Frequently asked questions

You can apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board if you have suffered personal injury as a result of a criminal offense.

The personal injury can be either psychological or physical.

Among other conditions for receiving compensation, it is required:

• That the crime/offense was reported to the police within 72 hours as a general rule,
• That you have claimed compensation from the offender if the criminal case has been brought to court, and
• That the application for compensation is submitted to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board no later than 2 years after the crime was committed (the deadline is calculated from the final judgment or from the police decision to close the criminal case without pursuing a criminal case).

The rules can be found in the State Compensation to Victims of Crime Act §§ 10, 13, and 1.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board can usually only process your application for compensation once the criminal case has been concluded. The case is considered concluded when a final judgment has been made by the court, or when the police or the prosecution has sent you a decision regarding the closure of the case. If you have appealed this decision, you should only submit the application once a decision has been made regarding your appeal.

If the offender has been convicted in court, you can apply for compensation from the Board if the offender has not paid. If the offender is acquitted in court or is unknown, you can still apply for compensation.

In some cases, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board can process an application for compensation even if the criminal case has not been concluded, but only if f the circumstances justify it. This could be the case in situations where the offense was committed by two perpetrators, and the criminal case against one of them has been finally concluded, but the case against the other has not yet been concluded.

If you are unsure whether the criminal case has been concluded, you can contact the police district where you filed your report regarding the criminal offense. The police district is listed on the receipt you received for your report.

The rules can be found in §§ 6 and 11 c of the State Compensation to Victims of Crime Act.

The Board can, among other things, pay compensation for:

• Medical expenses (such as expenses for medicine, psychologist, or physiotherapy due to the criminal offense). You can read more about medical expenses here.
• Expenses for damaged personal property (such as clothing, glasses, or phone that you were wearing or using when the criminal offense occurred). You can read more about expenses for damaged personal property here.
• Lost earnings (if you have lost income, such as salary, due to the criminal offense). You can read more about lost earnings here.
• If you have been ill and received treatment due to the criminal offense, you can apply for compensation for pain and suffering (sick days). You can read more about compensation for pain and suffering here.
• Permanent injuries you have suffered as a result of the incident (compensation for permanent disability). You can read more about compensation for permanent disability here.
• Loss of earning capacity (if you have lost all or part of your ability to work). You can read more about loss of earning capacity here.
• Attorney fees (if you have paid an attorney to assist you with the case in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board).
• Other losses (such as due to extended education period). You can read more about other losses here.
• Tort (for example, in cases of deprivation of liberty or sexual violations). You can read more about compensation for suffering here.
• Compensation for violation/infringement (for example, in cases of dangerous violence, home robbery, or attempted murder). You can read more about compensation for violation here.

You can apply for compensation for:

• Reasonable funeral expenses. You can read more about reasonable funeral expenses here.
• Transition payment (for expenses related to the death of a spouse or cohabitant). You can read more about the transition payment here.
• Compensation for loss of provider (for spouse, partner, or children).
  • If you are the surviving spouse or partner, you can read more here.
  • If you are a surviving child, you can read more here.
• Compensation for the surviving family members. You can read more about compensation for surviving family members here.

When the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board processes your application for compensation, it is often necessary for the Board to request (additional) information about your health, work, and/or financial situation in order to assess whether you are eligible for compensation and/or reimbursement.

Therefore, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board will ask you to submit the information it requires. This may include, for example, a medical certificate or information about your income before and after the injury.

If you are applying, for instance, for compensation for permanent disability or pain and suffering, you may be asked to attend medical examinations that require your participation. Your participation in such examinations is important because the medical reports are part of the Board’s assessment of your case, and they can be crucial in determining whether you are eligible for compensation.

The reason why the Board may ask for additional information is that it needs to have the most comprehensive and up-to-date information possible in order to make a decision based on a sufficiently informed foundation.

Example: You are applying for compensation for permanent disability. Compensation for permanent disability can only be awarded if your impairment is assessed to be at least 5%. Therefore, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board will ask you to submit medical information for its assessment. If the Board finds it likely that you have a permanent disability of at least 5%, it will request an evaluation of the degree of your disability from either the Danish Labour Market Insurance (Arbejdsmarkedets Erhvervssikring) or the Patient Compensation (Patienterstatningen). These organizations may require additional medical information in order to assess the degree of your disability, and in that case, you may be asked to attend an examination by a specialist.

The rules on how you, as the applicant, must assist in providing information for the case are found in § 14 of the State Compensation to Victims of Crime Act.

You apply for compensation through the Compensation Board’s self-service solution (danish).

When you log in, you will need:

• NemID
• The case number from the police (you can find this on the receipt for your report or by contacting the police in the district where the criminal offense was reported)
• Bank account details and, if applicable, a payment authorization if the payment is not to be made to your NemKonto
• Information about whether you have home insurance, accident insurance, and if you are a member of the health insurance “danmark”.

It is important that you read the instructions for each field in the self-service solution and answer the questions as thoroughly as possible. You will be asked to attach various documents. For example, this could include an invoice for treatment received or receipts for damaged clothing. If you don’t have the documents on hand, you can save your application and return to it later. In the self-service solution, you will be continuously guided on the various types of compensation you can apply for.

If you cannot apply digitally

If you are exempt from digital communication, or if you are unable to apply digitally for other reasons, such as a physical or mental disability, you can obtain an application form from the police.

In section 8 of the form, you must state why you cannot use the digital self-service solution. Once the form is filled out, submit it to the police where you reported the criminal offense. The police will then forward your application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

The compensation is paid out by the Department of Civil Affairs. The payment is made 1-2 weeks after you have received the Board's decision.

The compensation is paid to the applicant's NemKonto. If the applicant has a representative, the compensation can generally only be paid to the representative if a payment authorization has been completed and submitted.

If you have debt, you may be able to have certain compensation amounts protected from creditors. This is stated in Section 513 of the Administration of Justice Act. However, this does not apply to compensation amounts paid to an estate.

The compensation amounts that can be creditor-protected are:

• Compensation for permanent disability
• Compensation for loss of earning capacity
• Compensation for pain and suffering, awarded together with compensation for permanent disability and/or compensation for loss of earning capacity
• Compensation for loss of provider, funeral expenses, and transition payment
• Interest on the above compensation amounts

Creditor protection requires that the compensation amount is kept clearly separate from your other assets, for example by depositing the compensation amount into a separate account and not into your NemKonto.

You must contact the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board as soon as possible with details of the account information for a separate account, as any compensation and/or reimbursement will otherwise be paid into your NemKonto.

You should contact your bank if you wish to open a separate account for the amounts to be creditor protected.

If you are under 18 years old, the compensation will be paid to the person who has parental custody. Please note:

If you are under 18 or legally incompetent for other reasons, the compensation may, in some cases, need to be paid into a special bank account. The account must be in an approved management department of the bank. If the compensation is to be deposited into a management department, the Board's decision will include further guidance on this.

You can find a list of approved management departments here.

The expected processing time can be found in the acknowledgment letter that the Board sends to you or your representative when the Board has received the compensation application and the criminal case from the police.

Please note: The processing time is the time it takes until you hear from the Board. It is not guaranteed that your case will be decided immediately. The Board may write to you requesting additional information or may conduct a party hearing. A party hearing is your opportunity to provide comments before the Board makes a decision in your case.

If you have submitted the information or documents that the Board has requested, the Board will continue processing your case.

It is not necessary to be represented by a lawyer.

The Board is obligated to provide guidance on how the case is processed within the Board and what rules apply.

As an applicant, you should be aware that the Board cannot provide legal advice. If you need advice, you can contact a lawyer or legal aid.

In some cases, the Board may reimburse an applicant's expenses for a lawyer. However, you cannot be sure that the Board will cover the entire cost.

This rule is stated in Section 15 of the State Compensation to Victims of Crime Act.

You cannot appeal the Board's decisions to another authority.

If you are dissatisfied with the decision, you can contact the Board. If there is new information in the case, the Board may reopen the case.

If you are still dissatisfied with the Board's decision, you can file a lawsuit against the Board.

You can also file a complaint about the decision with the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

The Board often asks the applicant to submit information within a specific deadline. The information can, for example, be a medical certificate, tax returns, or a statement from your employer.

If you cannot meet the deadline, you can write or call and inform the Board about it. You may be granted a new deadline if there is a valid reason why you cannot meet the deadline. This could be, for example, if a medical examination is delayed due to lack of available appointments.

Here you can find our contact details:

Email: erstatningsnaevnet@erstatningsnaevnet.dk

Phone: +45 33 92 33 34

t is the Department of Civil Affairs’ Office for Payment of Compensation – Recourse that handles cases concerning the possible recovery of compensation and damages paid to victims by the Board from the perpetrator (recourse cases).

In connection with the state's possible recovery of compensation from the perpetrator, the perpetrator has the right to access factual information from the victim’s compensation case with the Board, which is necessary for the perpetrator to assess the state's claim against them. The type of information shared depends on the type of compensation claim involved. The list below contains examples of such information, but there may also be other types of information that the Department of Civil Affairs must disclose to the perpetrator in the specific case. The Department of Civil Affairs will always limit the release of information as much as possible, so it will typically be excerpts from the mentioned documents that the agency may need to disclose to the perpetrator:

• Pain and suffering – documentation that the victim was ill, e.g., medical records and statements, notes from therapy sessions, etc.
• Compensation for permanent disability – documentation of the extent of the permanent disability, e.g., medical records and statements, opinions from the Danish Labour Market Insurance or the Danish Patient Compensation, etc.
• Compensation for loss of earning capacity – documentation of the extent of the loss of earning capacity, e.g., medical records and statements, opinions from the Danish Labour Market Insurance or the Danish Patient Compensation, annual statements, etc.
• Tort/compensation for violations – documentation of the type of violation of freedom, honor, or person that was committed, e.g., the nature of the crime, police reports, and interrogations.

If there are specific circumstances that you, as the victim, want to bring to the attention of the Department of Civil Affairs – for example, if the victim has a restraining order against the perpetrator – you can write to the Department of Civil Affairs about this.

If you have received or later receive compensation from the perpetrator, an insurance company, or others, you must immediately contact the Department of Civil Affairs and repay the compensation you have received from us.

We can require you to repay your compensation if you receive or have received payment from the perpetrator.

We can also require you to repay your compensation if your claims are covered by insurance. For example, we cannot pay compensation for damaged glasses or clothes, or expenses for medicine or dental treatment, if the insurance covers those costs. However, this does not apply to all claims, such as compensation for permanent injury.

The rules regarding this can be found in Section 7 and Section 18 of the State Compensation to Victims of Crime Act.