About the daily fee

About the daily fee

In Denmark, it is mandatory to have third-party liability insurance for a motor vehicle.

If a vehicle is not insured, the registered owner or user – for example of a car, motorcycle or moped – will be charged a daily fee of DKK 250.

The fee is charged for each day the vehicle is not insured, which means the total amount can quickly exceed the cost of the insurance itself.

To avoid being charged a daily fee, the owner or user must either buy the required third-party liability insurance or or return the number plates to the Danish Motor Agency.

Purpose of the daily fee scheme

The daily fee was introduced by law because, at the time of its introduction in January 2019, around 50,000 vehicles in Denmark were not covered by the required third-party liability insurance.

The purpose of the law is to reduce the number of uninsured vehicles and thereby reduce the overall costs that are otherwise paid by insured drivers when uninsured vehicles cause damage. Neither the Danish Parliament nor DFIM considers it reasonable that insured motorists should pay for damage caused by uninsured vehicles.

Although the number of uninsured vehicles has decreased significantly since 1 January 2019, there are still thousands of uninsured vehicles that can cause damage. The total costs amount to more than DKK 70 million per year.

If your vehicle is not covered by third-party liability insurance, you will ultimately have to pay for any damage caused to other people or their property yourself. In cases involving personal injury, compensation costs may amount to millions of kroner.

DFIM is a guarantee fund that helps ensure compensation is paid to people who have suffered damage caused by uninsured vehicles.

DFIM collects the daily fee

The daily fee scheme came into effect on 1 January 2019 alongside amendments to the Danish Road Traffic Act and the Vehicle Registration Act.

DFIM collects the fee, which is DKK 250 for each day a motor vehicle is registered without the required third-party liability insurance. The daily fee is charged until insurance is taken out or the number plates are returned to the Danish Motor Agency.

The fee follows the person or company registered as the primary user of the vehicle and is therefore not linked to the vehicle itself. You cannot take out insurance for any vehicle until all outstanding fees to DFIM have been paid.

Fee cap

DFIM has introduced a fee cap. For cases initiated before 1 January 2023, the cap is DKK 25,000 for private individuals and DKK 60,000 for businesses. For cases initiated on or after 1 January 2023, the cap is DKK 60,000 for both private individuals and businesses.