Letter from Udbetaling Danmark? Here is what it means — and what to do

Udbetaling Danmark (UDK) is the Danish authority that calculates and pays benefits such as housing benefit, state pension and family benefits. Here is how to tell which of its Danish letters you have, what it asks of you and how to reply in time.

Who is Udbetaling Danmark?

Udbetaling Danmark, in English also called Public Benefits Administration, calculates and pays a range of benefits, including:

• housing benefit (boligstøtte)
• state pension (folkepension), disability pension (førtidspension), senior pension and early pension (tidlig pension)
• family benefits such as child and youth benefit (børne- og ungeydelse) and child allowance (børnetilskud)
• parental leave benefit (barselsdagpenge).

Your kommune handles other help, such as pensioners' personal supplement (personligt tillæg). UDK's letters arrive in Digital Post and are written in Danish, but you can call UDK with questions, as Life in Denmark notes. Our Danish guide, “Brev fra Udbetaling Danmark”, adds a pension example and an instalment request.

Which letter is it?

The heading and the first lines usually tell you. Look for these Danish words:

Five UDK letter types and what to do

Letter	What it means and what to do
Request for information vi mangler oplysninger	UDK needs documents, such as your whole rental contract. Send them by the date in the letter, usually through the self-service on borger.dk; otherwise the benefit can be lowered, refused or stopped.
Hearing partshøring	UDK asks for your comments on information it may use against you. Correct wrong facts and attach proof by the reply date. Nothing is decided yet.
Annual statement opgørelse, efterregulering	Last year's benefit is checked against your actual income. For housing benefit, object within 21 days of receiving it; for pension, by the date in the letter.
Decision afgørelse, klagevejledning	UDK has decided, for example that a benefit stops or that you must repay. A complaint must reach UDK within 4 weeks of receiving it.
Payment demand opkrævning, indbetalingskode	An amount is due. Pay, ask for an instalment plan or have it deducted from a benefit. A demand alone does not show that you did anything wrong.

Housing benefit: why the annual statement can ask for money back

Housing benefit is paid each month on the basis of the income you expect. Afterwards, UDK receives the household's actual income for that month from the Danish Tax Agency. If the income differed by more than DKK 800 and the benefit by more than DKK 200, a later payment is adjusted (boligstøtteloven § 8 d).

Once a year, UDK settles the previous year against your tax assessment (årsopgørelse) and the income register. The statement collects the smaller differences that were never adjusted, plus items such as self-employment, foreign and share income. By law, the result is paid back or paid out whether or not you reported the income changes during the year (§ 47). So a repayment is not proof that you broke a rule. Differences under DKK 250 are neither paid out nor claimed.

What you must report yourself

Ordinary pay changes reach UDK automatically. You must still report changes that can reduce or stop the benefit (§ 46): someone moving in or out, moving home, a rent change if you rent privately, changes in assets, self-employment income, income not taxed in Denmark and taking in a subtenant. UDK cannot change your expected income for you, so update it yourself if your pay changes permanently. Every adult in the home signs a declaration of joint liability (solidarisk hæftelse) for repayments covering the time they lived there. The full list is on Giv besked om ændringer (in Danish).

Example: checking and answering a housing benefit statement

Nadia, her case number and every amount below are fictional. Nadia lives alone. She left one job at the end of June 2025 and started a new one on 1 August.

The letter (shortened)

What each part tells her

• Letter type: an annual statement, not an accusation. She was paid DKK 25,200 but was entitled to DKK 22,140, so the claim is DKK 3,060.
• Deadline: “senest 5. oktober” means no later than 5 October, 21 days after the letter reached her Digital Post.
• Income: June is her final salary of DKK 22,400 plus DKK 9,200 holiday pay that her old employer transferred to FerieKonto when she left. That transfer counts as June income. August is her new salary of DKK 24,200 plus the same DKK 9,200 again, paid out by FerieKonto that month, which should not count twice. See our holiday pay guide for how FerieKonto works.
• What she leaves to UDK: the new benefit amount. Removing DKK 9,200 of income does not cut the claim by DKK 9,200.

Nadia's income check, June–August 2025 (DKK)

Month	In the letter	Her documents
June	31,600	31,600
July	0	0
August	33,400	24,200
Total	65,000	55,800

The whole difference of DKK 9,200 is in August, so her objection is only about August.

Nadia's objection in Danish

In English: “Subject: Objection to the 2025 housing benefit statement – letter of 14 September 2026, case BS-EKSEMPEL-2025. To Udbetaling Danmark, Housing Benefit. I disagree with the income for August 2025 that you have used in the statement of my housing benefit for 2025. The statement shows DKK 33,400 for August. This includes DKK 9,200 in holiday pay that my former employer transferred to FerieKonto when I left in June 2025. The holiday pay is already included in my June income of DKK 31,600. In August, FerieKonto paid me the same holiday pay. My salary from my new employer was DKK 24,200 in August 2025, so my income for August should be DKK 24,200. The amounts are after labour market contribution. I attach: 1. my June 2025 payslip from my former employer, showing the transfer to FerieKonto; 2. the Feriepengeinfo overview of the FerieKonto payout in August 2025; 3. my August 2025 payslip from my new employer. I have checked the other months and agree with them. Please recalculate my housing benefit for 2025 with the correct income for August. I will wait to pay until I hear from you. Kind regards, Nadia Karimi.”

She sends it on 28 September through the housing benefit self-service on borger.dk with MitID and keeps the receipt. Because she has objected, she waits to pay until UDK replies, as UDK's guide Forstå dit brev fra boligstøtte says under “Vi gør din boligstøtte op”. If UDK then sends a decision she still disagrees with, that decision has its own 4-week complaint deadline.

Pension letters: the yearly statement and what to report

UDK settles pensions once a year too. Most statements go out from mid-May, based on your tax assessment; if you or your partner are self-employed, live abroad or have foreign income, from September. If you disagree with the income figures, tell UDK before the deadline in the letter. You only repay amounts over DKK 249, without interest. See how the pension statement works (in Danish) and the Danish letter calendar.

Wages do not reduce folkepension, but other income, such as private pensions or share income, and a partner's income can reduce the pension supplement (pensionstillæg). Income taxed in Denmark reaches UDK automatically, so keep your preliminary tax assessment (forskudsopgørelse) up to date. Tell UDK directly if you become single or start living with someone, move, or have changes in assets, self-employment or income not taxed in Denmark.

A few weeks abroad does not matter. Before a trip of more than two months to a country outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland (other than the Faroe Islands and Greenland), tell UDK your departure and expected return dates; then report any foreign income and your actual return date. See UDK's rules for pensioners travelling abroad (in Danish).

Hearing, decision, complaint and payment are separate steps

Hearing. Before deciding against you on information you may not know UDK has, UDK must normally let you comment (forvaltningsloven § 19). Your reply goes into the case before anything is decided. It is not a complaint.

Decision and complaint. A decision comes with complaint guidance (klagevejledning). For housing benefit, pension and collection decisions, the complaint must reach UDK within 4 weeks of receiving the decision; a Digital Post letter counts as received on its date. UDK reviews the case again and, if it does not agree with you, sends the complaint to the National Social Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen). See UDK's complaint guide for housing benefit and retssikkerhedsloven §§ 66–67.

Payment. A complaint does not normally stop a payment demand. The exceptions UDK names are for housing benefit: you wait to repay while it answers an objection to the annual statement, and payment is put on hold while a complaint is decided.

If you owe money: paying, instalments and deductions

Repayments go to UDK's collection unit, Opkrævning. You can pay the full amount with the payment code (indbetalingskode), apply for an instalment plan (afdragsordning) through UDK's self-service, or agree by phone to have it deducted from a benefit you receive (modregning). If you owe child and youth benefit and still receive it, UDK deducts the debt from your payments.

A request becomes a plan only when UDK confirms it. After a missed deadline, UDK sends a reminder (DKK 250 for most benefits, no fee for housing benefit), and the debt can be registered with the Danish Debt Collection Agency (Gældsstyrelsen). It can then be taken from money the public sector owes you, such as a tax refund, and if it stays unpaid it goes to Gældsstyrelsen for collection with further fees. See what happens if you pay late (in Danish).

If the repayment letter is from your kommune about the daycare subsidy, see the friplads repayment letter guide. For kommune letters in general, see understanding letters from your kommune.

Help with the Danish

SkrivSikkert can explain a UDK letter in English, translate it, read it aloud and help you write and proofread your reply in Danish. Use the web platform, or the Chrome extension on the websites you work in. Many functions are free without login.

For example, ask Sofia: “List the benefit, the letter type, the amounts and every date in this letter, then help me write a short objection in Danish about my income for August.” Check the answer against the letter before you send anything.

Frequently asked questions

What is Udbetaling Danmark?

The Danish public authority that calculates and pays benefits such as housing benefit, state pension, disability pension and child and youth benefit. Its letters arrive in Digital Post and are written in Danish.

Does a repayment claim mean I did something wrong?

Not necessarily. The housing benefit annual statement settles income differences that were not adjusted month by month, whether or not you reported them. A claim can also follow a change you should have reported, such as someone moving out. The letter gives the reason.

How long do I have to object or complain?

Object to a housing benefit annual statement within 21 days of receiving it. For a pension statement, a hearing or a request for information, use the date in the letter. A complaint about a decision must reach Udbetaling Danmark within 4 weeks.

Do I have to pay while I object?

For a housing benefit annual statement, wait until Udbetaling Danmark has answered your objection. For other claims, a complaint does not stop the payment demand by itself, so contact Opkrævning.

What happens if I cannot pay?

Ask Opkrævning for an instalment plan or a deduction from a benefit you receive; it applies once UDK confirms it. An unpaid claim can be registered with Gældsstyrelsen, taken from a tax refund and later sent there for collection.