Checked on 23 October 2026
How do I get my CPR number (or tax number) in Denmark?
In Denmark, your identifier for everything (tax, healthcare, banking, MitID) is the CPR number (CPR-nummer, the central person register number). You get it by registering in person with the population register (Folkeregistret) at your municipality's Borgerservice or at an ICS centre, once you have your EU residence document and an address. For a short stay, the tax authority gives you a personal tax number instead: it is the same digits, valid for life.
- Costs
- Free (no fee mentioned)
- Timeframes
- CPR assigned at registration; provisional tax assessment notice within two weeks after a complete form
Steps
- Get your EU residence document from SIRI (see DK-SEJOUR-TOUS-001), unless you are a Nordic citizen.
- Find housing where you actually live: this is a condition for registering.
- Register with the Folkeregistret at the Borgerservice or at an ICS centre: your CPR number is assigned to you on that occasion.
- Apply for your tax card (skattekort) if you have income in Denmark: online on TastSelv (the online tax portal) or with form 04.063 ("Apply for tax card and Danish personal tax number"), or with the help of an ICS centre (skat.dk offers this; ICS East states that it does not issue the card and limits itself to advice). Once you are registered, you can also call the tax authority on +45 72 22 27 80 so that it generates your card.
- Check your provisional tax assessment notice (forskudsopgørelse), sent within two weeks if your file is complete; your number appears at the top of it.
- Order your MitID (digital identity, from age 15 with a CPR) from your bank or at the Borgerservice, and designate your NemKonto.
Documents
- For the CPR: EU residence document, passport or ID card, proof of address in Denmark (lease), marriage or birth certificates where applicable.
- For the tax card by form: form 04.063 and the documents it asks for (employment contract, passport, among others).
Costs and timelines
- Cost: no fee mentioned by the sources consulted.
- Timeline: the CPR is assigned at registration (at ICS East, the online request takes about 2 to 3 weeks before the invitation to an appointment). Provisional tax assessment notice within two weeks after a complete form. Tax card: about 2 weeks by form, generally immediate on TastSelv if you already have an address in the CPR, your health card and MitID (skat.dk); ICS East announces 3 to 6 weeks of processing.
- Duration thresholds: beyond 3 months of stay (6 months for a citizen of the EU, the EEA or a Swiss citizen, according to skat.dk), it is a CPR; below that, a personal tax number.
Common pitfalls
- Trying to open a bank account too early. Lifeindenmark states that you can only open an account with a Danish bank after obtaining your tax card (its NemKonto page nonetheless says it is optional: ask your bank).
- Working without a tax card. Without one, you are taxed at 55% on your salary (skat.dk). Apply for it as soon as possible: Skattestyrelsen cannot generate it more than one month before work starts (ICS East states 60 days).
- Asking for a number again. If you have already lived or worked in Denmark, you already have a number, valid for life.
- MitID is almost essential. Without it, no access to most online services; for TastSelv, skat.dk also accepts a TastSelv code (to be ordered on skat.dk).
What changes by country of origin
- EU and EEA citizens: EU residence document first, then the CPR.
- Nordic citizens: no residence document, direct registration for the CPR.
- Swiss citizens: same procedure as EU citizens.
- British citizens (Scots included): third country since Brexit; you first need a valid residence and work permit, then registration for the CPR.
- Greenland and the Faroe Islands: outside the EU, with their own rules; this sheet applies to mainland Denmark.