The chairmanship is held by the Danish Ministry of Defence. The duration of the chairmanship is one year. The chairmanship of NORDEFCO is shared between Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark on an annual rotational basis. Iceland also participates in NORDEFCO, but does not hold the chairmanship. Sweden held the chairmanship in 2015 and Finland will hold the chairmanship in 2017.

The Danish chairmanship will work to ensure continuity and progress in the existing projects, but also develop new initiatives.