Bankruptcy (konkurs)
Konkurs (bankruptcy) is the judicial winding-up of an insolvent company: the bankruptcy court issues a decree, a trustee takes over the estate, assets are sold, and proceeds are distributed to creditors by statutory priority.
The figures behind the term
Source: companydata.dk, CVR and annual reports, updated 27 October 2026
A bankruptcy petition can be filed by the company itself or by a creditor. The condition is insolvency: the company cannot pay its obligations as they fall due. Once the decree is issued, management loses control of the company, and the bankruptcy is announced in Statstidende, the Danish official gazette.
What happens to creditors?
Creditors file their claims in the estate and are covered in statutory order, estate and wage claims before ordinary claims. In practice, ordinary creditors often receive only a small dividend or nothing. Spotting the risk before delivering is far cheaper than filing a claim afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when a company goes bankrupt?
The bankruptcy court issues a bankruptcy order, a trustee takes over the estate, and the assets are sold to cover creditors. The order is published in Statstidende, and the company gets the status under bankruptcy in CVR.
Who can petition for a company's bankruptcy?
Both the company itself (own petition) and a creditor with a due claim can file a bankruptcy petition with the bankruptcy court.
How many Danish companies are under bankruptcy?
The figure on this page shows the number of companies with the status under bankruptcy in CVR right now. It is updated daily.
Related terms
Restructuring (rekonstruktion)
Rekonstruktion (restructuring) is a court-supervised process to save an insolvent but viable company from bankruptcy, typically through a compulsory composition (writing down debt), a business transfer, or both.
Forced dissolution (tvangsopløsning)
Tvangsopløsning (forced dissolution) is when the Danish Business Authority asks the bankruptcy court to dissolve a company because it fails statutory requirements, most often a missing annual report, missing registered management, or missing auditor.
Voluntary liquidation (likvidation)
Likvidation (voluntary liquidation) is the winding-up of a solvent company: the general meeting decides to dissolve, a liquidator winds down operations, all creditors are paid in full, and the remaining assets are distributed to the owners.
Bankruptcy quarantine (konkurskarantæne)
Konkurskarantæne (bankruptcy quarantine) is a ban the bankruptcy court can impose on a person who conducted grossly irresponsible business in a bankrupt company. The ban means the person, typically for three years, may not participate in the management of limited-liability companies.
Credit assessment (kreditvurdering)
A credit assessment (kreditvurdering) is a systematic evaluation of whether a company can and will pay its obligations. It typically builds on financials and key figures, the company's age and industry, and the history of management and owners.