-Starting your own business

All companies that sell more than DKK 50,000 of foodstuffs per year must be registered in a special business register. In this connection, foodstuffs are taken to mean any kind of foodstuffs, beer, wine, soft drinks and other foodstuffs regardless of whether they are in sealed packaging. The Danish Catering and Restaurant Act applies to all self-employed businesses that serve food and drinks. Such businesses might be restaurants, bars, discotheques, pizzerias, grill bars or hot dog stands. The Danish Catering and Restaurant Act stipulates which regulations must be complied with when persons or companies apply for a trade or drinking licence. If you apply for a drinking licence, you must meet certain age requirements and be able to provide a financial business plan. The police are responsible for issuing trade licences to businesses without a drinking licence, whereas municipal authorities are responsible for issuing drinking licences. In Copenhagen, however, it is the municipal authority that issues trade licences. A restaurant can apply for a drinking licence, and the restaurant kitchen must live up to certain requirements from the health authorities.