From the beginning of 2026, mail from the authorities will primarily arrive electronically – the change will affect about two million people
In 2026, when legislation on the digital priority of official mail comes into force, Suomi.fi Messages will be activated for all adults who use digital services and who have not yet activated this service. The service will be activated when the person identifies themselves for the first time in the e-services of an authority in 2026. After this change, more than four million people will primarily receive their mail from public authorities digitally.
Since May 2025, users have been prompted to activate Suomi.fi Messages when they identify themselves in a public authority's e-services, and more than 2.2 million people are currently using Suomi.fi Messages.
"From 2026, when legislation on the digital priority of official mail comes into force, the service will also be activated for the around two million people who identify themselves strongly in public administration's e-services but who have not yet used Suomi.fi Messages. Their consent for the activation will no longer be requested separately,” says Project Manager Annette Hotari from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Users will be informed of the Suomi.fi Messages activation in connection with the identification.
However, the change will not affect persons who do not use the public administration's e-services, minors, or those who are under guardianship or who have a valid continuing power of attorney.
Remember to keep an eye on your new inbox
"Suomi.fi Messages is the citizen's digital mailbox for messages from public authorities. A number of different authorities will send mail to it, and the messages arriving there will replace paper mail. In the future, citizens can find many important letters in a single service – quickly and reliably. Suomi.fi Messages can also be used to send messages containing the types of personal data that may not be sent by email,” says Hotari.
The move from paper mail to receiving mail from the authorities digitally will require citizens to change their habits. "You should check your digital mailbox as often as you do your physical mailbox outside your house. You will receive an e-mail notification of a new message. If you have activated the Suomi.fi application, it will also notify you of a new message. The advantage of digital mail is that you can read the messages in your mailbox whenever and wherever you are,” Hotari illustrates.
What if I want to keep receiving authorities' messages as paper mail?
Transition to digital official mail does not mean that no one can receive official paper mail.
"Even if Suomi.fi Messages will be activated in connection with identification in 2026, the users can switch back to receiving paper mail if they wish," Hotari explains.
If you are using the Suomi.fi application, it is important to remember that deleting the application will not deactivate Suomi.fi Messages. If you would like to switch back to receiving paper mail, you must change the relevant setting in the Suomi.fi Messages application or contact the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s customer service. You can only make this change after Suomi.fi Messages has been activated in 2026, not in advance.
If you select the option to receive paper mail, this setting will remain active for six months at a time. If, after six months have passed, you identify again in a public authority’s e-service, Suomi.fi Messages will re-activate.
If you wish, you can always re-activate Suomi.fi Messages by downloading the Suomi.fi application or activating the service at suomi.fi/messages.
Ministry of Finance is drafting a legislative amendment
All mail from the public administration will not be digital, however, as some authorities may use other digital channels for their electronic communication. More information about these channels will be provided in each organisation’s service.
The Ministry of Finance is currently drafting a legislative amendment that would give the recipient the freedom to choose which digital mail service they wish to use to read notices and other messages sent by the authorities. Another precondition for enabling this freedom of choice is technical development, work on which is currently under way.
At the beginning of 2026, the recipients will not yet be able to choose where they wish to read mail sent by the authorities. This possibility is under preparation and will only be implemented at a later stage if the legislative proposals are passed.
More information
Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Project Manager Annette Hotari, tel. +358 295 535 028, [email protected]
Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Maria Juka-Lahdenperä, Service Owner of Suomi.fi Messages, tel. +358 295 535 334, [email protected]
Useful links
- More information about Suomi.fi Messages: https://suomi.fi/en/messages
- More information about Suomi.fi e-Identification: https://www.suomi.fi/instructions-and-support/identification/what-is-suomifi-e-identification
- Organisations that use Suomi.fi Messages: https://www.suomi.fi/instructions-and-support/messages/organisations-and-services-using-suomifi-messages
- How to de-activate Suomi.fi Messages: https://www.suomi.fi/instructions-and-support/messages/use-of-messages/stop-using-messages
Diagram showing how Suomi.fi Messages will be activated when a user identifies themselves strongly in a public administration e-service from the beginning of 2026
More information
What will the change mean?
- When an adult identifies themselves in a public administration e-service for the first time at or after the beginning of 2026, this will activate Suomi.fi Messages, in other words digital mailbox for the authorities' messages.
- Examples of public administration e-services include those provided by the municipalities, central government authorities or wellbeing services counties.
- Suomi.fi Messages will be activated for all digital service users who have not yet activated this service.
- Users receive digital mail from several different authorities in Suomi.fi Messages. The same letters will no longer be sent as paper mail.
- If you are using services on behalf of a company or another person, Suomi.fi Messages will be activated for you personally – not for the person or company on whose behalf you are using the services.
Benefits for citizens and authorities
Suomi.fi Messages
- speed up and simplify communication
- are always available: you can read your messages anywhere, at any time
- save time
- reduce public administration costs and the use of paper
- notify you of new mail from authorities, both by email and in the Suomi.fi application.
What if I would like to keep receiving paper mail?
- Suomi.fi Messages will not be activated for you if you do not use public administration e-services. This means that you will continue to receive official messages as paper mail.
- Please note that some authorities may also use other digital channels for their electronic communication.
- This change does not apply to minors or persons under guardianship.
- When you have activated Suomi.fi Messages, you can switch back to receiving paper mail by changing the settings in the application. The settings will remain valid for six months at a time.
How can I read electronic messages?
- You can read the official messages received in Suomi.fi Messages in the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in to the Suomi.fi Web Service and going to "Messages" there.
- Identification takes place with online banking codes, a mobile certificate or the electronic certificate on an ID card.
- You will be sent a notification to your email whenever a new message arrives in Suomi.fi Messages.
- You will also receive notifications of incoming messages in the Suomi.fi mobile application if you have downloaded the app.
You can activate Suomi.fi Messages at https://suomi.fi/messages or by downloading the Suomi.fi mobile application.
BACKGROUND
What is Suomi.fi Messages?
Suomi.fi Messages is a secure electronic mailbox that replaces official paper mail. The service is used by many authorities, and their number is constantly increasing. Incoming messages can be read using the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in to the Suomi.fi Web Service at https://suomi.fi. This way, you can read incoming mail wherever you are. Suomi.fi Messages can also be used to send messages containing the type of personal data that may not be sent by email.
Notifications of incoming messages are sent to the email address that you have provided to the service. Users of the Suomi.fi mobile application will also receive notifications directly through the app.
In October 2025, there are already 2.2 million users of Suomi.fi Messages.
You can activate Suomi.fi Messages by downloading the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in at https://suomi.fi/messages. You can identify yourself with online banking codes, a mobile certificate or the electronic certificate on an ID card. By activating Suomi.fi Messages, you will also receive mail from various authorities electronically.
More information on Suomi.fi Messages: https://www.suomi.fi/instructions-and-support/messages
What does the transition to digital communication with authorities mean?
Finland will gradually move towards electronic communication with the authorities. From the beginning of 2026, official mail will mainly be delivered digitally to everyone who uses electronic services. Suomi.fi Messages will be activated for adults who log into the authorities' e-services in connection with Suomi.fi e-Identification without separate consent, unless they have already activated this service.Those who cannot use digital services will continue to receive official mail on paper, unless they choose otherwise. It is also possible to opt out of receiving electronic messages with a simple notification, after which messages will once again be sent by paper mail. If a person who has selected paper mail continues to use the e-services, an electronic mailbox in Suomi.fi Messages will be created again after a set period.
The transition to digital communication will bring significant benefits. This will save tens of millions of euros per year for society and make everyday life easier for citizens. Official mail will be available faster than before, it can be found in one place, and it will be always available.
From the beginning of 2026, official mail will mainly be delivered in Suomi.fi Messages to everyone who uses electronic services. In addition to Suomi.fi Messages, citizens may still receive official mail in other digital channels if any have been activated.
Later in 2026, we intend to make it possible to select another digital mail service for receiving official mail, as long as it meets the security and other requirements for official communication. The freedom of choice requires legislation and technical development, which are only taking their first steps.
Read more: https://dvv.fi/en/digital-first-project
