Use of private digital mail services in official communications 

​​​​​The Ministry of Finance set up the Programme to Promote Primarily Digital Official Communications. As part of the programme, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency is preparing a change that, in the future, would also allow citizens to use private digital mail services to electronically access and read official mail they receive.

At the moment, authorities send messages electronically in Suomi.fi Messages, which is a joint messaging service for public administration. The current legislation does not allow using private operators for official notifications.

The Programme to Promote Primarily Digital Official Communications is based on the programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government. It will be carried out as two parallel development projects. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is responsible for its practical implementation. The first project was launched in spring 2024. It primarily enables the delivery of electronic official messages using Suomi.fi Messages to those administration clients who already use electronic services. Now is the time to launch the second project, which will make it possible to use private digital mail services alongside Suomi.fi Messages.

How is the preparation progressing?

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is preparing the change in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and stakeholders. Key stakeholders include private digital mail service providers or those interested in the service and organisations sending official messages.

Preliminary phasing:

2025: Planning phase incl.  starting the preparation of stakeholder cooperation and legislative changes​​​​​​​

  • Legislative drafting will begin in autumn 2025.
  • Technical and functional planning in accordance with the target state will also be launched in autumn 2025

2026: Implementation phase based on legislation and other needs

  • building technical interfaces for private digital mail services,
  • the necessary functional and technical changes for both end users of the service and the authorities who send mail,
  • processes and practices (such as audits) required for operational compliance and the entry into force of legislation.

What does the change mean for public administration organisations?

The aim is to prepare the change so that it does not require significant additional measures from organisations that already use Suomi.fi Messages or who will start using the new REST interface for Suomi.fi Messages. There is no reason to slow down the activation of Suomi.fi Messages due to this reform.

According to current legislation, public administration organisations have an obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages to send electronic official messages.

Suomi.fi Messages already has over two million users. In 2026, when legislation on the digital priority of official mail comes into force, the number of citizens receiving their official mail electronically will increase significantly. From then on, an own mailbox will be created in Suomi.fi Messages for everyone identifying themselves in an authority’s e-service. For public administration organisations, this means that in the future they can reach more than four million citizens through Suomi.fi Messages. These people will also expect to receive messages from as many authorities as possible electronically instead of as paper mail. 

By starting to use the new REST interface for Suomi.fi Messages, organisations will also be prepared to use the private digital mail service operators. It is not worthwhile for public administration organisations to build direct connections to private digital mail services, as the current legislation does not allow using private actors for official notifications.

Authorities will continue to communicate through a centralised background service administered by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. This service will be used for the integration with private services.

What does the change mean for citizens?

For citizens, the transition to digital official communications will take place in stages. In 2026, when legislation on the digital priority of official mail comes into force, citizens using digital services will get an electronic mailbox to use through Suomi.fi Messages. An electronic mailbox will be created for citizens when they identify themselves in an electronic service of public administration, such as MyTax, MyKela or the Traficom e-service.  

At the beginning of 2026, citizens cannot yet choose which electronic service they will use to receive mail from authorities. Instead, Suomi.fi Messages is the place where electronic mail from authorities is received. The possibility to receive messages from authorities through private digital mail services will become available later when the legislation has been prepared and the technical prerequisites have been met.

Further information

Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Project Manager Annette Hotari, tel. +358 295 535 028, firstname.lastname@dvv,fi

Maria Juka-Lahdenperä, Service Owner of Suomi.fi Messages from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, tel. +358 295 535 334, [email protected]