Operating in Denmark? Speak with a security consultant.
Denmark’s corporate security market centres on two cities. Copenhagen concentrates the country’s corporate, shipping, pharmaceutical, renewable-energy and diplomatic activity, and close protection demand follows it closely. Aarhus, the second city on Jutland’s eastern coast, adds a genuine secondary market built around Maersk logistics, Vestas’s wind-turbine sector leadership, and the country’s largest container port, handling over half of Denmark’s traffic.
The Guard Act: police-run, not ministry-run
Danish private security operates under the Guard Act (Lov om vagtvirksomhed, Consolidation Act 112/2016), with detailed implementation set out in the Bekendtgorelse om vagtvirksomhed. What distinguishes the Danish system is that the police run authorisation directly. A security company needs police authorisation valid for up to five years, scoped to specific police districts or nationally. Every individual guard needs personal police approval and a Rigspolitiet-issued ID card before they can work, and a foreign company can be authorised only where an international agreement or rules set by the Minister of Justice allow it.
Police retain the right to inspect a licensed company’s premises and records at any time, without a court order, which gives Denmark one of the more directly enforced private security regimes covered on this site.
Armed work stays firmly the exception
The Ministry of Justice circular on weapons (No. 10066 of 29 October 2025) allows pistol permits only in very special circumstances, and its only provision for armed commercial guards covers guards on Danish cargo ships. It makes no provision for armed close protection on land. Every deployment covered under this site’s Denmark coverage assumes unarmed protection, which is also the practical norm across the Danish market generally.
Copenhagen: low ambient risk, specific district awareness
Copenhagen Police’s 2024 annual report documents gang-related shootings, but they concentrate in specific outer districts, particularly Norrebro’s Blaagards Plads area and Tingbjerg, geographically distinct from the business core and international hotel belt. FCDO advises normal precautions for Denmark, and the US State Department rates it Level 2, exercise increased caution. For a visiting executive, the practical security picture is dominated by unremarkable transit-area pickpocketing around Kobenhavn H station and Copenhagen’s tourist core rather than anything more serious, though PET, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, maintains active terrorism threat monitoring that higher-profile principals attending prominent public events should factor into pre-visit planning.
Source: Copenhagen Police annual report (2024). Retsinformation.dk, Bekendtgorelse af lov om vagtvirksomhed (LBK nr 112 af 11/01/2016) and Bekendtgorelse om vagtvirksomhed (2017/1408). Ministry of Justice circular on weapons and ammunition No. 10066 (2025). FCDO Travel Advice: Denmark (2026).
Rigspolitiet-licensed operators in Copenhagen and Aarhus provide executive protection and security driver services for corporate, shipping and diplomatic clients. See our Copenhagen security briefing or our Aarhus city briefing for the full threat and regulatory detail.
Cities We Cover
Copenhagen
Low riskDenmark's capital and largest close protection market, serving Nordic corporate, shipping, pharmaceutical and diplomatic clients. Copenhagen Police data shows gang-related violence concentrated in specific outer districts, well away from the business core and international hotel belt.
View city guide →Aarhus
Low riskDenmark's second city and largest container port, home to Maersk logistics operations, Vestas, and a growing startup ecosystem. Records the country's second-highest volume of reported offences after Copenhagen, consistent with its size rather than a specific elevated threat.
View city guide →Security Regulations
Firearms
Firearms in Denmark need a weapons permit. The Ministry of Justice circular on weapons (No. 10066 of 29 October 2025) allows permits for pistols only in very special circumstances. Its only provision for armed commercial guards covers guards on Danish cargo ships, and it makes no provision for armed close protection on land.
Licensing
Private security in Denmark is governed by the Guard Act (lov om vagtvirksomhed), Consolidation Act No. 112 of 11 January 2016, as amended, and Executive Order No. 1408 of 4 December 2017. Protecting other persons as a business is guard activity under the Act. A guard business needs authorisation from the police, granted for set types of guard work, for up to 5 years and for one or more police districts or the whole country. The person authorised must live in Denmark and be at least 25. Every member of staff must be approved by the police before starting work and carry an identity card issued by the National Police (Rigspolitiet). The police may enter a guard company's premises and inspect its records at any time without a court order.
Foreign Operators
Under section 4 of the Guard Act, a foreign company may be authorised only where an international agreement or rules set by the Minister of Justice provide for it. The 2017 Executive Order applies the EU directive on professional qualifications (2005/36/EC), under which a provider from another EU state files a declaration before working. Take local legal advice before a foreign team carries out protective duties in Denmark.
Sources, checked : Guard Act (lov om vagtvirksomhed), Consolidation Act No. 112 of 11 January 2016 (Retsinformation); Act No. 715 of 13 June 2023 amending the Guard Act (Retsinformation); Executive Order No. 1408 of 4 December 2017 on guard activities (Retsinformation); Ministry of Justice circular on weapons and ammunition No. 10066 of 29 October 2025, chapter 2, text (Lovguiden).