Is cold email legal in Denmark? B2B rules for 2026

No, not without prior consent. Section 10 of Denmark's Marketing Practices Act (markedsføringsloven) bans direct marketing by electronic mail to "nogen" (anyone) without prior consent, and the Consumer Ombudsman applies it to companies, info@ addresses, named employees and sole proprietorships alike. The Ombudsman also treats private messages on social media as electronic mail, so a sales message on LinkedIn needs consent too. The only exception is existing customers.

Checked on 15 October 2026 against the law text and the regulator's guidance. This is not legal advice.

Denmark is as strict as Germany. The Nordic picture is in how to find B2B customers in the Nordics, other countries in cold email laws by country.

At a glance

What does the law say?

"En erhvervsdrivende må ikke rette henvendelse til nogen ved brug af elektronisk post, et automatisk opkaldssystem eller telefax med henblik på direkte markedsføring, medmindre den pågældende har givet sit forudgående samtykke hertil." (§ 10(1))

"A trader may not approach anyone by means of electronic mail, an automated calling system or fax for the purpose of direct marketing unless the person concerned has given prior consent." (our translation)

The same subsection says that before consent is given, the person must be told it can be withdrawn, and withdrawal must be easy and free. Every marketing email must also be identifiable as marketing, show on whose behalf it is sent, and give "en adresse, som modtageren kan henvende sig til for at få standset sådanne henvendelser" (an address the recipient can contact to have such communications stopped) (§ 10(3)). Source: Markedsføringsloven, LBK nr 1420 of 2 December 2024, the current consolidated act; later amendments do not change § 10.

What does the Consumer Ombudsman say?

The guidance on the spam ban (December 2018, updated June 2021) says "Spamforbuddet gælder i forhold til alle modtagere" (the spam ban applies to all recipients) because of the word "nogen", and continues:

"Det er også uden betydning, om henvendelsen rettes til en generel postkasse, fx info@virksomhed.dk, til en hovedpostkasse, eller til en personlig modtager, fx en direktør eller ansat i en virksomhed."

"It is also irrelevant whether the communication is sent to a general mailbox, e.g. info@virksomhed.dk, to a main mailbox, or to a personal recipient, e.g. a director or employee of a business." (our translation)

You cannot ask for consent cold either. The Ombudsman's page on spam says it is "ikke lovligt" (not lawful) to send "en SMS, mail eller chatbesked på et socialt medie til nogen for at spørge, om vedkommende gerne vil modtage markedsføring fra afsenderen" (an SMS, email or chat message on social media to someone to ask whether they would like to receive marketing from the sender). Its 2025 annual report (August 2026) repeats the point.

Company address or named person?

For email, Danish law makes no distinction: a company, a director, a named employee and a sole proprietorship all need to have consented. The distinction only exists for other channels such as phone and letters, where § 10(4) protects natural persons, and the Ombudsman says that protection covers "erhvervsdrivende personer, f.eks. enkeltmandsvirksomheder" (traders who are natural persons, such as sole proprietorships).

Can you send LinkedIn messages?

Not sales messages without consent. The guidance has a section on social media:

"Privatbeskeder er elektronisk post. Henvender en virksomhed sig direkte til en bruger via privatbeskeder, og vedrører henvendelsen en erhvervsmæssig aktivitet og indeholder markedsføring, vil henvendelsen være omfattet af spamforbuddet."

"Private messages are electronic mail. If a business contacts a user directly via private messages, and the communication concerns a commercial activity and contains marketing, the communication will be covered by the spam ban." (our translation)

The guidance does not name LinkedIn; it covers private messages on social media in general. If the person messages you first, you may reply, but the reply must not contain more marketing than the answer needs.

GDPR: does legitimate interest help?

Not for cold email. Datatilsynet's guidance on direct marketing (June 2023) accepts legitimate interest for direct marketing in general, but where the marketing rules require prior consent, it says the processing of the personal data should also rest on consent (GDPR article 6(1)(a)). For B2B phone calls to sole proprietorships using CVR data, it accepts legitimate interest (article 6(1)(f)) if people are told they can say no. Datatilsynet says it has no competence to advise on what the spam ban covers; the Consumer Ombudsman supervises that. Our guide to legitimate interest for B2B email covers the balancing test.

Fines and real cases

Breaching § 10 is punishable by a fine (§ 37(3)). For spam, the fine is weighed by the duration or extent of the breach (§ 37(7)), and the Consumer Ombudsman can offer a fine notice that settles the case without a trial if the trader accepts it (§ 38).

The real case: a training company sent more than 38,500 unsolicited advertising emails between January 2014 and April 2015 and was fined DKK 800,000. The court started from DKK 100 per email; the Ombudsman called it the largest Danish court fine for spam at the time (Forbrugerombudsmanden, page dated 7 February 2019). The emails advertised conferences, so the recipients were probably professionals (our assessment); the page does not say it was B2B.

Checklist for B2B email to Denmark

1. Get consent before the first marketing email or DM, and make withdrawing it easy and free (§ 10(1)).
2. Do not email or message anyone to ask for consent.
3. Use the existing-customer exception only for people who bought from you, about your own similar products.
4. In every email, mark it as marketing, show who sends it and give an address to stop further messages (§ 10(3)).
5. Keep proof of consent, which Datatilsynet says should also be your GDPR basis, and one objection list across channels.
6. Before calling sole proprietorships and other individuals, check the Robinson list, and do not use CVR data of companies with advertising protection (CVR Act § 19).

How Leo handles Denmark

Revexa, which publishes this guide, builds Leo, a buying-signal agent. Leo automatically blocks cold messages only to leads in Germany, not to leads in Denmark. For Danish leads, as in every country except Germany, you read and approve each draft in review mode and decide yourself whether it is sent, so applying the consent rule above is your call. Leo writes in the lead's own language when your website exists in that language, otherwise in English, and in Swedish to Swedish buyers.

Common questions

Is cold B2B email legal in Denmark?

No. Markedsføringsloven § 10 requires prior consent for marketing by electronic mail to anyone, and the Consumer Ombudsman applies it to companies, generic addresses, named employees and sole proprietorships. The exception is existing customers.

Can I send LinkedIn messages to Danish prospects?

Not sales messages without consent. The Consumer Ombudsman's guidance says "Privatbeskeder er elektronisk post" (private messages are electronic mail), so marketing in social media DMs falls under the spam ban. Replying to a message they sent you is allowed, without extra marketing.

Can I send one email asking for consent?

No. The Consumer Ombudsman says it is not lawful to send an SMS, email or chat message on social media to ask whether someone wants to receive marketing.

What are the fines for spam in Denmark?

A fine weighed by the duration or extent of the spam (§ 37). A training company was fined DKK 800,000 for more than 38,500 spam emails, with DKK 100 per email as the starting point.