# Security Services in Denmark Canonical page: https://closeprotectionhire.com/countries/denmark/ Security services in Denmark. Rigspolitiet-licensed close protection for Copenhagen, covering corporate, diplomatic and Nordic investor visits under the Guard Act. ## Regulations - **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. - **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. - **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 2026-10-07: - [Guard Act (lov om vagtvirksomhed), Consolidation Act No. 112 of 11 January 2016 (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2016/112/pdf) - [Act No. 715 of 13 June 2023 amending the Guard Act (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2023/715/pdf) - [Executive Order No. 1408 of 4 December 2017 on guard activities (Retsinformation)](https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2017/1408/pdf) - [Ministry of Justice circular on weapons and ammunition No. 10066 of 29 October 2025, chapter 2, text (Lovguiden)](https://www.lovguiden.dk/loven/cirkulære-om-våben-og-ammunition-m-v/kapitel-2) ## Cities covered - **Copenhagen**: Denmark'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. - **Aarhus**: Denmark'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. 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](/services/executive-protection/) and [security driver services](/services/security-drivers/) for corporate, shipping and diplomatic clients. See our [Copenhagen security briefing](/cities/copenhagen/) or our [Aarhus city briefing](/cities/aarhus/) for the full threat and regulatory detail. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does a foreign bodyguard accompanying a principal need a Danish licence to work in Copenhagen or Aarhus? Protecting other persons as a business is guard activity under the Guard Act. Staff of a guard business need personal police approval and a Rigspolitiet-issued ID card before starting work, and a foreign company can be authorised only where an international agreement or rules set by the Minister of Justice allow it. Take local legal advice before a foreign officer travels with a principal. ### Is armed close protection available for corporate clients in Denmark? No. Danish weapons rules make no provision for armed close protection on land: the Ministry of Justice circular on weapons allows pistol permits only in very special circumstances, and its only provision for armed commercial guards covers guards on Danish cargo ships. Corporate close protection in Denmark is conducted unarmed. ### Is the gang violence reported in Copenhagen a concern for business travellers? Not directly. Copenhagen Police's own reporting shows the violence concentrated in specific districts, particularly Norrebro's Blaagards Plads area and Tingbjerg, both well outside the business core and international hotel belt that corporate visitors typically use. FCDO advises normal precautions for Denmark. The relevance for security planning is route awareness rather than any change to how a visit itself is structured. ### What is the Guard Act and who enforces it? The Guard Act, Lov om vagtvirksomhed (Consolidation Act 112/2016), is Denmark's governing statute for private security. It is enforced by the Danish police, which authorise operating companies for up to 5 years at a time and approve individual guards before they can work, with Rigspolitiet issuing each guard's ID card. Police retain inspection rights over a security company's premises and records without needing a court order. ### Why does Denmark's coverage now include Aarhus alongside Copenhagen? Copenhagen still concentrates the majority of Denmark's corporate, diplomatic and HNWI activity, but Aarhus has a genuine corporate profile of its own: Maersk logistics operations, Vestas's wind-turbine headquarters, Arla Foods, and a container port handling over half of Denmark's traffic. That combination now justifies dedicated coverage alongside the capital.