Shops in smaller towns may open on public holidays
Official title (in Danish): Lov om ændring af lov om detailsalg fra butikker m.v. (Lempelse af dispensationsadgang til detailsalg ved særlige lejligheder og adgang til detailsalg på helligdage og øvrige lukkedage i visse byer)
In short
Reading time: 1 min- What changes:
- Shops in the town centre in towns with fewer than 16,850 residents may open on public holidays, Constitution Day and Christmas Eve, and after 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve.
- If the town does not have a defined town centre, this applies to shops in the local centre.
- Shopping centres, department stores and hypermarkets with more than 15,000 square metres of retail space are not included.
- The Danish Business Authority can already grant permission to open on special occasions following a recommendation from the municipality.
- New is that permission can be granted for up to 10 years for an event that recurs every year.
- Who: Shops in towns with fewer than 16,850 residents. Municipal councils that recommend to the Danish Business Authority that shops may open for an event that recurs every year.
- When: The Act will enter into force on 1 January 2027.
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.
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 til formål at gøre det lettere for butikker at have åbent på hellig- og lukkedage. Konkret foreslås det, at butikker i bymidter med færre end 16.850 indbyggere kan holde åbent på lukkelovens lukkedage. Forslaget omfatter også butikker i storcentre, øvrige centre, stormagasiner eller hypermarkeder på mindre end 15.000 m2. Erhvervsstyrelsen vil årligt fastsætte, hvilke byer der er omfattet af ordningen, baseret på tal fra Danmarks Statistik. Samtidig foreslås det, at lukkelovens dispensationsbestemmelse lempes, så det ikke længere er et krav, at et tilbagevendende arrangement skal have offentlig karakter, for at få dispensation, og at dispensation til, at butikker kan foretage detailsalg på en af lukkelovens lukkedag, kan gives for en periode på op til 10 år. Lovforslaget implementerer en forligsaftale mellem regeringen (Socialdemokratiet, Venstre og Moderaterne), Det Konservative Folkeparti, Dansk Folkeparti og Radikale Venstre om ændring af lukkeloven af 27. maj 2025. Loven foreslås at træde i kraft den 1. januar 2027.
Source: Folketinget (ft.dk). Reproduced unchanged.
Timeline
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- Introduced · 5 November 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Fremsat
- Passed · 19 December 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: 3.beh./Vedtaget
- Stadfæstet · 29 December 2025Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet
- Enters into force · 1 January 2027In 58 days