Name and address protection (Navne- og adressebeskyttelse, historically hemmelig adresse) is a privacy protection mechanism for residents of Denmark that limits the access to your personal data in the Civil Registration System (Det Centrale Personregister or CPR). While the CPR is not a public database searchable by anyone online, third parties can request your address from the municipality if they have authorization. Parties that have access include police, tax authorities (SKAT), social services, and other government bodies. You check your status via borger.dk.
Advantages of obtaining Name and Address Protection
Most organizations that want to obtain your data after you have requested confidentiality will only receive it if you give your explicit consent. Some organizations (like the police and SKAT) are permitted to receive your data according to the law, even if you have protection in place. Yet you can significantly limit the amount of organizations that have access to your data by default. If a lawyer requests your confidential data, the authority making the disclosure will typically perform a balancing of interests, similar to the Netherlands.
If you apply for protection in connection with a move to a new address, you won’t be listed in directories. If you apply for protection independent of moving, you will need to contact your telecommunications provider and ask them to no longer disclose your information to directories.
Krak is a widely known website where your address may be exposed if you do not request secrecy.
In practice having this protection status can also help in conversations, organizations may be more understanding that they need to take high care of your data.
Name and address protection is intended to protect individuals facing genuine safety risks, including but not limited to stalking, domestic violence, threats, witness protection situations, or other circumstances where public disclosure of an address could endanger physical safety or privacy. Anyone can request this via their local citizen service office (Folkeregistret or Borgerservice) via an online form using MitID.
Limitations
Sometimes it can be wrongfully assumed that you are some special person, which can lead to awkward conversations. It is advised not to respond in detail to it, and simply reply “I have my reasons”.
You might have to manually provide your address in certain situations if you want to receive communication from an organization.
As mentioned the confidentiality does not apply to all organizations, so don’t assume full security. Government authorities like police and tax collection still have access.
Important Note on Companies: If you own a business or are a representative, your name may still appear in the Central Business Register (CVR). Company addresses are separate from residential address protection. Even with personal address secrecy, companies must register their business address publicly. To hide business ownership details, additional legal structures may be required.
How to apply (for free)
- Search for “Name and address protection” on lifeindenmark.borger.dk.
- Log in via MitID.
- Follow the instructions to apply by digital post.
- Submit.
Duration and Renewal
Protection generally lasts for 1 year. After this period, you must remember to apply again. If you have applied for protection online, you will receive notice via Digital Post when the protection is close to expiring. You can also apply to extend the protection when it expires. If you would like to remove a protection that you applied for online, you can likewise apply online to have it removed.
What organizations will see when accessing your data
Organizations requesting your data (with your civil registration number) will see a message indicating the data is protected or a placeholder message stating the address is confidential. They cannot retrieve your actual location through standard queries. However, some authorized authorities will still see the real address.
Last edited by @ph00lt0 2026-06-08T11:27:24Z