Road signs in Denmark

Road sign in Copenhagen denoting an unsecured railroad crossing to the right of an upcoming intersection

Road signs in Denmark are regulated by the Road Traffic Act (Danish: Færdselsloven).[1] The Danish Minister of Transport is responsible for the design and definitions of road signs, and issues executive orders on the subject.[1]: §95 ¶1  The latest executive orders were issued on April 13, 2023.[2][3]

Denmark signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on November 8, 1968 and ratified it on November 3, 1986.[4] Denmark has ratified the European Agreement supplementing the Convention on road traffic as well.[5]

Road signs are divided into two main categories, which are traffic signs and direction / tourist information signs.

Warning signs

Outside built-up areas,[fn 1] warning signs, except A18, A35, A74, A75 and A92,[fn 2] are usually placed from 150m to 250m before the danger. If the warning signs are placed beyond this distance, the distance is shown on a subpanel. Inside built-up areas, warning signs can be placed at a shorter distance from the danger, without the distance being shown on a subpanel.

Priority signs

Prohibitory signs

Mandatory signs

Special regulation signs

A photo of the signs shown to the left on this page (E11). They are suspended above the lanes of the road, to indicate if vehicles in the lane have to turn left, right or drive straight in the intersection. Arrows are below on the road surface too, within the lane markings. .
Direction of lanes at intersection (E15)

Direction signs

Distance and locality signs

Signs used on motorways

On motorways, direction signs have blue background when they lead to the ordinary road network, via an exit from the motorway, Directions have green background when they lead to the destination via the motorway(s).

Route designations

A dashed line around the route number means that the road connects to the route with that number.[9]

Service signs

New service signs are designed when they are required, for example by request from a business.[fn 12] Proposed additions include "electrician" and "real estate agent".[10]

Additional subpanels

These signs can be placed below traffic and direction signs. Subpanels with blue background are combined with signs that have blue background, and subpanels with white background with signs that have white background. The signs can for instance be used below parking restriction signs to indicate which time of day, what day(s) of the week or the duration of parking for which the restriction applies,

Symbols

A 70 km/h speed limit sign which applies only to the vehicles displayed in the subpanel.

Historic signs

1932 road signs

Notes

  1. ↑ Built-up areas (urban areas), are in this context areas within the signs for entering and leaving a built-up area. and
  2. ↑ These signs are placed at a different distance than the other warning signs:
    A18: Two-way traffic
    A35: Dangerous shoulder
    A74: Level crossing
    A75: Distance to level crossing
    A92: Quayside
    The distance at which these signs are placed, is found in the description of the signs in §12 of executive order 425 from 2023[2]
  3. ↑ Experimental sign. An actibump is a method of traffic calming. It is being tested in two places in Denmark.[6][7]
  4. ↑ Used at the beginning of a 2-1 road in combination with A43.1
  5. ↑ Performing a U-turn is also prohibited
  6. ↑ The bicycle symbol also applies to a class of vehicles called small mopeds (50cc and restricted to max 30 km/h)
  7. ↑ The speed limit is in force until it is lifted by the sign "C59 end of local speed limit", "C59 End of prohibition", another local speed limit sign or after a distance indicated on a subpanel. (The built up area sign is also a speed limit sign)
  8. ↑ This diagram consists of two signs: the upper part indicates the speed limits, and the lower part indicates that it is mandatory to use seat belts and headlights.
  9. ↑ Variants:
  10. 1 2 Signs for permanent traffic diversion routes, when the motorway is closed.[8]
  11. 1 2 The sign is placed above a lane before a split in the motorway, or before an exit. The signs can contain additional information as well as arrow(s) pointing down to the lane(s)
  12. ↑ The permission to do this is found in §359 ¶2 in Executive Order 426 from 2023.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Transportministeriet (2024-11-26), Bekendtgørelse af færdselsloven [Road Traffic Act]
  2. 1 2 Transportministeriet (2023-04-13), BEK nr 425 om vejafmærkning [Executive order 425 on Road Markings] (in Danish)
  3. 1 2 Transportministeriet (2023-04-13), BEK nr 426 om anvendelse af vejafmærkning [Executive order 426 on the Use of Road Markings] (in Danish)
  4. ↑ "Convention on Road Signs and Signals - United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  5. ↑ "European Agreement supplementing the Convention on road traffic - United Nations Treaty Collection". treaties.un.org. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  6. ↑ "Her testes nyt fartbump i Danmark - Vejdirektoratet kalder det "ubehageligt"". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV 2. 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  7. ↑ "Vejdirektoratet afprøver Actibump på to statsveje". vejdirektoratet.dk (in Danish). Vejdirektoratet. 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  8. ↑ "Nye skilte på motorvejen - lær dem at kende og undgå kø". bt.dk (in Danish). BT. 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
  9. ↑ By-, Land- og Transportministeriet (2008-05-27), Bekendtgørelse om vejvisning på almindelige veje (in Danish), retrieved 2026-07-06
  10. ↑ "Liste med samtlige godkendte servicetavler med symboler til kommerciel servicevejvisning". vejregler.dk (in Danish). Vejdirektoratet. 2025-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
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