Military service now applies to women in the same way as men
Official title (in Danish): Lov om ændring af værnepligtsloven, lov om forsvarets personel og forskellige andre love (Fuld ligestilling mellem kvinder og mænd i relation til værnepligt, indførelse af mulighed for værnepligtige befalingsmænd og fritagelse for at møde til Forsvarets Dag under helt særlige forhold m.v.)
In short
Reading time: 1 min- What changes: The act introduces gender-neutral military service for young adults.
- Who: Women who turn 18 on or after 1 July 2025, and conscripts who can become officers.
- When: The Act entered into force on 1 July 2025.
Written by AI from verbatim quotes from the source and checked by code and AI. Dates, tables and the fact box are calculated by fixed rules. Unofficial translation. Always read the original.
Women who turn 18 on or after 1 July 2025 must report for Defence Day. There, among other things, they must draw a lottery number. If there are not enough volunteers, they can be ordered to complete military service.
Women who complete military service do so on the same terms as men.
Conscripted privates can be ordered to complete military service as sergeants. This applies if there are not enough qualified volunteers.
The service period for conscripted officers (lieutenants and sergeants) can be up to 36 months. After the first continuous service of 24 months, they can be called up again for up to 12 months. This applies during war or other extraordinary circumstances and in disasters.
The Minister of Defence can set rules that exempt all or parts of birth cohorts from reporting for Defence Day. This requires that very special circumstances apply, for example a pandemic. The exemption must not affect the operational capacity of the Danish Defence.
Sources and original
Read the official text (in Danish) →
The case at the Danish Parliament (ft.dk)
Source: Retsinformation.dk
Translated from Danish · The Danish version and the original source apply.
Summary by the Danish Parliament (in Danish)
Lovforslaget har først og fremmest til formål at gennemføre den anden delaftale under forsvarsforliget 2024-2033 og aftalen om fuld ligestilling i værnepligten under forsvarsforliget 2024-2033. Med lovforslaget vil der således blive skabt hjemmel til, at der kan indføres fuld ligestilling mellem mænd og kvinder i relation til værnepligten. Det indebærer, at kvinder, der fylder 18 år på eller efter den 1. juli 2025, vil skulle møde til Forsvarets Dag samt bl.a. trække et lodtrækningsnummer og dermed kunne blive beordret til at aftjene værnepligt hvis der ikke er tilstrækkeligt med frivillige. Derudover vil kvinder, der aftjener værnepligt, skulle aftjene værnepligten på samme vilkår som mænd. Lovforslaget skaber desuden hjemmel til, at der kan genindføres værnepligtige befalingsmænd i form af løjtnanter og sergenter med henblik på bl.a. at kunne styrke Forsvarets evne til mobilisering under krig eller andre ekstraordinære forhold og i katastrofetilfælde. Det indebærer også, at værnepligtige menige vil kunne beordres til at aftjene værnepligt som sergent, hvis der ikke er tilstrækkeligt med kvalificerede frivillige. Lovforslaget indeholder endeligt et forslag om, at forsvarsministeren fremover kan fastsætte regler om, at hele eller dele af årgange af værnepligtige kan fritages for at møde til Forsvarets Dag, hvis helt særlige forhold, som f.eks. udbruddet af en pandemi, gør det umuligt at afholde Forsvarets Dag i en længere periode, og hvis fritagelsen ikke påvirker den operative kapacitet.
Source: Folketinget (ft.dk). Reproduced unchanged.
Timeline
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- Introduced · 29 April 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Fremsat
- Passed · 11 June 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: 3.beh./Vedtaget
- Stadfæstet · 20 June 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet
- In force · 1 July 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet