Denmark on a Chinese Licence 2026: Translation, Tolls, Bikes

The driving in Denmark is genuinely easy for a Chinese visitor — you stay on the right, just like home, on some of the best-maintained roads in Europe. The obstacle comes earlier, at the rental counter, and it’s the one thing worth sorting weeks before you fly.

A mainland Chinese licence isn’t enough on its own in Denmark. The Danish rule, set out on borger.dk, is that a licence from outside the EU/EEA that isn’t written in Latin letters must be accompanied by an international driving licence or by a translation into Danish, English or French. The first option doesn’t exist for you: China belongs to neither UN road-traffic convention and issues no international permit. So plan on the translation, and note the condition attached to it — it has to be produced by a public authority or by an organisation authorised to do so in China, not by a hotel desk or an online app. Have it done before departure, carry it with your licence and passport, and expect a hire company to ask for it at the counter. Our driving permit checker covers other routes.

After that, Denmark relaxes. The alcohol limit is 0.05, looser than China’s 0.02, but that’s not an invitation — Danish fines are tied to your income, so a serious breach is expensive whoever you are. Treat it conservatively. Speeds are 130 km/h on motorways, 50 in towns, 80 on rural roads, with widespread fixed and mobile cameras; a 10-over ticket runs about DKK 1,000 (≈ EUR 135), which you can estimate on the speeding fine calculator.

The cost that surprises first-timers is crossing between Denmark’s islands. The Great Belt bridge is roughly DKK 250 (≈ EUR 34) each way and the Øresund bridge to Sweden about DKK 510 (≈ EUR 68) — main routes, not optional, paid by card at the booths. And there’s the Danish cycling culture: bikes get their own lanes and right of way, so always check the inside lane before turning right.

Only a warning triangle is legally required in the car. The emergency number is 112. The complete local rulebook is on our Denmark driving guide.

Sources

• borger.dk, foreign driving licence in Denmark (licences not in Latin letters need an international driving licence or a translation into Danish, English or French made by a public authority or an authorised organisation in the issuing country): borger.dk
• UN Treaty Collection, road traffic conventions (China a party to neither): Geneva 1949 · Vienna 1968