Understand letters from your Danish kommune — a calm guide in English

A letter from the kommune lands in your Digital Post. It is two pages of formal Danish, there is a deadline somewhere in it, and Google Translate turns it into word salad. Take a breath — kommune letters follow fixed patterns, and once you know the pattern, you know what to do. This guide explains the words that matter, in plain English.

The three letter types — and how to spot them

The words that decide everything

• frist = deadline. The single most important word in any Danish letter. Deadlines in Danish administration are real: miss them, and options close.
• afgørelse = formal decision by an authority about your case.
• partshøring = your legal right to be heard before a decision is made. If you receive one, the case is NOT decided yet — your response can change the outcome.
• agterskrivelse = "we intend to decide …": the authority shows you its draft decision. It works as a hearing letter — but if you stay silent past the deadline, the letter can automatically BECOME the final decision. Reply as you would to a partshøring.
• klagevejledning = complaint instructions. Decision letters normally end with a section telling you where and how to complain.
• sagsnummer = case number. Quote it every time you contact the kommune — it gets you to the right desk in seconds.
• dokumentation = the papers they want from you (payslips, contracts, certificates).

Agterskrivelse: the letter that becomes a decision by itself

An agterskrivelse (“notice of intended decision”) deserves its own section, because it behaves differently from every other letter: the authority — often SKAT, or the kommune before a benefits sanction — writes the decision it intends to make, together with a deadline for your comments. If you disagree, reply before that deadline with your corrections and documentation. If you do nothing, the proposed content normally becomes the final afgørelse. You still keep the right to complain about that final decision afterwards — but replying in time is the calm, cheap way to fix errors. Our Danish deep-dive on the agterskrivelse covers the mechanics.

The 4-week complaint deadline

For most decisions in the social area, you can complain within 4 weeks (28 days) of receiving the decision — this follows from § 67 of the Danish act on legal rights in social matters (retssikkerhedsloven). The letter's klagevejledning tells you where the complaint goes. Two practical points:

• You complain to the kommune itself first — they must reconsider. If they do not change the decision, they forward it to the national appeals board (Ankestyrelsen).
• A complaint costs nothing and does not require a lawyer. Plain language is fine — state what you disagree with and why.

This administrative route is how you appeal a municipal decision in Denmark: the kommune reconsiders first, and only then does the case go to Ankestyrelsen. You do not start at the courts — and unlike a court case, the complaint route described in your letter is free, cf. borger.dk on complaint options (in Danish).

Digital Post: where these letters actually arrive

Official mail in Denmark is digital. The same letters appear in whichever app you use: e-Boks, mit.dk, the Digital Post app, or borger.dk — one public mailbox, several doors, all opened with MitID. Set up notifications in at least one of them, so letters never sit unread.

If you cannot use digital mail (language, disability, no computer), you can apply for an exemption (fritagelse) at the kommune's citizen service (Borgerservice) — then letters arrive on paper instead.

A calm 5-step routine for every letter

• 1. Open it the day it arrives. Unread letters do not pause deadlines.
• 2. Find the frist and put it in your calendar immediately — with a reminder a week before and a day before.
• 3. Identify the type (information / partshøring / afgørelse) using the table above.
• 4. If anything is unclear — ask. Call the number in the letter, quote your sagsnummer, and ask them to explain in plain words. Authorities are obliged to help you understand your own case. Many kommunes also have volunteer advisory services for internationals.
• 5. Answer in Danish if you can — even simple Danish. It keeps the case moving. (Our tip below makes this the easy part.)

Get the letter explained — photo in, plain language out

This is exactly what Sofia (our Danish AI secretary) is built for: photograph the letter or upload the PDF, and she explains what it says, what the deadline is, and what you need to do — and helps you write the reply in correct Danish. In English, Ukrainian, or the language you think in.

Frequently asked questions