Authorisation: who may demolish asbestos?
Since 1 January 2025, demolition of asbestos-containing material requires an authorisation. The authorisation is issued by the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen), which the Danish Safety Technology Authority became part of in January 2026. The requirement is that the responsible professional for the work holds the authorisation for asbestos demolition, and it covers all asbestos demolition: roof sheets, ceiling panels, tile adhesive, pipe insulation and anything else that contains asbestos.
At Verdan, the responsible professional holds the authorisation for asbestos demolition, and everyone who does the work holds the statutory training. A company without an authorised responsible professional may not take down your asbestos roof, whatever other certificates it holds.
The rule applies to all professional work. As a private individual you may not demolish asbestos yourself beyond the small jobs described below. That is the Working Environment Authority's clear line in 2026, even though the June 2026 government platform proposes making it easier for private owners. That proposal has not been enacted.
Timeline: what changed when
The rules came in steps, and each step has its own authority. These are the four dates that decide what applies to your house today:
| Date | What applies | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Ban on virtually all use of asbestos in construction, with dispensations until 1986 indoors and 1990 outdoors. That is why houses from before 1990 can contain asbestos. | Working Environment Authority |
| 1 January 2025 | Demolition of asbestos-containing material requires an authorisation. Brief work of a minor nature is exempt. | Issued by the Danish Business Authority (formerly the Safety Technology Authority); supervised by the Working Environment Authority |
| 21 December 2025 | The executive order on asbestos in the working environment enters into force: everyone doing asbestos work must hold the occupational health and safety qualification; wetting, airlock and negative pressure requirements are written in. | Working Environment Authority |
| 1 July 2026 | The dispensations professional roof cleaners held for high-pressure washing of asbestos roofs lapse. High-pressure washing of asbestos is prohibited without exception. | Working Environment Authority |
The exception: brief work of a minor nature
The executive order exempts brief demolition work of a minor nature from the authorisation requirement. The Working Environment Authority has given concrete examples of what that means:
- Taking down 4–6 asbestos-containing roof sheets to fit one roof window.
- Individual tiles that break when you drill into them, for example to mount a cabinet.
- Taking down 1–2 pipe bends with asbestos-containing insulation, when they are removed whole without cutting into the insulation.
A larger job may not be split into small ones to get around the authorisation. A whole roof is never brief work of a minor nature, however many weekends you spread it over.
For the exempt work, the other rules still apply: the material must not be broken, cut, sanded or drilled more than necessary, it must be wetted, and the waste must be packaged and delivered correctly. Private individuals are not covered by the training requirement for the exempt work.
Training: who may work with asbestos?
Since 21 December 2025, every person carrying out asbestos work must have completed an occupational health and safety qualification. For demolition, meaning the work that requires authorisation, it is the 4-day AMU course in asbestos demolition. For other asbestos work, such as encapsulation and minor repairs, it is a 2-day course.
The requirement applies to employees and companies. Private individuals doing the exempt work on their own home are not covered by the training requirement. That does not change the fact that you may not demolish more than the exception allows.
Notification to the Working Environment Authority and to the municipality
The employer must notify asbestos work to the Working Environment Authority before the work begins, as far as possible at least 3 days in advance. The notification is the company's responsibility, not yours. Exempt from notification is work with little dust generation, such as sampling to establish whether a material contains asbestos, encapsulation of material in good condition, and brief repairs.
As the building owner you have a notification of your own. Before demolition, renovation or major maintenance affecting over 10 m² or producing over 1 tonne of waste, the waste rules require you to screen the building for problematic substances such as asbestos, PCB, lead and chlorinated paraffins, map the findings and notify the municipality of the waste. That includes an asbestos roof. We help with the details, but the notification is in your name.
How the work must be carried out
The executive order on asbestos in the working environment requires working methods that limit dust generation as much as possible. For a roof, that means the sheets are wetted and taken down whole, without cutting, sanding or drilling. Indoors, where asbestos dust in significant amounts is the rule, the area must be sealed off with an airlock and kept under negative pressure, and the extracted air cleaned before it is led outside.
After the work, the area must be thoroughly cleaned and ventilated, and the sealing may only be removed after that. Whether the limit value has been met can only be documented with an air measurement; that is why we offer a clearance measurement by agreement for indoor removal.
High-pressure washing of asbestos-containing material is prohibited, and the dispensations professional roof cleaners previously held lapsed on 1 July 2026. An asbestos roof may be cleaned with a soft brush and ordinary water pressure. For a company that is still asbestos work, to be notified and carried out by trained people. Painting does not remove the asbestos.
Asbestos waste: packaging, labelling and the recycling centre
All asbestos-containing waste must be stored and transported in suitable, closed packaging, and the packaging must be labelled as asbestos. Dusty waste must be wetted. Asbestos waste must be separated from all other construction waste and landfilled separately; it must never be mixed into a container with anything else.
Whole, packaged roof sheets count as non-hazardous waste (asbestos-containing construction materials, EWC code 17 06 05). Dusty asbestos waste counts as hazardous waste (EWC code 17 06 06). The rules on packaging and labelling apply regardless of class.
Companies typically deliver to a landfill or a collector designated by the municipality. Private individuals can in many cases deliver smaller amounts of correctly packaged asbestos at the recycling centre or use a municipal collection scheme. Packaging and quantity requirements vary, so ask your municipality before you drive.
Fines for breaking the rules
The Working Environment Authority's fine level for asbestos demolition without authorisation is as a starting point DKK 30,000 for businesses, increased to DKK 50,000 for serious violations and up to DKK 100,000 for particularly serious ones. For private individuals demolishing asbestos that requires an authorisation, the starting point is DKK 15,000, increased to DKK 30,000 for serious violations or financial gain. Repeat offences increase it further.
On top of that, a company without authorisation can still be punished for the other violations of the working environment rules it commits along the way.
So what may you do yourself, and what must you have done?
The rules do not forbid you from doing anything at all. This you may do yourself, without authorisation and without training:
- Look. You may check whether the roof has a sheet number, whether the ceiling panels are soft, or whether the pipes in the basement are wrapped in cloth. Just do not touch it.
- Contact a laboratory and get guidance on taking a sample, or book an asbestos survey so someone else takes it.
- Take and submit a sample following the laboratory's guidance, wetted, with gloves and without sanding or sawing.
- Take down 4–6 roof sheets to fit one roof window, drill into individual tiles, and take down 1–2 whole pipe bends, provided you wet the material, avoid breaking and sanding, package the waste and deliver it as your municipality instructs.
- Pack legally removed asbestos waste in closed, labelled packaging and drive it to the recycling centre yourself, if your municipality accepts it.
- Clean your roof with a soft brush and ordinary water pressure, never high pressure.
- Get quotes, and ask every company who its authorised responsible professional for the work is before you say yes.
This you may not do yourself: take down a whole roof, a whole ceiling, a whole floor or a whole pipe run; cut, sand, drill or break asbestos-containing material beyond what the exception allows; put asbestos in a container with other construction waste; or pressure-wash the roof. That work must be carried out as authorised asbestos removal by a company that notifies it to the Working Environment Authority, works with trained people and documents the disposal.
If you are unsure whether a material contains asbestos, leave it alone and have a sample taken. The Working Environment Authority's rule is simple: if there is the slightest reason for suspicion, the work must be treated as asbestos work.
