How to apply for a guardian for yourself 

You can apply for a guardian for yourself if you have reached the age of 18 and are unable to manage your financial affairs due to an illness, deteriorated state of health or other similar reason. Only submit an application in case your affairs cannot be managed using alternatives to guardianship.

You can apply for a guardian to manage 

  • your property and financial affairs for the time being 
  • your property and financial affairs only for a certain period, such as two years 
  • an individual task only, such as the sale of a property or the distribution of inheritance. 

Even if a guardian is appointed to manage the client's property and financial affairs, they must also make sure that their client is properly cared for and for arranging such care. If ordinary guardianship is not sufficient to ensure, for example, appropriate care and housing, the guardian may also be appointed to represent their client in matters concerning the client's person, such as deciding on their care. This is only possible if the person is not personally able to understand the matter in question.   

You can propose a private person, such as a relative or another person who is close to the person in need of guardianship, as guardian if they give their consent to taking on the task and are suitable for the task. The guardian may also be a public guardian whose full-time job is to manage the financial affairs of several different persons. 

Please remember that  

  • the guardian submits an annual statement to us so that we can supervise their activities 
  • the guardian has the right to receive a reasonable fee and compensation for any expenses incurred from the task 
  • a guardian may not disclose information on the client to others without the client’s consent. 

Read more about the duties of a guardian.

Do as follows

  1. Check whether your affairs could be managed using alternatives to guardianship

    Guardianship and managing the affairs of another person

  2. Obtain a medical certificate for the appointment of a guardian

    Medical certificate

  3. If you want a private person as your guardian, ask for their consent to the task

    Consent form

  4. Fill in an application for the appointment of a guardian

    Application for the appointment of a guardian (in Finnish)

    To identify yourself, use your Finnish online banking codes or mobile certificate

    Can't attend to your matter online?

    Submit the application, the medical certificate and, if necessary, the consent of a private person to us at Digital and Population Data Services Agency / Guardianship Services, P.O. Box 1004, FI-00531 Helsinki.

    Application for the appointment of a guardian (in Finnish)

  5. We will process your application and examine your need for guardianship

    In addition, we will hear your opinion in person (consultation), primarily by video call, before appointing a guardian. We will contact you to schedule an appointment for your consultation.

  6. We will issue a decision on the matter

    In the decision, we will take into account your application, the medical certificate and the matters you have brought up in the consultation.

    If guardianship is needed, we will make a positive decision on the matter, i.e., we will appoint a guardian for you.

    If guardianship is not needed or if you withdraw your application, we will not appoint you a guardian.

  7. The guardian may start performing their duties once they have received a positive decision

    Decisions made by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency are sent to Suomi.fi Messages.  In this way, you can get notified of the decision as soon as possible. If you do not have access to the service, you will receive the decision by letter. If you wish, you can also receive the documents by encrypted e-mail.

    We will send the decision also to the client.

    Check that all your details have been entered correctly.

Price 

The appointment of a guardian costs EUR 123 per decision.

Starting from 1.1.2025 the appointment of a guardian costs EUR 130 per decision.

The fee shall not be charged if the applicant's net income (including different social benefits) is less than EUR 8,147 per year. 

Processing time 

The average processing time is 6 months. 

We process applications in their order of arrival. Processing times are longer when not all necessary reports have been included as attachments.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need help?

Telephone service: 0295 536 256

Service hours: Mon–Fri 9–15. 

Our chat service is temporarily unavailable in English.

Laws related to the matter

Guardianship Services Act (442/1999)

Government Decree on the fee of a guardian (696/2012, in Finnish) 

Decree of the Ministry of Finance on the Fees Charged for Digital and Population Data Services Agency in 2023 (1070/2022, in Finnish) 

Anna palautetta ja tee kehitysehdotuksia

 

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