Hunting weapons, pharmaceuticals, stuffed animals and corals are just a few examples of goods that it may be illegal to carry in your luggage or buy online.
When you bring goods into Denmark, you must be aware of whether there are special rules for them. This applies especially if you are travelling from a country outside the EU.
Here are three useful tips if you bring goods into Denmark when you return from travelling:
- Show moderation with local delicacies: If you are travelling to a country outside the EU, you should avoid bringing animal food products such as milk, meat and cheese back into Denmark when you return.
- Buy souvenirs with care: Souvenirs made from endangered animals and plants may be illegal to bring into Denmark. This applies to, for example, skins, furs, boxes, bags and shoes.
- Contact us if you are in any doubt. You can always contact the customs authorities at the red exit at the airport if you are in doubt about your item.
Below you can read more about to which items special rules apply and about where you can get more information about the rules.
If you arrive in Denmark from a country outside the EU, you should avoid bringing animal food products such as milk, meat, eggs, cheese, honey and shellfish in both raw and processed form.
If you are instead travelling from another EU country, there are generally no restrictions. However, there may be current recommendations due to outbreaks of infectious animal diseases, and you can see these on the website of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
Some animal and plant species may be so endangered that it is prohibited to bring them into Denmark. This applies to, for example, sea turtles, many crocodile species, tigers and other big cats. The rules also apply to dead animals, dead plants and souvenirs made from such animals.
Other species are less endangered, and you may be granted permission to bring them into Denmark. Please note that all stone corals and black corals require an export permit from the country from which you wish to take them home with you.
If you enter Denmark carrying endangered animals, plants and corals without knowing whether this is legal, you must ask the Danish Customs Agency when you cross the Danish border. If they are not allowed, we will withhold them, and you also risk being fined.
You can read more on the website of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
When you bring plants from other countries into Denmark, you should be aware that special rules may apply to them. This applies especially if you bring plants into Denmark from countries outside the EU.
As a private individual, you can buy most common plants in other EU countries and bring them into Denmark for your own personal use without thinking about documentation or permits. You can freely bring the following (for your own personal use) in your hand baggage and removal loads:
- Plants
- Bulbs
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Table potatoes
- Seeds
- Cut flowers.
However, we advise you to only bring plants that look completely healthy and also to consider whether there is a risk of getting unwanted plant pests into the bargain when purchasing the plant.
If you are instead bringing endangered plants, it is prohibited to buy and sell them within the borders of the EU. In this context, endangered plants cover the species listed in Appendix A of the Washington Convention (CITES). However, artificially propagated plants in Appendix A are exempt from this prohibition.
You can read more about endangered plants and CITES at the website of the Danish Agricultural Agency.
If you bring plants into Denmark from a non-EU country, you must always carry a phytosanitary certificate with you. This applies, for example, if you bring a live plant, a bouquet of flowers or some fruit in your luggage. The phytosanitary certificate is issued in the non-EU country in which the plant was purchased.
You must declare the plants for import control in advance, as they are checked by the Danish Agricultural Agency. You will be charged a fee for this check.
The only exceptions are if you bring fruit of pineapple, coconut, banana, durian and date, which you can freely carry in your luggage.
You can find the exact rules at the website of the Danish Agricultural Agency.
You can also read more about when plants and plant products in personal luggage are exempt from import control in the Regulation at the European Commission’s website.
When you are sent plants in postal consignments from countries outside the EU, you must always ensure that the consignment is accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. The phytosanitary certificate is issued in the non-EU country in which the plant was purchased.
The only exceptions are if you are sent fruit of pineapple, coconut, banana, durian and date, which can freely be brought into the EU.
Declare your plants for import control
If you are sent plants in postal consignments, for example potted plants, cuttings and certain types of seeds for sowing, you must declare the plants for import control in advance, as they are checked by the Danish Agricultural Agency. You will be charged a fee for this check.
The Danish Customs Agency checks postal consignments on a random check basis and ensures that the rules are complied with. If the Danish Customs Agency suspects a violation, we withhold the products in question and pass the case on to the Danish Agricultural Agency, which processes the case.
You can read more at the website of the Danish Agricultural Agency.
As a private individual, you are not allowed to bring fireworks into Denmark. This means that you are not allowed to bring fireworks that you have purchased abroad into Denmark. This also applies to CE-marked fireworks.
If the Danish Customs Agency finds fireworks at a border entry point or in a parcel in connection with a customs check, we will pass on the case to the Danish Safety Technology Authority and/or the police. Unauthorised importation of fireworks may result in fines and/or imprisonment.
Read more in the Danish Consolidation Act to Consolidate the Act on Fireworks and Other Pyrotechnic Articles (Bekendtgørelse af lov om fyrværkeri og andre pyrotekniske artikler) (retsinformation) in Danish.
If you have questions about fireworks, you must contact the Danish Safety Technology Authority, which is the authority responsible for this area.
As a general rule, you are not allowed to bring doping agents into Denmark when you have been travelling, nor are you allowed to order them on the Internet. On the website of the Danish Medicines Agency, you will find an indicative list of substances that fall under the prohibition of certain doping agents. You can see the complete list of prohibited doping agents in the Danish Anti-Doping Act (Dopingloven) (retsinformation).
Doping control and information
Anti Doping Danmark is responsible for doping control and information in Denmark. If the Danish Customs Agency finds doping agents at a border entry point or in a parcel, we will pass on the case to the police. Bringing doping agents into Denmark may be punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.
It is prohibited to bring a wide range of weapons, firearms, explosives etc., into Denmark without a permit.
This means that, without a weapons licence, you are not allowed to bring weapons and explosives into Denmark when you have been travelling, nor are you allowed to order them on the Internet.
See an indicative list of weapons that require a weapons licence at borger.dk.
If you have a valid weapons licence and are going to travel abroad with your weapon, you must make sure that you have the necessary permits before travelling.
Read more about travelling with weapons at the Danish Police’s website.
It is prohibited to bring into Denmark substances and products that are covered by the Danish Executive Order on Explosives Precursors (Bekendtgørelse om udgangsstoffer til eksplosivstoffer) (retsinformation.dk), unless this is for a commercial purpose.
If the Danish Customs Agency finds explosives precursors, we will pass on the case to the police. You may be punishable by fines and/or imprisonment for such an offence.
As a general rule, you are not allowed to bring narcotic drugs into Denmark when you have been travelling, nor are you allowed to order them on the Internet. You can see the full list of illegal narcotic drugs in the Danish Executive Order on Euphoriant Substances (Bekendtgørelse om euforiserende stoffer), as amended.
If the Danish Customs Agency finds narcotics when you cross the border, or in a parcel you have ordered online, we will pass on the case to the police. Bringing narcotic drugs into Denmark may be punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.
If you are in doubt about a substance, you can contact the Danish Medicines Agency, which is the authority responsible for this area.
You are not allowed to bring pesticides and poisons into Denmark from abroad. This applies to, for example, pesticides, rat poison and insecticide. Nor are you allowed to bring environmentally hazardous chemicals and pesticides into Denmark from abroad. Please note that it is also not permitted to bring refrigerants, for example Freon, in disposable containers into Denmark.
You can read more on the website of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
Goods | Contact (and read more) |
Pesticides | |
Doping agents | |
Packaging (deposit) | |
Fireworks | |
Pets | |
Meat, milk, cheese and other animal foods | |
Pharmaceuticals for humans and animals. | |
Narcotic drugs | |
Endangered animals and plants | |
Products bearing forged trademarks and pirated products | |
Weapons and explosives | |
Plants |
