- Marriage
- Examination of impediments to marriage
- Marriage ceremony
- Prenuptial agreement
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Divorce granted abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Registration of a deed of division of property
- Dissolution of cohabitation
- Removal of marital rights to property
- Extracts issued of the register on the right to officiate at weddings
- Having or adopting a child
- Names
- Moving
- Elections and Right to vote
- Suomi.fi Web Service
- Citizen Certificate and electronic identity
- Guardianship
- Continuing power of attorney
- Appointment of a guardian
- Duties of the guardian
- Guardianship for a minor
- Who can act as a guardian?
- Actions that require the permission of the guardianship authority
- Permit to buy or sell a dwelling
- Permit for purchase or sale of real estate
- Permit for the partition or separation of property and the division of inheritance
- Renunciation of inheritance, for the surrender of one’s share of an inheritance or an agreement on the joint administration of an estate
- Engaging in trade or the establishment of a company
- Property management plan
- Pledging of property and for borrowing and lending
- Leasing or investing a client’s property
- Limited account or the management of the earnings
- Appointing a substitute guardian
- Termination of guardianship
- Giving up the guardian’s task
- Guardianship authority's means of supervision
- Looking after the interests of an absent person or the future owner of the property
- Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
- Extracts from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Certificates from the Population Information System
- Population information in the Population Information System
- Registration of a gift notification
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Citizens’ initiative
- Death and estate inventory
- Living abroad
- Moving
- Registration of citizenship
- Divorce granted abroad
- Death abroad
- Registration of a child born abroad
- Registration of a name change performed abroad
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Legalisation of foreign documents
- Notification of retaining Finnish citizenship
- Moving to Finland
- Public Service Info
- Address service
- Forms
Guardianship and continuing power of attorney
The appointment of a guardian is a last resort option to organise the management of a client’s affairs. Therefore, the appointment of a guardian will require there is no other way to ensure that the affairs of the person in need of help will not be managed in an appropriate manner.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is the guardianship authority, and as such determines a person’s need for guardianship and, where necessary appoints a guardian or submits an application to the courts.
Continuing power of attorney
Continuing power of attorney is a more flexible option for organising the management of affairs than guardianship. By providing continuing power of attorney, a person can prepare in advance for the management of their affairs in the event that they are at a later time unable to manage them themselves. In a continuing power of attorney, the person (assignor) appoints an assignee to manage their affairs. Power of attorney will enter into force after the guardianship authority has verified it.
A public guardian and their task
Any reliable family member or friend, who gives their consent to the task and who is considered suitable for the task, can act as a guardian. If there is no such person or an outside party must be appointed to the task for some other reason, a public guardian will act as guardian.
A guardian is appointed to their task either permanently or for a fixed period.
The guardian is charged with the management of the client’s property and financial affairs. The guardian must in all situations act solely in the best interest of the client. A guardian may not disclose information on the client to others without the client’s consent.
A guardian has the right to receive a reasonable fee for the management of the client’s affairs and compensation for their expenses.
A guardian can sometimes be disqualified from representing the client. In this case, they must apply for a substitute from the guardianship authority.
Guardianship for a minor
The custodians of a child under the age of 18 will also act as their guardian. They must manage the minor’s property in a planned and systematic manner. A minor’s property can only be used for the minor’s benefit and for the minor’s personal needs, while taking into account that a minor’s parents are responsible for the minor’s maintenance.
The guardianship of a minor is entered into the Register of Guardianship Affairs, if the property in the minor’s ownership exceeds 20,000 euros in value. In this case, the custodians are accountable to the guardianship authority. The guardianship for a minor comes to an end when they turn 18.
Advice, guidance and supervision
Digital and Population Data Services Agency will provide advice and guidance in all guardianship-related matters. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency also supervises the activities of guardians as well as acts as a supervisory authority on accounts and licences. The guardian must submit a statement, meaning an account on the management of affairs, to the guardianship authority each year. In addition, the guardian must apply for permission from the guardianship authority for certain procedures, such as the sale of a residence.
Register of Guardianship Affairs
The Register of Guardianship Affairs is a Digital and Population Data Services Agency-maintained national register from which anyone can get information on whether someone is under guardianship, who their guardian is and what the guardian’s tasks include.
Forms for guardianship
You can find all forms for guardianship and continuing power of attorney on our forms page (in Finnish).
Guardianship Services contact information
When sending an email, please use the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s secure email to ensure that your information is sent securely. Select [email protected] as the recipient in the secure mail
Send the email as a secure email
Postal address
Property inventories, annual statements and final statements must be sent to the postal address of the service location.
All other post to the Guardianship Service must be sent to the address:
Digital and Population Data Services Agency / Guardianship, PO Box 1001, FI-02151 Espoo
Telephone number
The telephone service is open 9.00-12.00 on weekdays
Service number +358 295 536 256
Chat service
You can also contact us via chat at our web pages. Chat service is open Mon-Fri from 9.00 to 15.00. Please do not give sensitive information, such as your personal ID number on the chat.
Service locations
Addresses of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location
- Individuals
- Marriage
- Examination of impediments to marriage
- Marriage ceremony
- Prenuptial agreement
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Divorce granted abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Registration of a deed of division of property
- Dissolution of cohabitation
- Removal of marital rights to property
- Extracts issued of the register on the right to officiate at weddings
- Having or adopting a child
- Names
- Moving
- Elections and Right to vote
- Suomi.fi Web Service
- Citizen Certificate and electronic identity
- Guardianship
- Continuing power of attorney
- Appointment of a guardian
- Duties of the guardian
- Guardianship for a minor
- Who can act as a guardian?
- Actions that require the permission of the guardianship authority
- Appointing a substitute guardian
- Termination of guardianship
- Giving up the guardian’s task
- Guardianship authority's means of supervision
- Looking after the interests of an absent person or the future owner of the property
- Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
- Extracts from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Certificates from the Population Information System
- Population information in the Population Information System
- Registration of a gift notification
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Citizens’ initiative
- Death and estate inventory
- Living abroad
- Moving
- Registration of citizenship
- Divorce granted abroad
- Death abroad
- Registration of a child born abroad
- Registration of a name change performed abroad
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Legalisation of foreign documents
- Notification of retaining Finnish citizenship
- Moving to Finland
- Public Service Info
- Address service
- Forms
- Marriage
- Organisations
- Certificates
- Updating customer registers
- Sampling and analysis services
- Search services of the Population Information System
- Local Register Office Register search services
- Extracts from registers
- Maintaining the Population Information System
- Suomi.fi services
- Services to promote digitalisation
- Digital security services
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Right to officiate weddings
- E-services
- About the agency