Checked 15 October 2026. Rules re-read on 15 October 2026 in BEK nr. 453 af 13/05/2024 and SIRI’s test page; dates and fee from SIRI’s dates page and PDFs the same day. The two practice questions and keys are SIRI’s published papers and retteark; the English translations are ours. Pass-rate figures are from UIM’s Integrationsbarometer and SIRI’s analyses (read 25 September 2026). The rules have been unchanged since the November 2021 sitting.
Indfødsretsprøven is a 45-minute multiple-choice test of 45 questions, and you pass with at least 36 correct answers, of which at least 4 must be among the 5 questions on Danish values. That second condition is what makes the Danish test unusual: a candidate with 43 of 45 right fails if both wrong answers are values questions. This guide explains how the paper is built, quotes the pass rule as the law states it, works through the edge cases, and shows — from the ministry’s own statistics — which of the two conditions actually decides most results.
BEK nr. 453 af 13/05/2024 §9 and §35(3); SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven.
Where other pages get this wrong
The 4-of-5 rule applies to questions 41–45 on Danish values.
Commonly published instead: “You must answer at least 4 of the 5 questions on current societal affairs.”
BEK §35(3) and SIRI’s answer key: at least 36 of 45 correct, including at least 4 of the 5 questions (41–45) on Danish values. Questions 36–40 are current affairs and carry no separate minimum.
Danish citizenship test: quick facts
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Official name | Indfødsretsprøven — the knowledge test for Danish citizenship (indfødsret) | SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven |
| Language | Danish only, at the level of Prøve i Dansk 3; no English version of the paper or the learning material | BEK 453/2024 |
| Questions and time | 45 written questions in 45 minutes, no aids | SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven |
| Blocks | 35 on history, society and culture; 5 on current affairs; 5 on Danish values | SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven |
| Options | Two or three per question | SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven |
| Pass | At least 36 of 45 correct, including at least 4 of the 5 values questions | BEK 453/2024 §35 |
| Study book | The August 2026 learning material, 246 pages, six chapters; it covers 35 of the 45 questions and applies to the winter 2026 and summer 2027 tests | SIRI, Forberedelse |
| Next test | Wednesday 25 November 2026, 13:00–13:45; register with a language centre by 21 October 2026; fee 946 kr. (2026) | SIRI timetable and dates page |
| 2027 tests | 26 May 2027 (register by 21 April) and 24 November 2027 (register by 20 October); no 2027 fee found | SIRI, Prøvedatoer 2027 |
Checked on 15 October 2026 on danskogproever.dk and retsinformation.dk.
- All 13 official papers, 2020–2026, marked instantly
- 10 full-length mock exams, 45 questions each
- 43 topic tests: history, government, culture
- 1,450 questions in all; retake any test
- Your weak topics after every test
- Bonus: the 7-page fact sheet (PDF)
How the 45 questions are built
| Questions | Block | What they test |
|---|---|---|
| 1–35 | Learning material | The official “Læremateriale til Indfødsretsprøven” — history, democracy, economy, Denmark and the world, culture, theme entries |
| 36–40 | Current affairs | Events of significant interest in Danish news media in roughly the last six months — politics, society, culture, sport |
| 41–45 | Danish values | Basic values and freedoms — examples named are freedom of expression, gender equality and the relationship between religion and law |
BEK 453/2024 §9(1); SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven; June 2026 paper section headings.
For questions 36–45 the executive order (BEK 453/2024 §9(1)) says the answer does not appear in the learning material, and SIRI’s preparation page says the same. So the 246-page book covers 35 questions at most, and the remaining ten are “unprepared” questions you meet for the first time in the hall. In practice that means two separate preparations: the book and the past papers for questions 1–35, and the news plus basic knowledge of Danish law and values for questions 36–45.
Practice questions: two real ones, with our English translation
The test is in Danish only, so the practice below keeps SIRI’s questions in Danish, exactly as they were set, with two or three options in their printed order and SIRI’s key from the published answer sheet (retteark). Under the test, a table gives our own English translation of each question, so that a reader still building their Danish can check what was asked. One question is from the learning-material block (1–35) and one is a values question (41–45); neither is a current-affairs question, because those test the news of a past half-year.
Practice: 2 official questions (in Danish, as set)
Choose one answer for each question, then press “Mark my answers”. In the real test you mark a cross on paper. Nothing is stored.
1. Hvem har værnepligt i Danmark? (June 2026, question 5)
2. Kan man komme i fængsel, hvis man ulovligt tvinger nogen til at indgå et ægteskab? (May 2024, question 41)
Questions and keys: SIRI’s published papers and answer keys for Indfødsretsprøven (May 2024 and June 2026), each with its sitting and question number. The English translations are ours.
| # | Sitting, question | Question as set (Danish) | Our English translation | Key (SIRI’s answer sheet) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 2026, no. 5 | Hvem har værnepligt i Danmark? (A: Kun mænd · B: Kun kvinder · C: Både mænd og kvinder) | Who is liable for military service (værnepligt) in Denmark? (Only men / Only women / Both men and women) | C: Både mænd og kvinder |
| 2 | May 2024, no. 41 | Kan man komme i fængsel, hvis man ulovligt tvinger nogen til at indgå et ægteskab? (A: Ja · B: Nej) | Can you go to prison if you unlawfully force someone to enter into a marriage? (Yes / No) | A: Ja |
Questions and keys: SIRI’s Indfødsretsprøven papers and retteark of 29 May 2024 and 3 June 2026. Translations: ours, not official.
For more practice: SIRI publishes its 13 papers from June 2020 to June 2026 with their answer sheets free on its preparation page, and the ProSyllabus practice library has all 13 as timed quizzes.
The rules of the paper
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Answer options | Two or three per question (“to eller tre svarmuligheder”); exactly one is correct |
| How to answer | A cross (☒) in the printed booklet, one per question; change an answer by clearly striking out the one you no longer want |
| Aids | None — no dictionary, phone or smartwatch |
| Language | Danish only, written at the level of Prøve i Dansk 3; no official English version of the paper or the material exists |
| Leaving | Not before the 45 minutes are up and your booklet is collected |
| Result | “Bestået” (passed) or “ikke-bestået” (not passed); no grade |
SIRI, Om Indfødsretsprøven; participant information; June 2026 paper cover; BEK 453/2024 §§9, 17, 18, 35.
Because questions have only two or three options, a blind guess is right a third to a half of the time, and there is no negative marking — a wrong answer simply scores nothing. So never leave a question blank. In the 13 official papers from June 2020 to June 2026, 110 of the 570 questions had two options and 460 had three (our count), and the correct answers are spread almost evenly across A, B and C (200, 187 and 183). There is no “always C” pattern to exploit.
The pass rule, word for word
The executive order says the test is passed if at least 36 of the 45 questions are answered correctly, and that of these, 4 of the 5 questions on Danish values must be answered correctly (our translation of BEK 453/2024 §35(3)). SIRI’s answer key for June 2026 restates it: at least 36 of 45 correct, including at least 4 of 5 of questions 41–45. SIRI cannot give a dispensation from the pass rule or from the rules on the test’s form and content (§52).
Pass-mark checker: 36 correct and 4 of 5 values
Enter how many you got right in questions 1–40 (learning material and current affairs) and in questions 41–45 (Danish values) — for example after marking an official paper with its answer key.
Rule: BEK nr. 453 af 13/05/2024 §35(3) and SIRI’s answer key — at least 36 of 45 correct, including at least 4 of the 5 questions on Danish values. The result is only “passed” or “not passed”; no grade is given.
Edge cases worth knowing
| Your answers | Result |
|---|---|
| 40 of 40 in 1–40, 3 of 5 values = 43 of 45 | Not passed — only 3 values questions right |
| 32 of 40 in 1–40, 4 of 5 values = 36 of 45 | Passed — exactly the minimum |
| 31 of 40 in 1–40, 5 of 5 values = 36 of 45 | Passed |
| 33 of 40 in 1–40, 2 of 5 values = 35 of 45 | Not passed on both rules |
| 39 of 40 in 1–40, 5 of 5 values = 44 of 45 | Passed |
Our arithmetic from BEK §35(3). Both limits apply together: at most 9 wrong in total, and at most 1 of those in questions 41–45 — so one wrong values answer leaves room for only 8 more.
Which rule actually fails people
The values rule gets the headlines, but the ministry’s own statistics show that the 36-correct rule decides far more results. In every sitting since the values questions arrived, between three-quarters and nine-tenths of candidates met the values rule, while only four to six in ten reached 36 correct.
| Sitting | Passed (both rules) | Met the values rule | Met 36 correct |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | 58% | 93% | 59% |
| Nov 2023 | 36% | 75% | 40% |
| Nov 2024 | 41.44% | 85.03% | 42.39% |
| May 2025 | 58% | 81% | 62% |
| Nov 2025 | 47.2% | 79.5% | 48.6% |
| Summer 2026 (3 Jun; “Maj 2026” in the barometer) | 58.6% | 91% | 59% |
UIM Integrationsbarometer (source: SIRI), figure 2; Nov 2023 and May 2023 from the ministry’s November 2023 analysis.
UIM Integrationsbarometer, figure 2 (labelled “Maj 2026”; the test was on 3 June 2026).
The ministry’s November 2023 analysis breaks the failures down: of those who failed, about 62% missed only the 36-correct rule, 6% only the values rule and 33% both (rounded, so they sum to about 100%). In May 2023 the split was 84%, 1% and 16%. The practical lesson is simple. The values questions matter, and the rule is strict, but the candidate who fails usually fails because the learning-material questions were not known well enough. In SIRI’s random samples of answer sheets, questions were answered correctly 72.8–80% of the time on average across the sittings with published annexes (78.3% in June 2026, sample of 432), against the 80% (36 of 45) needed — so the typical candidate sits just below the line, and a few more known facts from the book move them over it.
What changed in 2021
The present test dates from the November 2021 sitting. Before it, the test had 40 questions — 35 from the learning material and 5 on current affairs — and 32 correct answers passed. The April 2021 citizenship agreement added five values questions and raised the bar to 36 with the 4-of-5 condition. The effect was immediate: the pass rate fell from 66.5% in June 2021, the last 40-question sitting, to 40.7% in November 2021. A pass of the old test taken between June 2016 and June 2021 still counts for citizenship; no expiry date is stated for a pass of the current test.
| Feature | Before Nov 2021 | From Nov 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 40 | 45 |
| Blocks | 35 material + 5 current affairs | 35 material + 5 current affairs + 5 values |
| Pass | 32 correct | 36 correct incl. 4 of 5 values |
| Time | 45 minutes | 45 minutes |
| Last / first pass rate | 66.5% (Jun 2021) | 40.7% (Nov 2021) |
Naturalisation circular nr. 9461 of 17 June 2021 and the April 2021 agreement; UIM Integrationsbarometer; the June 2020–June 2021 papers (40 questions) and every paper from November 2021 (45).
Timing: one minute a question
Forty-five questions in forty-five minutes is a minute each, and many are a single line — a year, a name, a yes or no. The trap is the handful of long stems about the political system or the welfare state. A sound approach is one fast pass through all 45, answering everything you know and marking a best guess on the rest, then a second pass on the marked ones. Because there is no penalty for a wrong answer, a question left blank is the only certain loss.
Practise it, don't just read it
Mark every practice paper in three parts — questions 1–35 (the book), 36–40 (current affairs) and 41–45 (values) — not just the total. That shows at once whether your gap is the book, the news or the values block, and whether you are safely at 4 of 5 on values.
The ProSyllabus library for Indfødsretsprøven has all 13 official papers from June 2020 to June 2026 as timed quizzes, ten full mock exams and topic quizzes for each part of the learning material, all in one test pack. You can try a free sample of 4 questions first.
What we could not find
- An English version of the test. SIRI’s pages, the executive order and every paper we checked are in Danish only, and the regulation sets the Danish level at Prøve i Dansk 3. We found no official translation of the papers or the learning material; the translations on this page are ours.
- An official online practice test. SIRI publishes past papers and keys as PDFs. It warns that practice sites on the internet are not official and can be imprecise or misleading; that applies to this page too, so use SIRI’s papers as the final word.
- Official explanations. The answer sheet gives only the letter (A, B or C).
- The 2027 fee. SIRI gives 946 kr. for 2026. SIRI’s fee list is headed ‘Gebyrer 2026’; we did not find a 2027 fee (checked 15 October 2026).
- Results by question for every sitting. SIRI publishes answer distributions for random samples; it publishes no full results by question, so the shares quoted above are samples.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are in the Danish citizenship test?
45, answered in 45 minutes.
What is the pass mark for Indfødsretsprøven?
At least 36 of 45 correct, including at least 4 of the 5 Danish values questions (41–45).
Can I fail with 44 correct answers?
No — 44 correct means only one wrong answer, so at least 4 of 5 values questions are right. But 43 correct fails if both wrong answers are values questions.
Which questions are the values questions?
Questions 41–45 on the paper.
Is there negative marking?
No. A wrong answer scores nothing, so never leave a question blank.
How many answer options does each question have?
Two or three, with exactly one correct.
Is the Danish citizenship test available in English?
No. The paper and the learning material are in Danish only, at the level of Prøve i Dansk 3.
Can I use a dictionary?
No. The test allows no aids.
Do I get a score or a grade?
No grade — only passed or not passed. The number of correct answers is recorded in the centre’s register.
Which questions come from the learning material?
Questions 1–35. Questions 36–45 (current affairs and values) are not in the material.
How far back do the current-affairs questions go?
Roughly the last six months before the test, according to SIRI.
Which rule do most people fail?
The 36-correct rule. In June 2026, 91% met the values rule but only 59% reached 36 correct.
When did the 36/45 rule start?
With the November 2021 sitting. Before that the test had 40 questions and 32 correct passed.
Can SIRI lower the pass mark for me?
No. SIRI cannot dispense from the pass rule; special arrangements can change how you sit the test, not what passes.
Can I practise the Danish citizenship test in English?
You can read our English translation of real questions, as on this page, but the test itself is in Danish only. Practise on SIRI’s Danish papers before the day.
Where can I find real Danish citizenship test questions with answers?
SIRI publishes every past paper with its answer key on its preparation page. This page has two with our English translation.
When is the next Danish citizenship test?
Wednesday 25 November 2026, 13:00–13:45. Register with a language centre by 21 October 2026. In 2027 the tests are on 26 May and 24 November.
More in this series
- Indfødsretsprøven 2026 and 2027: dates, deadlines, fee, ID rules
- The values questions: 50 real ones analysed
- Pass rates 2016–2026: who passes and why people fail
- The learning material: August 2026 edition, what changed
- Past papers decoded: what repeats, what is hardest
- From test to passport: requirements, fees and timeline
- Indfødsretsprøven: gratis prøvetest med 4 officielle spørgsmål og svar (på dansk)
- Spørgsmål til Indfødsretsprøven: 100 officielle, sorteret efter emne (på dansk)
- Danish citizenship test notice board — official updates
Sources
- official — Bekendtgørelse om indfødsretsprøven, BEK nr. 453 af 13/05/2024 (retsinformation.dk)
- official — SIRI — Om Indfødsretsprøven (about the test)
- official — SIRI — Information til prøvedeltagere om Indfødsretsprøven (Aug 2025, PDF)
- official — Indfødsretsprøven 3 June 2026 — paper (SIRI, PDF)
- official — Indfødsretsprøven 3 June 2026 — answer key / retteark (SIRI, PDF)
- official — Cirkulæreskrivelse om naturalisation nr. 9461 af 17/06/2021 (retsinformation.dk)
- official — UIM Integrationsbarometer — how many have passed Indfødsretsprøven (updated 24 Aug 2026)
- official — UIM Integrationsbarometer — Indfødsretsprøven November 2023: participants and pass rates (PDF)
- official — SIRI — analysis annex, 26 November 2025 (PDF)
- official — SIRI — analysis annex, 3 June 2026 (PDF)
- official — UIM — Indfødsretsprøven af 2021 (exemptions and dispensation)
- reported — Copernica Law — The Danish Citizenship Test: How to Pass (reported; see corrections)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.












