Americans can look forward to an easy exchange of their driver’s license

The Minister for Transport and Building has found a solution, which will enable Americans among others to easily exchange their U.S. driver’s license for a Danish license.

For several years, U.S. citizens who settle in Denmark have experienced problems when attempting to exchange their U.S. driver’s license for a Danish license. The process so far has been difficult, including the requirement of  a driving test.

The United States and several other countries, such as Canada and Australia, belong to the so-called Group 2 countries. In these countries drivers’ training is not quite comparable with Danish drivers’ training, although the general level of road safety is considered to be equal to the Danish level. It has been a goal for citizens of these countries to be able to exchange their license for a Danish license without having to undergo a driving test, as long as they possess sufficient driving experience and have not had their license revoked within the recent years.

However, the  full implementation of this arrangement has been hampered by a number of difficult practical issues  in providing documentation that the license has not been revoked. Attempts at solving these lingering issues have been going on for two years, and up until now attempts at reaching a solution were unsuccessful.

The Minister for Transport and Building, Mr. Hans Christian Schmidt, has now presented a solution to the U.S. Embassy, which removes many of the practical challenges of providing Americans with a Danish driver’s license.

"It’s important that we have now reached a solution so Americans do not have to go through a maze of bureaucracy, when they want to exchange their driver’s license. The U.S. traffic conditions are very similar to those in Denmark, so it is only natural that it will now be easier to exchange licenses,” the Minister says.

The U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Rufus Gifford, welcomes the solution from which many American citizens will benefit:

“We at the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen are thrilled that U.S. citizens, who have decided to call Denmark their home, will be now be able to exchange their American driver’s license for a Danish one. The United States and Denmark have a history of successful cooperation in so many areas, and these new regulations will make Denmark an even friendlier place for American companies and individuals to do business. I want to personally thank Minister Hans Christian Schmidt and his team at the Ministry of Transport and Building for their collaboration, and for their hospitality to American citizens.”

Efforts to change the pertinent regulation have begun. The new system is expected to enter into force as quickly as possible in 2016.