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 can order a certificate for managing different matters by encrypted e-mail from [email protected] or by phone.
Please always provide your information, the purpose of the certificate and what information you need for the certificate while submitting your request.
You cannot order a certificate for managing someone else’s matter, e.g. estate, through the self-service.
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 by encrypted e-mail from [email protected], by telephone or using a form submitted to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
More information on reports on family relationships
Orders from abroad
If you live abroad, you can order certificates either by encrypted e-mail from [email protected] or by phone. Please always provide your information, the purpose of the certificate and what information you need for the certificate while submitting your request.
Please note that if you live abroad permanently, you must visit a public notary in person either at the Finnish Embassy or at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's service point in order to obtain a life certificate. You can find the addresses of our service locations here. You can find more information on the life certificate from the public notary and services here.
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.