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The new era of communicating with the authorities has arrived!
 It is now possible to receive mail from the authorities electronically

Publication date 15.12.2017 13.02
Press release

On 15 December 2017, the Population Register Centre opened Suomi.fi Messages, a new service intended for communication between the citizens and the authorities. This service is part of the Suomi.fi Web Service.

Through Suomi.fi Messages, citizens can receive newsletters, decisions and other important official messages electronically direct to the Suomi.fi Web Service instead of the traditional paper mail. Citizens no longer need to wait for a letter and file papers into folders. Instead, official mail can always be easily found in one electronic channel. This way, communication with the authorities will be smoother and faster. Citizens can also use the service themselves to submit additional information to the authorities, for example, information relating to an application they have filed with the authorities.

The Messages service replaces the previously used Citizen’s account.

Traditional service channels will also remain in use

All authorities will be introducing the service in the next few years. In future, mail sent by all authorities can be received electronically in the Messages service. When the service opens now, a total of 155 public administration organisations already send their messages electronically to Suomi.fi Messages.

However, it is not obligatory for citizens to use Suomi.fi Messages. If a citizen does not give permission to use electronic communication in the Suomi.fi Web Service, messages from public administration will continue to be sent in a letter.

Mobile app to be introduced at the beginning of 2018

The Population Register Centre will also publish a Suomi.fi mobile app at the beginning of 2018. It will then be possible to read new received messages from the authorities also on a smart device. Through the app, it will also be possible to receive the notifications of new messages on a smart device. The app has been developed for Android and iOS devices and can be used to read official messages anywhere and at any time.

The Population Register Centre is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of Suomi.fi Messages.

Further information

Joonas Kankaanrinne, Director, Digital Services, Population Register Centre, tel. +358 295 535 233, firstname.lastname[at]vrk.fi

 

Activating the service is easy!

Activating Suomi.fi Messages is easy for citizens. The service is activated by first identifying oneself in the Suomi.fi Web Service using the banking IDs, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.

After the identification, the user will give the permission for electronic communication. This is done in the Messages section of the Suomi.fi Web Service by selecting "I agree to receive all messages and verifiable notifications electronically". By making this selection, users give the public administration organisations using Suomi.fi Messages their permission to send messages, notifications and documents that contain decisions electronically to the Messages service. After giving this permission, the citizen will no longer receive traditional paper mail concerning services that participate in Suomi.fi Messages from the authorities.

Notifications of received messages by email

Users will always be notified of new received messages in their email. The notification will be sent to the email address the user has provided when activating the Messages service. The email address can be changed in the settings of the Messages service.