Digital and Population Data Services Agency provides checking service for EU Digital COVID Certificate in Finland

The EU Digital COVID Certificate can be used in border crossing situations in the EU. The purpose of the certificate is to facilitate safe and free movement.

With the certificate, citizens can prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, that that they have recovered from COVID-19 or received a negative coronavirus test result before their trip. Passengers do still have to check before their journey what kind of certificate is required by the destination country. EU countries are introducing the EU Digital COVID Certificate and their reading applications at different timetables. This means that some EU countries may not yet be prepared to issue and check the certificates. With regard to other certificates, each EU country will determine which ones they accept for arriving passengers.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency produces the Finnish checking service for the EU Digital COVID Certificate that verifies the contents and accuracy of the certificate. The checking service is used in authorities’ checking applications to verify the content and accuracy of passengers’ certificates. The service also forwards information on certificates issued in Finland to other EU Member States. Each EU Member State implements country-specific solutions for issuing and checking EU Digital COVID Certificates. The solutions are based on definitions drawn up by the EU eHealth network and published open source reference solutions that are founded on these definitions. 

How does the EU Digital COVID Certificate work?

• You can download the certificate from My Kanta as a PDF to store it on your phone or print it on paper.
• The EU Digital COVID Certificate has a QR code that contains a digital signature verifying the authenticity and accuracy of the certificate.
• The certificate is checked by scanning the QR code and verifying the signature of the issuing authority.
• The public certificates of the signature keys in EU Member States’ COVID Certificates are sent through the EU gateway so that the COVID Certificate can be checked throughout the EU. The data of the certificate holder is not transmitted via the gateway; only the signature certificates of the parties issuing the EU Member States’ COVID Certificates are sent through the gateway.

More information on the EU Digital COVID Certificate 

•    Kela’s My Kanta website
•    THL’s COVID-19 vaccination certificate page 
•    European Commission website 
•    Re-Open EU 
•    eHealth network 

Further information

Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Development Manager Teemu Tukiainen, tel. +358 (0)295 535 285, firstname.lastname[at]dvv.fi

Joint press release by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, THL and Kela: EU COVID-19 vaccination certificate now available in My Kanta Pages