NemKonto, which may be abroad, for payments from public authorities. Our page on bank accounts for Danish companies sets out what the banks ask for.
We can supply a ready-made Danish ApS or form a new one, prepare the formation or transfer documents and the filings with the Business Authority, help put the bank application together and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, introduce the company, leaving the decision entirely to the bank. Russian-speaking readers can find the essentials about Danish companies on our Denmark page (in Russian).
Sometimes. The Business Authority completes most digital formations automatically, so a ready-made ApS rarely saves time for a founder with MitID. It earns its place where the founders have no CPR number or eID, where the capital cannot be paid in within the two-week window, or where a counterparty looks at the incorporation date in the CVR. It lightens neither the identity checks nor a bank’s review, and the takeover is itself a set of filings.
No. Danish law sets no residence or nationality condition for the direktion or the board of an ApS, which makes Denmark the exception in the Nordic region. It asks instead for an address in Denmark where the company can be reached, and for managers who really manage. In practice a manager abroad will want a private MitID, which a person without a CPR number can create in the MitID app with a chipped passport or ID card.
The Central Business Register shows each company’s CVR number, its registered details and incorporation date, its management and the legal owners holding 5% or more, and filed annual reports can be read there too. It does not show the full owners’ register, which stays with the company, and since September 2025 it no longer shows beneficial owners to the general public. Anyone checking a Danish counterparty, or a company offered for sale, should begin with its CVR number.
Yes. A Danish tax resident ApS falls within the EU Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives and can use roughly 75 double taxation agreements, Spain being the notable gap. Dividends it pays on to corporate shareholders can be withheld at 15% or 0% instead of 22% where the conditions are met. The limit is substance: relief depends on the principal purpose test and on Danish beneficial ownership case law, which looks hard at companies that only pass income through.
Once its sales of goods and services pass DKK 50,000 within twelve months; below that, registration is voluntary. The application is made on virk.dk with MitID Erhverv and has to be filed at least eight days before the VAT-liable activity starts. A new registration begins on quarterly VAT periods, and the company’s VAT number is its CVR number with DK in front, so the number does not change when the shares are sold.
Weighing Denmark against another country, or a new ApS against a ready-made one? Tell us what the company will do and who will own and manage it through our contact page, or write to us on Telegram or WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.