Osteopath with an education from an EU/EEA country

You can apply for authorization as an osteopath if you have completed your education in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland and hold citizenship in one of the mentioned countries at the time of your application. The title is protected, and you are only allowed to call yourself – and work as – a osteopath if you have a Danish authorization

Application Process

In order for you to obtain a Danish authorization, you have to:

  • Hold citizenship in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
  • Have completed an education as an osteopath in an EU/EEA country or Switzerland.
    • Please note, that if you have completed your education in a country outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland, but hold a citizenship from one of these countries, your application can be processed according to EU-regulations, if you can upload an Article 3.3 declaration. Read more
  • Fill out the application form and upload the required documentation by using the application form and pay the fee.

Application fee

The fee for applying for authorization is DKK 1.295,-. You will be asked to pay the fee when you fill out the application form.

From 1 January 2026, the application fee will be DKK 1.362,-.

You need a Danish authorization if you want to work as an osteopath in Denmark. The title is protected, and you can only call yourself an osteopath if you have an authorization.

Manipulation treatment of the spine is according to the Authorization Act reserved to chiropractors, medical doctors, osteopaths, physiotherapists and registered alternative therapists with a minimum of 250 hours of education within manual treatment.

Required Documentation

In order for us to process your application, you have to upload the following documents, when you fill out the application form:

  1. Documentation of your identity: Proof of name, date of birth and nationality e.g. a copy of the relevant page in your passport.
  2. Documentation of your name, if you have changed your name after you have completed your education, e.g. Name change certificate or marriage certificate.
  3. Your diploma or other evidence of formal qualification regarding your education in osteopathy.
  4. A detailed transcript/study programme from your educational institution in osteopathy describing the content of your education (typically a transcript or diploma supplement), including:
    • Admission requirements
    • The level of your education
    • Information on whether the education is completed on a part time or fulltime basis
    • Standard duration/total length of the education
    • Information regarding the total amount of hours of your education, including information on how many of the total amount of hours that consists of theoretical lectures, preparation and clinical training/practice (in hours/ECTS)
    • Information regarding the clinical part of your education, including content and amounts of hours with supervised clinical training/practice and where you have completed your clinical training/practice.
    • Description of the content of the theoretical courses/subjects of your education. For each course/subject we need information about the content and amounts of lectures/hours (“credits”).
  5. If you have completed your education in osteopathy as a Master’s level/graduate level to another health-related education, e.g. physiotherapist, you also have to upload:
    • Your diploma or other evidence of formal qualification regarding your other health-related education.
    • Documentation for your other health-related education regarding the level of this education and the clinical part of this education, including content and amounts of hours with supervised clinical training/practice and where you have completed your clinical training/practice.
  6. Additional documentation or information relevant to the assessment of your qualifications e.g. a declaration from your employer confirming your relevant work experience or other documentation regarding relevant further education.
  7. If your education is not regulated by law in the country of your education, and the profession is unregulated in your country of education (meaning that you do not need an authorization in order to work within your profession in the country of your education), you have to upload documentation stating that you have practiced your profession full-time for at least one year, or for an equivalent duration on a part-time basis, within the last 10 years.

  8.  Certificate of current professional status/Certificate of good standing.
    The certificate must be issued by the health authorities in the country where you work now or the country where you have worked most recently within your profession. The certificate must confirm that you have never been subject to disciplinary actions or any other adverse actions. The certificate must have been issued no more than 3 months before you apply for Danish authorization. Please note, that if the country in which you are currently working or have worked most recently within your profession is Sweden or Norway, a Certificate of good standing is not required, as we will contact the relevant authorities directly. If you cannot provide a Certificate of current professional status/Certificate of good standing, you must submit a Certificate of non-registration. About Certificate of Non-registration 

  9. When submitting your application, please inform us of the countries in which you have been practicing within your profession for the last 5 years.
  10. Power of attorney, if someone else is handling your application. Use power of attorney

Your documentation must be uploaded in colour and good quality, and the documents have to be fully visible and readable.

You have to upload your documentation in the original language. If your documents are not in Danish, English, Norwegian or Swedish, you also have to upload a translation in one of these languages.

The translations can be provided by:

  • The university or authority issuing the document.
  • A translator. The name of the translator and the stamp must be clearly visible on the translation. If the stamp is not in one of the languages mentioned above, the stamp must be translated as well.

Processing time

Applications are processed in the order they are received. Our goal is to process applications within 3 months from the time we have received the application.

Please note, that if your application has to be assessed by The Advisory Forum for Osteopaths, the processing time will be longer.

Priority is given to applications from healthcare professionals closest to contributing to the Danish healthcare system. The prioritization considers the benefit to society as well as the individual applicant.

Your application will be prioritized, if you have documentation confirming a specific job offer in Denmark e.g. a contract or an email from an employer regarding employment that requires Danish authorization. Once you have filled out the application form, you are welcome to send documentation of your specific job offer by email to aaes@stps.dk.

Please note that documentation for a job offer does not guarantee obtaining Danish authorization.

Assessment of your application

Upon receiving your application and supporting documents, we will send you an email to confirm the receipt of your application for Danish authorization. We might ask for more documentation if we find that your uploaded documentation is not sufficient. Once we have received all of the required documentation from you, we will assess your application.

We will make an assessment in order to determine, whether we find substantial differences between your education and the requirements in Executive order no. 981 of June 28, 2018 on the Authorization of Osteopaths:

  • If no substantial differences are found, we will issue an authorization to you.
  • If we find substantial differences, we will assess whether the differences can be compensated by your relevant professional experience and further education.
  • If we still find substantial differences, we can impose “compensation measures” meaning that you will have to pass either an adaptation period or an aptitude test. Once your compensation measures are completed and approved, we will issue an authorization to you.

The Public Online Register of Healthcare Professionals

Once you receive authorization, your registration will be visible in our public online register of healthcare professionals. This register allows you, your employer, and anyone interested to view your registration status.

Online Register - Registered Health Professionals