🛡️ The Situation

Denmark's sexual health system is free, high-quality, and works — but it has two features that shape how you use it. First, it is digitised: booking, records, and access all flow through a CPR number and MitID. Second, PrEP is a hospital-only service: you cannot collect it at a community pharmacy, and you cannot get it without a referral to an Infectious Disease Department.

The system has evolved around two parallel infrastructure pieces:

  • The community clinic: Checkpoint (AIDS-Fondet) is the gay-specific anchor — four cities, no CPR required, three-site testing, vaccination, counselling, and referral facilitation. It is the fastest and most affirming route into care for most things.
  • The hospital: Infectious Disease Departments at the regional university hospitals handle PrEP, HIV management, PEP follow-up, and complex cases. The hospital is where the medication lives; Checkpoint is how you get there smoothly.

⚖️ The Golden Rules

  • Rule 1: Get Your CPR Number If You're Staying. If you are living in Denmark, the CPR number is your key to everything — free PrEP, hospital appointments, online booking, prescriptions. Register at your local Borgerservice. Checkpoint doesn't require it, but everything else does.
  • Rule 2: Checkpoint First, Hospital Second. For routine testing, vaccination, counselling, and PrEP referrals — go to Checkpoint. Save the hospital for what only the hospital can do: PrEP dispensing, complex treatment, and PEP follow-up.
  • Rule 3: Call +45 1813 Before the A&E in Copenhagen. In the Capital Region, the medical helpline +45 1813 coordinates emergency care. Calling first means they direct you to the right hospital. Outside Copenhagen, go directly to the nearest large hospital Akutmodtagelse.
  • Rule 4: PrEP Lives at the Hospital Pharmacy. There is no community pharmacy route for PrEP in Denmark. You collect it from the Hospitalsapoteket at your prescribing hospital. Plan your appointments accordingly.

⚖️ The Reality of the System

  • Specialised Care Access: Checkpoint clinics offer highly accessible, gay-affirming testing and care without requiring a CPR number.
  • Completely Free: With a CPR number, testing, PrEP, PEP, and HIV treatments are fully covered under the public health system.
  • Digitised Efficiency: Booking appointments, managing health records, and getting test results are streamlined via the national MitID system.
  • CPR Number Dependency: Outside of Checkpoint, the broader health system requires a CPR number for access, leaving undocumented migrants or short-term visitors in a grey area.
  • Hospital-Restricted PrEP: PrEP cannot be dispensed at local pharmacies; it requires hospital visits and dispensing from a hospital pharmacy.
  • Capital Region Red Tape: Accessing emergency services like PEP in Copenhagen requires a mandatory triage call to 1813 before visiting the A&E, adding an extra step during an emergency.

💬 Anonymous Partner Notification

If you test positive, speak to the staff at the clinic where you were tested. They can often assist with the partner notification process anonymously on your behalf. There is currently no national, public online portal for anonymous partner notification in Denmark.

🗺️ Guide Map

Testing & Clinics

Prevention

Emergencies & Support

Result Management

Support & System