Every step to bid in Denmark: the documents, who handles each one…

This guide is the checklist behind a Danish bid: each document and step in the order a tender asks for it, and who may lawfully handle it. For how Danish procurement works overall (thresholds, Udbudsloven and Tilbudsloven, evaluation, complaints and payment), see How to bid for public tenders in Denmark.

Before you bid

1. Open a supplier account on the platform in the notice. Danish tenders run on e-tendering systems such as ETHICS (run by Mercell), Mercell Source-to-Contract and EU-Supply/CTM. The account is what lets you download the tender documents, put questions to the buyer, fill in the ESPD and submit.

Cost and time: free, because access to a procedure must not require a fee. Ready the same day once your email is verified, and it stays open.
Who does it: one of your own employees creates the economic-operator account with a company email and a personal password, and subscribes to the tender. With the Share button on that subscription, they invite advisers by email with full or limited access. Each adviser then logs in as their own ETHICS user. Nobody shares a password.
From abroad: the same. Registering on ETHICS takes no CVR number, MitID or Danish address.

2. Share the tender with your consortium members and subcontractors. Limited-access sharing lets each consortium member, and each company whose capacity you rely on, fill in its own ESPD in the same tender. Your bid writer or lawyer gets full access.

3. MitID Erhverv, if your company is Danish. MitID Erhverv, issued by Digitaliseringsstyrelsen, is the business e-ID for government self-service on virk.dk and with Skattestyrelsen. You need it to order the serviceattest, not to bid on ETHICS or Mercell. It is free.

Who does it: the company’s management representative connects the organisation, or an anmelder with a Danish CPR number and MitID, for example your accountant, does so. The administrator then creates users and grants rights. You approve the connection, keep the administrator role and never share a MitID.
Foreign management: a representative without a CPR number can’t connect through a private MitID. An anmelder with CPR and MitID, such as an accountant, prepares the connection and documents the foreign owners; foreign employees can then be created as users.

With your bid

4. The ESPD (Det Fælles Europæiske Udbudsdokument). An electronic self-declaration that no exclusion ground applies to you and that you meet the selection criteria. It is required in every EU-level procedure, and many buyers use it below the thresholds too. ETHICS has an integrated ESPD service.

Cost and time: free; 1–2 days to prepare. Valid: for the one procedure.
Who does it: a bid writer or lawyer with full access drafts every tab from your documents. You confirm the exclusion-ground answers on criminal convictions, tax and social debts and insolvency. The finish tab, where the ESPD may be signed, is completed by you or by someone holding your written fuldmagt.

5. Reference list (referenceliste). Tenders with technical-capacity criteria ask for your main deliveries with value, date and recipient: the past 3 years for goods and services, the past 5 years for works. The buyer may check with the customers you name. It is free and takes 1–3 days to draft from your own records; you confirm the references and that your customers agree to be named. Foreign references are valid.

6. A støtteerklæring when you rely on others. Bidding as a consortium, or leaning on a subcontractor’s capacity, means a binding declaration of support from each company involved, plus that company’s own ESPD. It is free and takes days. A lawyer can draft it, but every company signs its own declaration.

7. A fuldmagt when someone else signs. Only the people who can bind the company under its CVR signing rule (tegningsregel) sign without one. Anyone else who signs the bid or acts for you needs a written power of attorney. It is free, drafted the same day, valid for what it states, and signed by your authorised signatories, with an e-signature if you like. Notarisation costs extra if a buyer asks for it, and a foreign company may need notarisation and an apostille where the buyer wants proof of signing authority.

8. Danish translations, where the notice demands Danish. Check the notice’s language field before anything is drafted. In a Danish-only tender, documents in another language can be disregarded, even insurance certificates, so everything gets translated. A translator needs days; a state-authorised translator (statsautoriseret translatør) where a certified translation is required.

9. Upload, then Sign and conclude. An adviser with full access uploads the offer, price sheet, references and translations under their own user. The bid is then concluded with Sign and conclude, using an ETHICS-issued certificate or a 6-digit signing code emailed to the signing user. It is free on ETHICS and done the same day. Where a buyer requires an advanced e-signature, any eIDAS-compliant one must be accepted.

Who does it: signing is bound to the user who clicks. Normally your own authorised user signs once the bid is assembled. An adviser may sign only with your written fuldmagt, and only where the tender documents allow signature by an authorised representative.
From abroad: the same; MitID isn’t needed.

If you’re in line for award

The buyer now asks you to prove your ESPD answers within its own deadline. Many buyers ask for the serviceattest with the bid already.

Evidence	Issued by	Who can get it for you	Valid for	What only you do
Serviceattest (debts to public authorities including tax and ATP, bankruptcy or insolvency, criminal record of company and management)	Erhvervsstyrelsen, ordered on virk.dk	Your revisor or adviser, once your company has given them a right in MitID Erhverv	Set by the tender; commonly no more than 6 months old at the deadline	Order it with your own MitID Erhverv or grant the right; consent to the management’s criminal-record check
Home-country certificates (foreign bidders): criminal record, tax and social-security clearance, insolvency	Your home authorities; e-Certis lists them per country	A translator puts them into Danish if required	Set by the tender	Order them, as most are identity-bound; swear any declaration in person
Annual accounts or a revisor statement on turnover, equity or solvency	Annual reports are public at Erhvervsstyrelsen; assurance statements come from a godkendt revisor	Your revisor, in their own name	Latest financial year	Engage your revisor and provide the books
ISO 9001, 14001 or 45001	Accredited certification bodies (DANAK or other EA members)	Existing certificates are uploaded for you	3 years with annual surveillance	Run the management system and undergo the audit

The serviceattest combines the exclusion-ground checks in one certificate, so it replaces a stack of separate certificates for a Danish company. Processing takes 1–2 weeks. The fee is billed afterwards, and Erhvervsstyrelsen doesn’t publish the current amount. Order it early, because buyers commonly want it recent.

Financial standing only matters in tenders with a minimum turnover or equity requirement; a foreign company uses its home-country audited accounts, with a certified translation if the tender is Danish-only. ISO certificates are asked for mainly in works, facility services, manufacturing and larger service contracts; buyers must accept equivalent certificates from other EU states and other evidence.

Before the contract and the first invoice

Liability insurance certificate. Most service and works contracts want proof of business and product liability or professional indemnity cover at stated minimums. Your broker or insurer issues it for the policy year; you hold the policy. A foreign policy is accepted if it covers Denmark, with a Danish translation where the tender requires one.
AB 18 security (works). There is no statutory bid bond, but on works under AB 18 the contractor provides security from a bank or surety insurer within 8 working days of the contract, starting at 15% of the contract sum until handover; the 2% tranche runs until 5 years after handover. You apply and give the counter-guarantee or collateral; the guarantee wording can be prepared for you. Many Danish buyers expect a Danish or EU bank or insurer, so check the tender.
Labour clause (arbejdsklausul). Where the contract carries one, you and your subcontractors pay at least the most representative Danish collective agreement, and you document it with payslips and time records on request. A payroll provider or revisor prepares the documentation; you pay according to the clause and declare compliance. It applies equally to foreign suppliers and posted workers.
Apprentice clause (uddannelsesklausul). On large works and listed services, the buyer requires apprentices. You employ them, or document the exemption; this applies to foreign contractors working in Denmark too.
RUT registration (foreign suppliers posting workers). Register the service in the Register of Foreign Service Providers no later than when work starts. Since 1 January 2026 you also upload the service agreement, the employment contracts and the residence and work permits of non-EU/EEA workers. Registration is done the same day, no fee is published, and changes must be reported by the first business day after they happen. Late registration can cost a fine of DKK 10,000, and gross or repeated breaches of the 2026 upload rules DKK 20,000. A lawyer or accountant can file under your written fuldmagt, logging in with username and password or eIDAS on a company email account. You sign the fuldmagt, supply employee identities, contracts and permits, and name a contact person the authorities can reach.
Sikkerhedsstyrelsen authorisation (electrical, VVS/plumbing, gas and sewer work). This installation work needs an authorised firm. An EU/EEA provider working temporarily notifies Sikkerhedsstyrelsen in writing before the first job, through the EU point of single contact (kvikskranken), with qualification evidence and a home-country establishment certificate; the notification covers up to 1 year from filing. The file can be put together for you, and your professionally responsible person (fagligt ansvarlig) signs it. Firms from outside the EU/EEA need full authorisation.
NemHandel e-invoicing. Your accountant or e-invoicing provider connects your bookkeeping system, or a Peppol access point, within days; you choose the system. A foreign supplier uses a Peppol access point, and an invoice may name only one CVR number as creditor.
A CVR number, only if you set up in Denmark. You don’t need one to bid. A foreign winner that wants a Danish branch (filial) or permanent establishment registers through virk.dk self-service, or on paper form 40.110 without MitID. Founding an ApS, A/S or P/S, or a branch of a foreign A/S or ApS, costs DKK 670; registrations that digital self-service doesn’t support cost DKK 2,150. A revisor or advokat files it under your fuldmagt; you sign the fuldmagt and founding documents and identify the beneficial owners.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
Platform account	Your own employee; advisers are invited with Share	Create the account under a company email and invite advisers
MitID Erhverv (Danish companies)	Your management representative or an anmelder such as your accountant	Approve the connection and hold the administrator role
ESPD	Drafted by a bid writer or lawyer with full access	Confirm the exclusion-ground answers; complete the finish tab or authorise it
References	Drafted from your records	Confirm them and your customers’ consent
Støtteerklæring, fuldmagt	Drafted for you	Sign, and have each supporting company sign its own
Translations	A translator; a statsautoriseret translatør for certified ones	—
Upload and Sign and conclude	An adviser uploads; signs only with your fuldmagt where the tender allows	Sign and conclude with your own user
Serviceattest	Your revisor or adviser, with a right in MitID Erhverv	Order it or grant the right; consent to the criminal-record check
Home-country certificates	Translated for you	Order them; swear any declaration
Accounts or revisor statement	Your revisor	Provide the books
Insurance certificate	Your broker or insurer	Hold the policy
AB 18 security	A bank or surety insurer	Apply and give the counter-guarantee
Labour and apprentice clauses	A payroll provider or revisor documents pay	Pay as the clause requires; employ apprentices
RUT	A lawyer or accountant under fuldmagt	Sign the fuldmagt; supply worker data; name a contact person
Sikkerhedsstyrelsen notification	The file is assembled for you	Your fagligt ansvarlig signs
NemHandel	Your accountant or e-invoicing provider	Choose the system

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Statsautoriseret or registreret revisor (godkendt revisor)	Erhvervsstyrelsen (Revisortilsynet) under Revisorloven; FSR – danske revisorer is the trade body	Issue an assurance statement (erklæring med sikkerhed) on turnover, equity or key ratios; act as the anmelder who connects a Danish company with foreign management to MitID Erhverv; handle CVR registration and NemHandel set-up
Tilbudsskriver or udbudskonsulent (bid writer)	Unregulated	Draft the solution description (løsningsbeskrivelse) and price schedule; work in ETHICS or Mercell as an invited collaborator; run the Q&A log and deadline calendar
Notarius publicus	Domstolsstyrelsen and the district courts (byretterne)	Notarise signatures on powers of attorney and on sworn or solemn declarations; legalise a company-signed document as the first step before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs apostille
Bank or kautionsforsikringsselskab (surety insurer)	Finanstilsynet	Issue the AB 18 contractor security, and performance or advance-payment guarantees on service and supply contracts
Accredited certification body	DANAK, or another EA-member accreditation body	Certify ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 27001 management systems

A Danish company that needs its own documents apostilled for a tender abroad goes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which charges DKK 250 per document.

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need a Danish company, CVR number or MitID to bid; who may bid from abroad, including the tax-haven rule, is covered in How to bid for public tenders in Denmark. For the paperwork:

Instead of the serviceattest, you hand in your own country’s criminal-record extracts, tax and social-security clearance and insolvency certificates, or a sworn or solemn declaration before an authority or notary where your country issues none. Your ESPD is the same, and each consortium member supplies its own. Your references count, your audited accounts stand in for Danish ones, and a foreign insurance policy works if it covers Denmark. Documents issued abroad are apostilled in their own country, and a fuldmagt may need notarisation and an apostille. In a Danish-only tender, plan for translations of all of it. After award come RUT, the labour clause, any Sikkerhedsstyrelsen notification, NemHandel through a Peppol access point and, only if you want one, a CVR registration.

Pitfalls

Read the language field before drafting. In a Danish-only tender, translate every document, insurance certificates included.
Screen yourself against the tax-haven exclusion first. A company established in a country on the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, without a GPA or trade agreement covering Danish procurement, is excluded automatically. Chinese operators are also restricted in EU medical-device tenders above €5 million.
Never share a login or a MitID. Advisers get their own ETHICS user through Share, and the serviceattest is ordered with your own MitID Erhverv or by an adviser you have granted a right.
Keep Sign and conclude with your own user, unless you have given a written fuldmagt and the tender allows signature by an authorised representative.
Price in labour clauses, apprentice clauses and RUT duties before you set your price on work performed in Denmark.
Order the serviceattest early. It takes 1–2 weeks, and buyers commonly want it no more than 6 months old.
Notarisation needs your signatory in person. The notarius publicus is a court service, and whoever signs appears there themselves.

Doing it with askTender

In Denmark, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on ETHICS (Mercell) and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: the exclusion-ground answers in the ESPD, Sign and conclude or a fuldmagt, and anything that needs your own MitID Erhverv. The askTender Desk prepares the ESPD, references and support declarations and assembles the bid; askTender Partners, such as a godkendt revisor or a statsautoriseret translatør, do the steps their licence covers.

Questions

Which documents go in with a Danish bid?

The ESPD, filled in through the platform’s ESPD service, and your offer. Most tenders with technical-capacity criteria also want a reference list. If you bid as a consortium or rely on another company’s capacity, add a støtteerklæring and that company’s own ESPD; if someone other than your registered signatories signs, add a fuldmagt. Certificates come later, from the intended winner, although many buyers ask for the serviceattest with the bid.

What is the serviceattest and who can order it?

A single certificate from Erhvervsstyrelsen covering debts to public authorities (tax and ATP), bankruptcy or insolvency, and the criminal record of the company and its management. A user of the Danish company orders it on virk.dk with MitID Erhverv, or a revisor or adviser the company has given a right in MitID Erhverv. Processing takes 1–2 weeks and the fee is billed afterwards. Foreign companies can’t get one and use certificates from their home country instead.

Do I need MitID to bid in Denmark?

No. On ETHICS the bid is concluded with an ETHICS-issued certificate or a 6-digit code emailed to the signing user, and where a buyer requires an advanced e-signature it must accept any eIDAS-compliant one. MitID Erhverv matters for government self-service such as ordering the serviceattest, which only Danish companies do.

Can an adviser work inside my ETHICS tender?

Yes. Your own user creates the company account, subscribes to the tender and invites the adviser with the Share button, with full or limited access. The adviser logs in under their own ETHICS user and can draft the ESPD and upload the bid. Sign and conclude stays with your user unless you give a written fuldmagt and the tender documents allow signature by an authorised representative.

What does a foreign winner need before work starts in Denmark?

If you post workers, register the service in RUT no later than when work starts; since 1 January 2026 you also upload the service agreement, employment contracts and the permits of non-EU/EEA workers, and late registration can cost a DKK 10,000 fine. Expect the labour clause, possibly an apprentice clause, a Sikkerhedsstyrelsen notification for installation work, and NemHandel invoicing through a Peppol access point.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.