Social Security number (Denmark)

CPR-nummer (English: CPR-number), also known as Personnummer (Person number), is a Danish Social Security number and National identification number, which is part of the personal information stored in Det Centrale Personregister.

It was established in 1968 by combining information from all municipal Folk-registers of Denmark into one. See Folkeregister of Denmark.

It is a ten-digit number, usually written xxxxxx-xxxx.

How to get a CPR-Number

Any person registered as of April 2 1968 (for Greenland the date is May 1 1972) or later in a Danish Folk-register, receives a CPR-number. Any person who is a member of ATP or is required to pay tax in Denmark according to the Tax-control Law of Denmark, but is not registered in a Folk-register, also receives a CPR-number.

You can be registered in a Danish Folk-register only if:

• You are born in Denmark and your mother is already registered in a Danish Folk-register, or
• You are registered in a ’Dansk Elektronisk Kirkebog (DNK)’ (Danish electronic church-book), or
• You stay in Denmark more than 3 months (none-Nordic citizen must also have a residence permit)

Danish citizens, including newborn babies, who are entitled to Danish citizenship, but are living abroad, do not receive a CPR-number, unless they move to Denmark.

CPR certificate

Personnummerbevis. Today this certificate is of little use in Danish society, as it has been largely replaced by the much more versatile Sygesikringsbevis, which contains the same information and more. Both certificates retrieve their information from Det Centrale Personregister. However, Personnummerbevis is still issued today and has been since September 1968.

It is received upon registration with a CPR-number, either by birth or by moving to the country. It may only be issued once and change of address does not entail issuing a new one. One can however request a new one from Indenrigs- og Sundhedsministeriet or in some cases the municipal one lives in.

CPR in Danish society

The CPR-number is an integral part of Danish society, and it is virtually impossible to receive any form of government service without one. Even in the private sector you would be hard pressed to receive services without such a number, unless it is minor daily business.