Standard · Denmark

Danish wiring rules explained: DS/HD 60364 and the installation order BEK 1082

In Denmark, home wiring follows the installation order BEK 1082 (elinstallationsbekendtgørelsen, in force since 1 July 2017) and the DS/HD 60364 standards it refers to. It sets numeric rules: 30 mA type A RCDs on practically every circuit, type AC RCDs banned, sockets protected at 13 A, one socket per started 4 m² of each room, and work by an authorised electrical contractor.

Updated on 22 September 2026Last checked 22 September 2026DS/HD 60364 + BEK 1082 · beta

Key facts

01BEK nr 1082 of 12 July 2016, amended by BEK 639/2017, has applied since 1 July 2017 and is still valid in 2026; the applicable DS/HD 60364 parts are listed in the Standardsamling, 10th edition (2025).
02New installations need 30 mA RCDs on household sockets up to 20 A and every other connection point protected at up to 32 A (§ 35); type AC is banned in dwellings (§ 53).
0310 A and 13 A sockets are protected at 13 A maximum (§ 45).
04Each room needs 1 socket per started 4 m², up to 10 required; the kitchen at least 3 sockets on 2 circuits (§ 57).
05A home needs at least one socket or lighting circuit per 50 m² of floor area, minimum 2 (§ 56).
06TT is the default earthing system for new installations (§ 27).

Which rules apply to electrical installations in Denmark?

Denmark regulates installations through an executive order rather than a national wiring standard. The installation order (installationsbekendtgørelsen, BEK nr 1082 of 12 July 2016, amended by BEK 639/2017) makes the harmonised DS/HD 60364 series mandatory and adds Danish requirements in its own paragraphs. The authority is the Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen).

The older Heavy Current Regulations (stærkstrømsbekendtgørelsen, sections 6, 6A, 6B and 8) were repealed on 1 July 2019 and only matter for existing installations built under them. The parts of DS/HD 60364 that apply are collected in the standards collection (Standardsamling til installationsbekendtgørelsen), whose 10th edition dates from 2025.

Danish texts that apply to home wiring
Text	What it covers	Status
BEK 1082/2016 (+ BEK 639/2017)	Installation order: Danish requirements, reference to DS/HD 60364	Mandatory since 1 July 2017
Standardsamling, 10th edition (2025)	The DS/HD 60364 parts that apply	Mandatory by reference
Authorisation Act (LBK 30/2019) + BEK 722/2024	Authorisation of electrical contractors	Mandatory
BEK 725/2024	Quality management system of authorised companies	Mandatory
Stærkstrømsbekendtgørelsen 6 / 6A / 6B / 8	Previous rules	Repealed 1 July 2019

Sources: BEK 1082 (elsikkerhed.dk, retsinformation.dk), Tekniq list of valid texts 1Q2026.

Supply and earthing: three-phase and TT by default

Danish houses are supplied three-phase 3 × 400/230 V; a main fuse of 3 × 25 A is typical, with 35 A as an option (Trefor). Under § 27 and § 28 of BEK 1082 the default earthing system is TT, with the home's own earth electrode. A TN system is only allowed in listed cases: a customer's own transformer, a cable direct from the substation, an existing TN installation, or the grid owner's permission. TN-C is not allowed after the first distribution board.

Because TT relies on RCDs to disconnect earth faults, the Danish RCD rules below are central to the whole design.

RCDs, the 13 A socket rule and circuit sizes

Protection rules in a new Danish dwelling (BEK 1082)
Rule	Value	Paragraph
30 mA RCD on household sockets	Sockets up to 20 A	§ 35
30 mA RCD on other connection points	Protected at up to 32 A: in practice every final circuit, lighting included	§ 35
RCD type in dwellings	Type A minimum, type AC banned	§ 53
10 A and 13 A socket-outlets	Short-circuit protection at 13 A maximum	§ 45
16 A socket-outlets	Protection at 16 A maximum	§ 45
Earth contact for class I appliances	Required in homes built after 1 July 2017	§ 54
Existing installations	RCD on sockets up to 16 A and other points up to 20 A	§ 61

Source: BEK 1082, text read on elsikkerhed.dk.

The 13 A limit follows from the Danish socket system: household sockets are the Danish type K (DS 60884-2-D1), rated 10 or 13 A. A standard socket circuit is therefore a 13 A circuit, not the 16 A or 20 A common elsewhere in Europe.

Largest breaker per cable size in the Circuia Denmark pack
Copper section	Largest breaker	Typical use	Status
1.5 mm²	13 A	Socket and lighting circuits	Consistent with the 13 A socket rule; section of socket circuits not confirmed
2.5 mm²	20 A	Appliances, water heater	European base value
4 mm²	25 A	Heating, larger loads	European base value
6 mm²	32 A	EV charger, heat pump	European base value

The usual cooker circuit and the Danish minimum section for 13 A socket circuits were not found in public sources.

Surge protection (overspændingsbeskyttelse) is required unless a risk assessment shows it is not needed, or the installation of a single-family house is worth less than five times the cost of the SPD. It is considered mandatory with an EV charger.
EV charging: its own circuit and its own RCD, type A 30 mA with 6 mA DC detection, or type B (DS/HD 60364-7-722, Sikkerhedsstyrelsen).
Ceiling light points use fixed terminals, a DCL connector (EN 61995-2) or a Danish plug (§ 58).

How many sockets and circuits does a Danish home need?

BEK 1082 is one of the few European texts that fixes the number of sockets and circuits in a home. The minimums apply to new dwellings.

Minimum sockets and circuits in a Danish dwelling (BEK 1082 § 56 and § 57)
Space	Minimum	Paragraph
Each room	1 socket per started 4 m² of floor, at most 10 required	§ 57 stk. 1
Kitchen area	3 sockets, spread over at least 2 circuits	§ 57 stk. 2
Kitchenette	1 socket	§ 57 stk. 3
Bathroom, WC	1 socket, unless the room is too small to place it safely (the 4 m² rule does not apply)	§ 57 stk. 4
Garage, carport, attic, storage room	No minimum	§ 57 stk. 5
Whole dwelling	Socket and lighting circuits ≥ floor area / 50 m², at least 2	§ 56

§ 56: a 2- or 3-pole circuit counts as one; circuits for large loads and single-phase loads above 6 A running more than 2 hours do not count. Floor area as defined in the building regulations (BBR).

Examples: a 13 m² bedroom needs 4 sockets, a 30 m² living room 8, and a 45 m² open-plan room hits the cap of 10. A 140 m² house needs at least 3 socket and lighting circuits, a 60 m² flat at least 2.

Bathrooms and the consumer unit

Bathroom zones applied for Denmark (DS/HD 60364-7-701)
Zone	Extent	Rule
0	Inside the bath or shower tray	Only equipment designed for it
1	Above the bath or shower up to 2.25 m	Fixed equipment suitable for the zone
2	0.6 m beyond zone 1	No ordinary sockets or switches
Room	—	At least 1 socket outside the zones where there is space; every circuit behind a 30 mA RCD

The Danish national deviations for 7-701 in the 2025 standards collection were not read: Circuia uses the harmonised zones.

The consumer unit (gruppetavle) must be inside the dwelling and at most 2.2 m above the floor (§ 55).
If it is less than 1 m above the floor, it must be in a lockable cabinet.

Authorised electricians, verification and Sikkerhedsstyrelsen

Fixed electrical installation work in Denmark is carried out by an authorised electrical contractor (autoriseret elinstallatør) under the Authorisation Act, working within a certified quality management system. There is no systematic third-party inspection of a new home.

Before energising (§ 75), the contractor inspects and tests the installation and draws up a report in line with DS/HD 60364-6.
Deviations (§ 84): if the contractor does not follow DS/HD 60364, or follows it only partly, they must notify Sikkerhedsstyrelsen within 14 days, with documentation, calculations and drawings.
The owner receives the documentation of inspection and testing, the circuit list and the plans.

Planning a Danish installation with Circuia

Choose Denmark when you create the project. The editor uses TT earthing and a three-phase supply, protects type K socket circuits at 13 A, puts every final circuit up to 32 A behind 30 mA type A RCDs, flags any type AC device as an error, counts the § 57 socket minimums room by room, checks the § 56 circuit count and the kitchen rule, and reminds you of the § 55 board position. The circuit list, single-line diagram and bill of materials follow.

Open the editor set up for Denmark (free, in your browser). Neighbouring countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, or the overview of all standards.

Common mistakes

Fitting type AC RCDs in a dwelling: BEK 1082 § 53 requires type A as a minimum.
Protecting 13 A type K socket circuits at 16 A instead of 13 A.
Leaving lighting circuits without an RCD: every connection point protected at up to 32 A needs one.
Counting sockets per home instead of per room (1 per started 4 m² in each room).
Putting all kitchen sockets on one circuit: at least 3 sockets on 2 circuits.
Mounting the consumer unit higher than 2.2 m, or outside the dwelling.

Frequently asked questions

Which standard applies to electrical installations in Denmark?

The installation order BEK nr 1082 of 12 July 2016 (amended by BEK 639/2017), in force since 1 July 2017 and still valid in 2026. It makes the DS/HD 60364 series mandatory, as listed in the standards collection (10th edition, 2025), and adds Danish rules on RCDs, sockets, circuits and consumer units.

Are type AC RCDs allowed in Denmark?

Not in dwellings. BEK 1082 § 53 requires at least type A RCDs. Under § 35, new installations need 30 mA protection on household sockets up to 20 A and on every other connection point protected at up to 32 A, which in practice covers every final circuit, lighting included.

How many sockets does a room need in Denmark?

At least one socket per started 4 m² of floor in each room, with at most 10 required (§ 57). A 13 m² bedroom needs 4. The kitchen needs at least 3 sockets on at least 2 circuits, a bathroom or WC one socket unless it is too small to place one safely. Garages, carports, attics and storage rooms have no minimum.

Why are Danish socket circuits protected at 13 A?

Danish household sockets (type K, DS 60884-2-D1) are rated 10 or 13 A, and BEK 1082 § 45 limits the short-circuit protection of 10 A and 13 A sockets to 13 A. Only 16 A sockets may be protected at 16 A.

Can I do my own electrical work in Denmark?

Fixed electrical installation work must be done by an authorised electrical contractor, who verifies the installation before it is energised and reports any deviation from DS/HD 60364 to Sikkerhedsstyrelsen within 14 days. Check Sikkerhedsstyrelsen's guidance on what, if anything, a private person may do, and never work on live circuits.

Does Circuia certify an installation to Danish rules?

No. Circuia checks a plan against its Denmark rules pack, which is in beta and built from public sources, and produces the circuit list, single-line diagram and bill of materials. Only an authorised electrical contractor can carry out, verify and document the installation.

Design aid

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Draw the home or describe it to the AI: Circuia places the points, checks the country's rules in real time and generates the consumer unit, single-line diagram and bill of materials.

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Written by

Circuia team

Written by the Circuia team from the sources listed and from the editor's rules pack for this country: the values in the tables are the ones Circuia uses.

Published 22 September 2026 · updated 22 September 2026

Sources

Sources used for this page, official texts first: