Data protection

The careful processing of personal data is the foundation of what we do here at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The processing of personal data is primarily based on the tasks assigned to us by law. 

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency provides services related to the Population Information System, certificate services and Suomi.fi services. In addition to the Population Information System, our registers containing key personal data include the Register of Guardianship Affairs and the Register of Prenuptual Agreements, whose most important purpose is the statutory disclosure of information contained in the registers to the authorities and other organisations requiring such information.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency collects and processes your personal data for these services and registers. When providing these services, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency complies with the both the processing rules laid out in specific legislation concerning the service in question, the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the national Data Protection Act. The processing of personal data is based on the official tasks assigned to us by law.

You can also refer to service or register-specific privacy policies to learn how your data is processed in the services provided and tasks performed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency as well as what your rights are regarding the processing of personal data.

Population Information Services

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency maintains Finland's most commonly used basic register, the Population Information System. The Population Information System contains up-to-date information on Finnish citizens and foreign persons permanently resident in Finland. The system also contains information on buildings, apartments and properties. The Population Information System is maintained to facilitate, implement and ensure society’s functions and information services as well as the rights and obligations of the members of society. The information updated in the Population Information System is available to customers through various services.

Certificate Services

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency provides certificate services for personal identification, signatures or message encryption. The authenticity of a website can also be secured with the help of a service certificate. Our services include certificate, directory and revocation services, registration and the manufacture and personalisation of cards containing a certificate. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is responsible for the functioning of the certificate system as a whole, including any registration authorities and technical providers it may use.

The individuals applying for a certificate provide information on themselves for the provision of the service. In connection with applications for a Citizen Certificate, the information is processed in the Licence service of the Police. Applications for other personal certificates, organisation certificates, certificates for social welfare and health care, and temporary certificates are submitted to the registration point of the organisation in question.  

The data processed in connection with applying for a certificate is stored in the certifying authority’s register, from which personal data will not be disclosed to external parties, with the exception of statutory supervisory tasks to be carried out by the authorities. With regard to personal certificates, the following data is stored in the public register with the person’s consent: first name, surname, and an electronic client identifier or some other unique identifier that is not the personal identity code.

Certificate activities are based on Regulation (EU) 910 / 2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999 / 93 / EC. The certificates issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency are trust services and means of strong electronic identification in accordance with the Act on Strong Electronic Identification and Electronic Signatures (617/2009).

For more information on the provision of Certificate Services and the related use of personal data, please refer to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s General Data Protection Processing Guidelines and Privacy Statements. In addition to this, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency website contains information on, for example, certificate policy documents. Enquiries about the data collected in connection with applications for a Citizen Certificate can be sent to tietopalvelu.poliisihallitus(at)poliisi.fi.

Suomi.fi services

The Suomi.fi Web Service offers information and services related to public services for citizens and businesses at a single address. It provides, for example, official electronic services, forms, and information on municipal services.

Read more about the Suomi.fi services for citizens

  • Suomi.fi e-Identification
  • Suomi.fi e-Authorizations
  • Suomi.fi Web Service
  • Suomi.fi Messages

Read more about the Suomi.fi services for organisations

  • Suomi.fi Finnish Service Catalogue
  • Suomi.fi Data Exchange Layer
  • Suomi.fi Service Management