Citizen Certificate
You can use the ID card to prove your identity in various service situations, also when using e-services. You can also use an ID card to make an electronic signature. The card’s chip holds a Citizen Certificate that enables identification and signing.
You can use the Citizen Certificate to:
- reliably log in to public sector e-services, such as MyKanta or MyTax
- create an electronic signature
- encrypt emails.
The Citizen Certificate must first be activated in order to use if for the above-mentioned matters.
To use a Citizen Certificate, you need
- a computer
- a card reader
- a card reader software
- personal PIN codes
Citizen Certificate cannot be used by phone.
Electronic transactions using the Citizen Certificate are secure. An electronically signed document is as legally binding as one signed by hand.
To whom and on what terms
A Citizen Certificate may only be issued to a Finnish national or a foreign national who is resident in a Finnish municipality as referred to in the Act on the Municipality of Residence (201/1994), whose details are stored in the Population Information System and whose identity has been reliably established. The foreign national must also either hold a valid residence permit or card or their right of residence must have been registered.
Do the following
Apply for an ID card from the police. If you are abroad, apply for an ID card from a Finnish mission abroad. More detailed instructions for applying can be found on the police website.
- Applying for an ID card on the Police website
- Contact details of Finnish missions abroad in the Finland abroad service
Once you have picked up the card and received the activation PIN code by post, you can activate the ID card. You will also need a chip card reader and a computer.
If you do not intend to use the Citizen Certificate for e-services or creating electronic signatures, the Certificate does not need to be activated.
Price
The ID card is subject to a fee according to the price list of the Police.
Key terms
A Citizen certificate is a certificate issued to a private individual and is included in an ID card. The Citizen Certificate contains a Signing Certificate and an identification and encryption certificate.
A Signature Certificate is a certificate used to create an electronic signature. The Signature Certificate is included in the Citizen Certificate.
An Authentication and Encryption Certificate is a certificate that is used to identify yourself in services and encrypt files.
An Electronic Unique Identification Number serves as the person’s unique identifier in the certificate. The Electronic Unique Identification Number consists of eight digits and a checkmark. Based on the Electronic Client Identifier, it is not possible to determine, for example, the date of birth or other information about its owner.
The Electronic Unique Identification Number helps identify Finnish citizens and, under the Act on the Municipality of Residence Act, foreign citizens permanently residing in Finland whose details are entered in the Population Information System.
When a person's data is first stored in the Population Information System, they are provided with the unique technical identification information necessary for providing an Electronic Unique Identification Number. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency converts technical identification data into an Electronic Unique Identification Number when a person acquires, for example, a certificate card that uses the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's Citizen Certificate, such as an ID card.
Frequently asked questions
To use an ID card, you need a card reader that reads data from the chip. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency cannot recommend any specific card reader brand or model. You can purchase a card reader from a computer supply store. Card readers are often sold with the name personal card reader or chip card reader. You can check with the retailer if the card reader is compatible with your ID card. Some computers come with a built-in card reader.
The ID card arrives at the pick-up point of your choice. If there is no notification that the card has arrived at the pick-up point, you can check that the order is in order from the police online service, the permit service or the Finnish diplomatic mission abroad.
It does not expire. Electronic signatures created with a Citizen Certificate are valid even after the card expires or is revoked.
The Citizen Certificate contains the following information:
- Forename and surname
- the Electronic Unique Identification Number (SATU)
- the email address the applicant supplied
- the periods of validity of the certificates
- information that the certificate has been issued in Finland
- the certificate holder’s public keys
- Information from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, which signs certificates (name, certification authority's signatures)
If your name changes, you must order a new card.
If you have provided your e-mail address in the ID card data, you can use the Citizen Certificate to encrypt and sign your e-mails. If your e-mail address changes and you want to use an ID card’s certificate to encrypt or sign messages with your new e-mail address, you must order a new ID card with the details of the new e-mail address.
No personal identity code, date of birth or home address has been saved in the Citizen Certificate information.
If your ID card is lost or stolen, notify the revocation service immediately. The revocation service will revoke the certificates on the card in order to prevent abuse. The revocation service is available 24/7 every day of the week. Your responsibility for the certificates will be terminated once you have notified the revocation service of losing your card.
Please also notify the police if your ID card is lost or stolen. You can file a report with the police using an electronic crime report form or by visiting a police station. Such reports abroad can be made to a Finnish mission. You can ask the police or an official at a consulate if you are abroad to invalidate your card. At the same time, you can request to revoke the certificates on the card, if they have not yet been revoked.
Please note that if you find your lost card later, the revoked Citizen Certificate can no longer be used for electronic transactions, and the card reported as missing can no longer be used as an identity card.
No. An examination of the card microchip will not reveal the services it has been used to access, or the services to which access rights have been specified for the card.
Yes. The information on the surface of the card or on the chip cannot be changed afterwards. If your name has changed and your ID card shows out-of-date information, it cannot serve as a travel document or proof of identity.
When an ID card expires, the Citizen Certificate (as well as the Authentication and Encryption Certificate and Signature Certificate contained in it) also expires.
An expired Citizen Certificate cannot be used to identify yourself in e-services. However, an expired Citizen Certificate can still be used to open data or files that it has previously encrypted. You cannot use a new ID card to open them.
Certificates will also expire if you apply for a new ID card before your old card expires.
This is how to invalidate your old card:
- If you need the certificates on the old card to process encrypted data, cut a piece out of the photograph in the corner of the ID card but leave the chip intact.
- If you do not need the certificates on the old card to process encrypted data, you can destroy the expired card by cutting through the area where the chip is.
Identification Principles
Identification Principles of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (pdf)
Identification and signature certificates issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency meet the requirements under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and the Act on Strong Electronic Identification and Electronic Signatures (617/2009). The aim is to ensure high standards of information security and accurate identification in e-services. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is a provider of an identification service that satisfies the requirements for high standards in its production of certificate-based identification tools. The Agency is, Finland’s first and, for now, only provider of signature certificates that are of an acceptable standard. Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom oversees the work of the CA.