← ALL REGULATIONS
Cookie consent in Denmark, under the cookie order.
Denmark requires consent before a site stores or reads anything on a visitor’s device that is not technically necessary, statistics cookies included, under the cookie executive order (cookiebekendtgørelsen). Digitaliseringsstyrelsen supervises the order and Datatilsynet the GDPR, and their joint guide of May 2025 sets out what both expect.
Cookiebekendtgørelsen at a glanceOpt-in before tracking
- Applies to
- Any technology that stores or reads information on a user’s device, from cookies to pixels and fingerprinting
- Cookie rule
- Executive Order no. 1148 of 9 December 2011, § 3
- Enforced by
- Digitaliseringsstyrelsen for the cookie order (since December 2022), Datatilsynet for the GDPR
- Guidance
- Joint guide from Digitaliseringsstyrelsen and Datatilsynet, May 2025
- Penalties
- Fines under § 5 of the order, decided by the courts. Digitaliseringsstyrelsen can report a site to the police if an order to fix it is ignored.
WHAT COOKIEBEKENDTGØRELSEN REQUIRES
What Danish regulators expect from a cookie banner.
THE RULEStatistics cookies need consent tooOnly technology that is technically necessary for the service to work as intended is exempt, such as login, shopping baskets and settings the visitor chose. Visitor statistics and personalised ads need consent.
WITH KATLAIn GDPR mode, the cookie guard refuses every cookie outside the functional category until the visitor chooses, and deletes any that were set before it ran.
THE RULESaying no as easy as saying yesThe joint guide calls out nudging: a reject button that fades into the background, or an accept button in a louder colour, can breach the rules. Pre-ticked boxes and switches already turned on do not count as consent.
WITH KATLAAccept, Reject and Customise sit together on the first layer of the banner, and nothing is pre-selected.
THE RULEAsk again about once a yearThe rules set no fixed period, but the guide says renewing consent once a year will often be appropriate, and so will asking a visitor who refused again after a year.
WITH KATLAKatla stores a choice, including a refusal, for 12 months, in line with the yearly renewal the guide describes.
THE RULEA way to refuse or withdraw on every pageThe order requires an immediately available way to refuse or withdraw consent, and information that stays reachable through a clearly marked link. The guide suggests a link at the top or bottom of the site, or a fixed icon on every page.
WITH KATLAA floating settings icon, or your own "Cookie settings" link calling katla.open(), reopens the choice on any page.
THE RULEThe site answers for every cookie on itResponsibility for consent stays with the site, even when a partner or supplier sets the cookies. In 2025 the typical findings in Digitaliseringsstyrelsen’s checks were trackers set before consent, unclassified trackers and missing banners.
WITH KATLAKatla’s scan lists every cookie it finds and classifies each one. Scripts tagged with data-katla-category wait until their category is accepted.
Cookiebekendtgørelsen questions, answered
A summary for website owners, not legal advice. Reviewed against the sources below.
- Who supervises cookies in Denmark?
- Digitaliseringsstyrelsen, the Agency for Digital Government, supervises the cookie order; it took over from Erhvervsstyrelsen on 15 December 2022. Datatilsynet supervises the GDPR, which applies when cookies collect personal data.
- Can Danish regulators fine a site over cookies?
- Not directly. Breaching the cookie order is punishable by a fine, but in Denmark fines are decided by the courts. Digitaliseringsstyrelsen issues orders and can report a site to the police if they are ignored, and Datatilsynet reports serious GDPR breaches to the police with a proposed fine.
- Is a cookie wall allowed in Denmark?
- Only with a real alternative. The joint guide accepts payment as the alternative if it is reasonable, fairly priced, and a paying visitor’s data is used only for what the service needs.
- Have Danish regulators acted against large sites?
- Yes. On 30 October 2023 Digitaliseringsstyrelsen ordered Google and Meta to bring the consent solutions on their websites into line with the cookie order by 27 November 2023.
- Can the banner be in Danish?
- Yes. Katla’s banner and generated policies are available in Danish, and the widget can follow the visitor’s browser language.
See what your site sets before anyone asks.
The free plan scans your site, classifies every cookie and generates the policy, without a card. The cookie checker needs no account at all.