Order a certificate from the Population Information System
You can order a certificate of yourself or another person. The certificate order must be placed for an acceptable purpose of use. Certificates are subject to a fee.
You do not need separate certificates when using the services of Finnish authorities, as they can access the data directly from the Population Information System.
You can check your own current details in the Population Information System free of charge online.
Select the certificate you need
Life certificate
You need the certificate for purposes such as an estate inventory if you are the heir or the beneficiary of the deceased person. You will only need a life certificate for an estate inventory when the report on family relationships does not indicate that you are alive.
Please order the certificate for a specific purpose through only one channel
Certificates ordered through the self-service are cheaper, and an electronic certificate is immediately available online. You can only order a certificate of yourself and/or your dependants through the self-service. The standard information that will be included in the certificate can be found in the self-service. If you need other information, order the certificate by e-mail, phone or an online form.
Certificates from the Population Information System as a self-service
We use an automated decision-making procedure in the Certificate Service. If you are ordering a certificate for a Finnish actor, the European Parliament or the European Commission, the certificate will be issued automatically. Certificates from the Population Information System are paid in the service at the time of ordering. You can find more information on the automatic decision-making procedure on our website.
Orders paid in the self-service cannot be cancelled.
Are you unable to take care of the matter online?
If you are unable to take care of the matter online, please take a look at other ways in which you can use our services.
Additional information on the estate inventory
Residence certificate
You can order a residence certificate if you need to prove your current place of residence. This may be required, for example, when acquiring a parking permit, dealing with waste disposal, engaging in recreational activities that require residence in a certain area or applying for benefits related to such activities, or applying for or terminating a rental contract.
Your new address is valid from the date which you gave as the moving date in your notification of change of address. Please note that there may be some delay in the transfer of this information to the Population Information System.
Please order the certificate for a specific purpose through only one channel
Certificates ordered through the self-service are cheaper, and an electronic certificate is immediately available online. You can only order a certificate of yourself and/or your dependants through the self-service. The standard information that will be included in the certificate can be found in the self-service. If you need other information, order the certificate by e-mail, phone or an online form.
Certificates from the Population Information System as a self-service
We use an automated decision-making procedure in the Certificate Service. If you are ordering a certificate for a Finnish actor, the European Parliament or the European Commission, the certificate will be issued automatically. Certificates from the Population Information System are paid in the service at the time of ordering. You can find more information on the automatic decision-making procedure on our website.
Orders paid in the self-service cannot be cancelled.
Are you unable to take care of the matter online?
If you are unable to take care of the matter online, please take a look at other ways in which you can use our services.
Ordering a residence certificate
Marriage certificate
You can use a marriage certificate to prove a marriage that has been registered in the Finnish population register. A marriage certificate may be required, for example, when you register your marriage abroad.
Please order the certificate for a specific purpose through only one channel
Certificates ordered through the self-service are cheaper, and an electronic certificate is immediately available online. You can only order a certificate of yourself and/or your dependants through the self-service. The standard information that will be included in the certificate can be found in the self-service. If you need other information, order the certificate by e-mail, phone or an online form.
Certificates from the Population Information System as a self-service
We use an automated decision-making procedure in the Certificate Service. If you are ordering a certificate for a Finnish actor, the European Parliament or the European Commission, the certificate will be issued automatically. Certificates from the Population Information System are paid in the service at the time of ordering. You can find more information on the automatic decision-making procedure on our website.
Orders paid in the self-service cannot be cancelled.
Are you unable to take care of the matter online?
If you are unable to take care of the matter online, please take a look at other ways in which you can use our services.
Ordering a marriage certificate
Civil status certificate
You can use a civil status certificate to prove your marital status. This certificate shows whether you are married, in a registered partnership, unmarried, divorced or widowed.
Please order the certificate for a specific purpose through only one channel
Certificates ordered through the self-service are cheaper, and an electronic certificate is immediately available online. You can only order a certificate of yourself and/or your dependants through the self-service. The standard information that will be included in the certificate can be found in the self-service. If you need other information, order the certificate by e-mail, phone or an online form.
Certificates from the Population Information System as a self-service
We use an automated decision-making procedure in the Certificate Service. If you are ordering a certificate for a Finnish actor, the European Parliament or the European Commission, the certificate will be issued automatically. Certificates from the Population Information System are paid in the service at the time of ordering. You can find more information on the automatic decision-making procedure on our website.
Orders paid in the self-service cannot be cancelled.
Are you unable to take care of the matter online?
If you are unable to take care of the matter online, please take a look at other ways in which you can use our services.
Ordering a civil status certificate
Birth certificate
You can use your birth certificate to give proof of your official date of birth. You may need this certificate, for example, when moving abroad or registering as a resident of another country. Schools and kindergartens in other countries may also require a birth certificate.
Please order the certificate for a specific purpose through only one channel
Certificates ordered through the self-service are cheaper, and an electronic certificate is immediately available online. You can only order a certificate of yourself and/or your dependants through the self-service. The standard information that will be included in the certificate can be found in the self-service. If you need other information, order the certificate by e-mail, phone or an online form.
Certificates from the Population Information System as a self-service
We use an automated decision-making procedure in the Certificate Service. If you are ordering a certificate for a Finnish actor, the European Parliament or the European Commission, the certificate will be issued automatically. Certificates from the Population Information System are paid in the service at the time of ordering. You can find more information on the automatic decision-making procedure on our website.
Orders paid in the self-service cannot be cancelled.
Are you unable to take care of the matter online?
If you are unable to take care of the matter online, please take a look at other ways in which you can use our services.
Report on family relationships
A report on family relationships is most commonly needed for estate inventories in order to determine the heirs of the deceased.
Certificate of personal residence information
You can use a certificate of personal residence information as proof of your current address or previous addresses. You may need this certificate to obtain a parking permit or apply for housing, for example. Your new address is valid from the date which you gave as the moving date in your notification of change of address. Please note that there may be some delay in the transfer of this information to the Population Information System.
Certificate of person and family relationship information
With a certificate of person and family relationship information you can prove, for example, a person’s children as well as information on current or former marriages. For example, you may need this certificate to register family relationship information with public authorities in foreign countries or to submit a citizenship application in a foreign country.
List of residents
List of residents for a housing company
If you are a private individual who manages a housing company, you can order a list of residents for an acceptable reason. Property management and maintenance companies may request a data permit for the purposes of extracting a list of residents. Learn more about the data permit.
List of residents for a private individual
If you are a private individual, you can only order a list of residents for an acceptable reason.
Certificates from other registers
Please follow the certificate-specific instructions to order the certificate you need.
Please order the certificate for a specific purpose through only one channel
Please remember to cancel your order if you discover that you do not need the certificate, or if you are going to re-order it via another channel. If the order is not cancelled, we will process your request and send you an invoice for the order.
- Extract from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Life certificate issued by a notary public
- Other certificates issued by a notary public
- Copy of a registered prenuptial agreement
- Certificate from the Register of Prenuptial Agreements
- Certificate from the Register on the Right to Officiate Weddings
- Certificate from the Register of Donations
- Register extracts of religious communities
Use outside Finland
Certificate templates and verifying the validity of a certificate
Electronic certificate
An electronic residence certificate, marriage certificate, life certificate, civil status certificate and birth certificate is available from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's self-service.
The electronic certificate does not contain the signature or stamp of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The validity of the certificate can be checked from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency with an identifier which can be found on the certificate. You can find the instructions at the bottom of the page.
Example of an electronic certificate 1
Example of an electronic certificate 2
Certificate prepared by an official
When an official prepares a certificate for use in Finland, the certificate includes a mechanical signature or an electronic signature. A certificate issued for foreign use includes a handwritten signature and the stamp of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Example of a certificate made by an official 1
Example of a certificate made by an official 2
Please note that the Population Register Centre and Local Register Offices merged into the Digital and Population Data Services Agency at the beginning of 2020. For this reason, there may be certificates in circulation that have the logo of a Local Register Office or the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Either kind of certificate is valid.
Verifying the validity of the certificate
We can verify the validity of the certificate with the 32-character identifier at the bottom of the certificate. In addition to the identifier, you must provide your information (your name, date of birth and/or personal identity code) to verify the validity of the certificate.
Call +358 295 536 230 to request verification. The phone service is open Mon–Fri 9–15.
Certificate of death
For example, you may need a certificate of death to register a death abroad.
Usein kysyttyjä kysymyksiä todistuksista ja otteista
General
We take the information shown on the certificates from the Population Information System. You can check your information in the Personal Data service.
You can correct your given name, profession, email, native language and service language on the Personal Data service.
If you notice any other errors, please contact our service location.
You can order a certificate for yourself. In addition, you can order for your dependants a certificate of existence, birth certificate or residence certificate. As the guardian, you can access all of your dependants’ information from the period of your guardianship.
You can also order a certificate of another person for an acceptable purpose of use. The information will be disclosed if the conditions for disclosing the information laid down in the Act are met.
You can order certificates in Finnish, Swedish and English. It is also possible to order certificates in Spanish, Italian, French and German with longer delivery times.
It is possible to attach a multilingual EU standard form to a Finnish and Swedish certificate in any of the official languages of the EU. The EU's multilingual standard form is the form to be used within the EU for the Population Information System certificate and is intended as translation assistance.
If you order a certificate for use in Finland, ask about the validity of the certificate from the party receiving it.
If you order a certificate for use abroad, check the validity with the receiving foreign party. Practices vary between countries.
The period of validity depends on the certificate’s purpose of use. For example, a life certificate proves that the person was alive on the day that the certificate was issued.
You need a report on family relationships for taking care of death estate matters. Read more and order it from the Report on family relationships website.
The Finnish term “virkatodistus” and a certificate from the population register are the same thing. The parishes use the name “virkatodistus” to refer to a person's personal and/or family relationship information in the Population Information System, such as reports on family relationships or a life certificate.
Ordering:
• Report on family relationships
• Certificate from the Population Information System
You can order an individual certificate from the Population Information System by e-mail from [email protected].
In your request, please always state your name and the information about the company you represent, the purpose of the certificate and what information you need for the certificate.
If your company repeatedly needs personal, building or apartment data from the Population Information System, contact [email protected].
Self-service
You can order a life certificate, residence certificate and birth certificate of yourself and your dependants. You can also order a marriage certificate and civil status certificate of yourself. You can also order a multilingual EU standard form or an Apostille as an attachment to the certificate.
You can log in to the self-service using online banking codes or a mobile certificate here.
For use in Finland, the certificate is electronic and you can print it immediately after payment.
If you order a certificate for use abroad, we will send the certificate and the standard form, if you have selected one, by post.
If you order a certificate for use in Finland, the certificate is electronic and available to you immediately after payment.
The processing time of a certificate you need for use abroad is 2-5 working days + mail delivery time.
A certificate for use in Finland is saved in the Messages service if you have enabled Suomi.fi Messages. If you have not enabled the Messages service, the certificate will remain in the service for 24 hours after payment.
You can read more about Suomi.fi Messages and start using the service here.
If you are of adult age and are subject to an order of non-disclosure, you can order certificates for yourself as normal. The certificate will contain information about the order of non-disclosure.
If your dependant has an order of non-disclosure, you cannot order a certificate of them using the self-service. If you are aged between 15 and 18 and have an order of non-disclosure, you cannot order certificates through the self service. In such cases, contact your service location.
You can only order a certificate for yourself or your dependent child from the self service.
If you wish to order a certificate of another person for an acceptable use, you can place your order by encrypted email at [email protected], or order it by phone or a form. Please always provide your information, the purpose of the certificate and what information you need for the certificate while submitting your request.
If you live abroad, you cannot order a life certificate. For a life certificate, you must personally visit either at a Finnish Embassy or at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location, at the Notary Public’s department.
However, you can order other certificates from the self-service if you have online banking codes or a Mobile ID.
You can order a certificate for yourself or your dependent child from the self-service. You can also order an Apostille attached to the certificate. You can order a certificate in Finnish, Swedish or English.
In addition, you can order certificates either by encrypted e-mail from [email protected], by phone or a form. Please always provide your information, the purpose of the certificate and what information you need for the certificate while submitting your request.
If you have problems opening an electronic certificate that has already been paid for, please send an email to [email protected].
Certificates ordered from the self-service for use abroad are sent by mail. The processing time for certificates is 2-5 days + mail delivery time.
If the certificate does not arrive within two weeks, please send an email to [email protected].
You cannot order reports on family relationships through the self-service since the reports contain manually written information from old civil / population registers. We cannot access this information on the Population Information System.
You can order a report on family relationships using an online form or by telephone.
More information on reports on family relationships
Orders from abroad
The ordering method depends on whether you live abroad permanently and what type of certificate you need.
You can order a certificate via the self-service in the following situations:
- You need a life certificate, a residence certificate or a birth certificate for yourself or your dependents. Please note that if you live abroad permanently, you cannot obtain a life certificate through the self-service.
- You need a marriage certificate or a civil status certificate for yourself.
To access the self-service, you must identify yourself using Finnish online banking codes or a mobile certificate. You can also log in with an electronic identification token issued by another EU country (eIDAS) and order your own residence certificate or birth certificate.
If you need more extensive family relationship details in your certificate or if you are ordering a certificate of another person, you can use the online form, provided you have Finnish online banking codes or a mobile certificate.
If you live abroad permanently – other ordering methods
If you live abroad and need a life certificate, you must visit a Finnish embassy or a service location of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in person to see a notary public. More information can be found on the page Life certificate issued by a notary public.
Other certificates can be ordered either by sending an encrypted email to [email protected] or by phone. When placing your order, always provide your personal details, the purpose of the certificate, and the specific information required on the certificate.
The EU's multilingual standard form is the form to be used within the EU for the Population Information System certificate and is intended as translation assistance. It is possible to attach a multilingual EU standard form to a Finnish or Swedish certificate in any of the official languages of the EU.