Is Codeine legal in Denmark?

Legal status

Controlled under the Danish euphoriants legislation, on list C of the bekendtgoerelse om euforiserende stoffer. List C substances are caught in unprocessed form, while pharmaceutical preparations are generally outside the Act. Named as Codein at C number 2.

Consequences if caught

This substance is on list C, which Denmark treats differently from the other four. The bekendtgoerelse says list C covers substances that in unprocessed form fall under section 2 of the Act, but which in pharmaceutical preparations are generally not covered by it. Codeine is one of nine substances on list C. In unprocessed form it falls under section 2 of the Act, but pharmaceutical preparations are generally outside it. Codeine tablets sold in Denmark are ordinary prescription medicines. The offence is in the Act rather than in the list instrument. Section 3 of the Act punishes any breach of the Act or of rules made under it with a fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years, and requires the court to weigh the harmful effects of the substance, and since 1 July 2025 its dangerousness. Where the circumstances in section 191 of the criminal code apply, that provision governs instead: transferring euphoriant substances to a larger number of people, or for significant payment, or under other particularly aggravating circumstances, carries imprisonment for up to 10 years, rising to 16 years where a significant quantity of a particularly dangerous or harmful substance is involved. Section 191(2) applies the same band to importing, exporting, buying, delivering, receiving, manufacturing, processing or possessing with intent to transfer. One thing about Denmark is widely reported the wrong way round. Section 3 of the Act says in terms that a warning cannot generally be given, and allows one only where social circumstances speak for it and the possession is an expression of strong dependence following prolonged and sustained misuse. That is a discretion narrowed by statute, not a policy of leniency, and it is the opposite of the picture most travel guidance paints. Read against the bekendtgoerelse in force on 12 December 2021, which took effect on 1 January 2022, and the Act as consolidated on 9 December 2019 and amended in June 2024 and June 2025. The minister may add a substance to the lists at any time under sections 1 and 2 of the Act, so absence from the lists as printed is not a permanent answer.

If prescribed or medical

This is the list that treats the pure substance and the medicine differently. In unprocessed form it falls under section 2 of the Act, but pharmaceutical preparations are generally outside it, under section 1(3)(3) of the bekendtgoerelse, which excepts dosed preparations containing at most 0.1 g per unit of a list C substance and other preparations containing at most 2.5 per cent.

Documentation

Declare any controlled medicine on arrival, carry it in its original dispensed container, and carry the prescription or a doctor's letter naming the substance, the dose and the patient. Within the Schengen area a doctor's certificate under Article 75 of the Schengen Convention is the usual document for a controlled medicine. Confirm requirements with the Danish Medicines Agency and with your embassy before travel.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Denmark’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.