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Fine from DSB or the S-train

You're not the only one. In one year, DSB found 295,196 passengers without a valid ticket. Here's what the fine costs, how to complain, and when it's worth it.

Adults (16+): DKK 750
Children under 16 and dogs: DKK 375
Bicycle: DKK 100
Payment deadline: 14 days from the date of the fine
Complain first to: DSB, through their contact form
Then complain to: DSB's Customer Ambassador (Kundeambassadør) or the appeals board, Ankenævnet for Bus, Tog og Metro

If you got the fine on a bus, the metro, the light rail or a local train, complain to the company named on the fine, not to DSB.

How to complain to DSB

Complain in writing through DSB's contact form. Choose the ticket type you travelled on or meant to travel on, and have your fine number ready. It's under the QR code on the fine.
Ask for the payment deadline to be extended until DSB has replied. DSB offers to extend it if you ask.
Rejected? Then you can go to DSB's Customer Ambassador or to the appeals board. It costs DKK 160 to complain to the appeals board, and you get the money back if you win in full or in part.

If you don't pay

The payment deadline is 14 days. After that you get a reminder, then another one, and in the end the case is sent for collection to the Danish Debt Collection Agency (Gældsstyrelsen), which can, among other things, take the amount from your salary. Reminder fees are added on top, so ignoring it only makes it more expensive. If you complain, ask for an extension (henstand) instead of just not paying.

Where you have a chance

You had a valid ticket but couldn't show it.Then the fine can be reduced to DKK 125, if the ticket can be documented.
Commuter pass left at home, or a dead phone?With DSB's free Forgotten Card scheme (Glemt Kort), you can avoid a fine up to six times a year when you can't show your valid commuter pass (pendlerkort).

Whether your case belongs here, what the complaint should say, and which documentation makes the difference is exactly what Afgiftsklage helps you with.

Rarely wins

A ticket forwarded to another phone.A ticket forwarded to another phone isn't valid, even if it was paid for. Decision 25-0441
You forgot your Rejsekort.The fine was upheld, and the passenger also had to pay two reminder fees. Decision 25-0413
Your word against the inspector's.When it's one word against another, the appeals board relies on the inspector's detailed notes. Decision 25-0462

The honest picture: At DSB's Customer Ambassador, 45% of complaints were upheld in full or in part in the first half of 2025 (all types of complaints). When a fine case goes all the way to the appeals board, the passenger wins only about 2% of the time across all companies. So your first complaint matters most.

The rules are the same for everyone. Your case isn't.

This page shows the general rules. Afgiftsklage looks at your specific case and gives you:

An honest assessment of whether your case can be won
A finished complaint letter in Danish, with an English translation, built on the rules and decisions that fit your case
A request for a payment extension written into the letter
A list of the documentation you need to attach

We're opening soon. Join the waitlist to get the assessment for free and the complaint letter for DKK 39 instead of DKK 49.

Join the waitlist

Sources

The appeals board figures are based on our review of 216 public decisions on transit fines from August 2025 to September 2026. Page updated October 2026. We're not lawyers, and this page isn't legal advice. The sources are in Danish.