Students in Denmark now wait an average of 6.2 months for a decision on the handicaptillæg supplement to their SU, DR reports. A law change adopted in 2025 was meant to shorten that wait.
DR reported on August 22, 2026 that waiting times for the disability supplement have moved in the opposite direction of the law’s intention. When the change was adopted in May 2025, the average was 3.7 months, according to figures from the Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet.
One of those waiting is 26-year-old Frida Bausells Riisgaard, who applied in December. She has multiple sclerosis, which she says prevents her from holding a student job, and she studies event management and economics at Erhvervsakademi Zealand. Per DR, she says her parents help her financially, and that she could not otherwise afford to study.
Thorkild Olesen, chairman of Danske Handicaporganisationer, told DR that a solution must be found to reduce the backlog. He noted that parts of the law have not been implemented yet, including simplified documentation requirements. According to Olesen, some students take out bank loans while waiting, while others drop out of their programs.
What the 2025 law changed
The amendment to the SU Act, LOV nr. 674 of June 17, 2025, took effect on July 1, 2025, according to Retsinformation. It introduced minimum documentation requirements for applications and allowed the use of artificial intelligence to support case handling. The stated purpose of the bill, L 152 in Folketinget, was to shorten processing times.
A press release from the Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet on May 21, 2025 set out the baseline at that time. Cases with sufficient documentation were processed in an average of 3.7 months, while cases requiring additional documentation took about 10.2 months. The ministry pointed to clearer documentation rules and AI as the main tools for cutting the wait.
Official status data published by SU.dk show that, in mid-2026, new applications from students on higher education programs were being decided roughly 5.9 months after receipt. As reported by TV 2 Echo in February 2025, the agency itself asked applicants to expect waits of up to about 6.6 months.
Research, education and digitalization minister Christina Egelund, who announced the law change in May 2025, told DR that the waiting times are not good enough. She said several measures have been launched whose full effect is not yet visible, and that she is considering whether more can be done.
The ministry also informed DR that the number of applications for the supplement has risen by eight percent per year in recent years. The SU.dk status page cites the same growth in applications as a factor in the length of the queue. Danske Handicaporganisationer and Sammenslutningen af Unge Med Handicap had warned during the 2025 hearing process that documentation rules could cost some students months of support.
