Report on family relationships

Order a report on family relationships from the Church.  

You can't order it from us.  

Churches use the term certificate from the parish register for the report on family relationships. 

 

Evangelical Lutheran Church´s contact details: Tilaa virkatodistus - Evl.fi

Orthodox Church’s contact details: Tilaa sukuselvitys - Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko

You will need a report on family relationships from both us and the Church.  

Order a report on family relationships from us with the instructions given below and from the Church with the instruction given in their website. 

 

Evangelical Lutheran Church´s contact details: Tilaa virkatodistus - Evl.fi

Orthodox Church’s contact details: Tilaa sukuselvitys - Suomen ortodoksinen kirkko

Order a report on family relationships from us with the instructions given below. 

Order a report on family relationships from us with the instructions given below. 

Order a report on family relationships from the National Archives of Finland at kansallisarkisto.fi/en/information-request

If the person permanently resided abroad, i.e. did not have a municipality of residence in Finland, a document corresponding to the report on family relationships from the country in which the person resided is required for the estate inventory. The report on family relationships must cover the years during which the person resided in the country in question. 

You can usually order the document directly from the local authority of the country in question. Check country-specific information in the Finland abroad service.

• 2024: Reports on family relationships from the electronic Population Information System: € 35/document
• 2025: Reports on family relationships from the electronic Population Information System: € 40/document

We will prepare a report on family relationships for the period that a person has been a member of the population register or a registered religious community (other than the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church) since 1 October 1999.  

Please note that we can also certify data of the Evangelical Lutheran Church  and the Orthodox Church for the period after 1 October 1999.  

• 2024: Reports on family relationships from digitized population register data: €70/document
• 2025: Reports on family relationships from digitized population register data: €80/document

We prepare a report on family relationships for the period which the person has been a member of the population register or a registered religious community (other than the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church). The report may contain data from both the digitised, originally paper population register material before 1 October 1999 and the electronic Population Information System. 

Please note that we can also certify data of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church for the period after 1 October 1999. 

Examples of periods for which we can prepare a report on family relationships: 

1. Taavi resigned from the parish on 25 January 1959. In the report on family relationships, we will verify their information as of 25 January 1959 until the date of death or the date of issue of the certificate if Taavi is still alive. 

2. Anne resigned from the parish on 25 January 1972. She rejoined the parish on 27 January 1989 but resigned again on 15 April 2000. In the report on family relationships, we will verify their information from 25 January 1972 to 27 January 1989 and as of 1 October 1999 until the date of death or the date of issue of the certificate if Anne is still alive. 

3. Heikki resigned from the parish and joined the Finnish Methodist Church on 21 August 1952. In the report on family relationships, we will verify their information as of 21 August 1952 until the date of death or the date of issue of the certificate if Heikki is still alive. 

4. Ella resigned from the parish on 25 January 1959. She moved abroad on 27 June 1972 and then back to Finland on 29 June 1989. In the report on family relationships, we will verify their information from 25 January 1959 to 27 June 1972 and as of 29 June 1989 until the date of death or the date of issue of the certificate if Ella is still alive. 

5. Ville resigned from the parish on 31 December 1994 and his spouse, Maija, resigned from the church during the validity of their marriage on 7 July 1972. In the report on family relationships, we will verify Ville's information as of 31 December 1994 until the date of death or the date of issue of the certificate, if Ville is still alive, as well as Maija's information on the marriage as of 7 July 1972 until the termination date of the marriage (divorce, Maija's date of death or Ville's date of death) or until the date of issue of the certificate, depending on whether the marriage is still valid. 

Report on family relationships:

A paper or electronic certificate issued by an authority (also other than the Digital and Population Data Services Agency), the content of which is tied to the purpose of use. It usually contains the following information: 

• Personal data of the subject, i.e. current and former names, personal identity code, municipality of birth, marital status and municipality of residence  
• Information on spouses and children, including parents and siblings if necessary  
• Moves abroad and from abroad  
• The dates for the period that the report covers the person's data.

 

Life certificate:

Contains only person’s own information. It does not include family relationship information.  

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency may prepare a life certificate for a person registered in Finland. The certificate includes the following information:  

• Current and former names  
• personal identity code  
• Information that the person is alive 
• Municipality of residence and permanent address. 

 

Certificate from the Parish Register:

A name used by Churches for their own certificates, which can be either certificates in the form of a report on family relationships or life certificates. 

A report on family relationships is a paper or electronic certificate, the contents of which depend on the purpose of its use. It usually contains the following information: 

• Personal data of the subject, i.e. current and former names, personal identity code, municipality of birth, marital status and municipality of residence 
• Information on spouses and children, including parents and siblings if necessary 
• Moves abroad and from abroad 
• The dates for the period that the report covers the person's data.

You can order a report on family relationships, if  

• You are a shareholder in the estate  

• You are an estate administrator authorised by the estate, the person preparing the estate inventory deed or an agent 

• You represent shareholders, who are minors, in the estate  

• You need a report on family relationships for other acceptable use.

In Finnish or Swedish.

You can order a report on family relationships by email or telephone. 

You can order a report on family relationships on behalf of another person if you are an estate administrator authorised by the estate, the person preparing the estate inventory deed or an agent, or, for example, you represent minors who are shareholders in the estate.

Unfortunately, you cannot order a certificate for that reason. 

We can only disclose data entered in the Population Information System for purposes approved by law. This is not one. In addition, information related to a person's family life is confidential.

First check our processing time from our website. 

If you received an email with an ID starting with RITM in connection with your order, please contact us by replying to that same message.  

If you have not received the RITM ID, please contact us by email or telephone. Be prepared to give the order date, order method, who the information is ordered on and your personal information. 

When the Population Information System was established in the early 1970s, only part of the information on family relationships was entered into the system.  

For example,  

• information was recorded for parents on children under 20 years of age on 1 October 1973 living at the same address 
• Information on the parents was recorded for children if the child was under the age of 20 and lived at the same address. 

Before the electronic Population Information System, children were not always entered in the parent’s information if the child was a member of a Church together with the other parent. The missing children appear in the Church's report on family relationships.  

 

In addition, children may be missing from the report on family relationships of a foreigner who has moved to Finland if they have not presented official certificates of family relationships in connection with registration in the Population Information System. Read more about registration of a foreigner on our website. 

The report on family relationships for the estate inventory is required in the extent that the certificates indicate the heirs of the deceased.  

When the deceased has living heirs 

If the deceased has living heirs, information on that they are alive is usually sufficient, which is often indicated in the report on family relationships prepared after the death of the deceased person. A separate life certificate is required, if proof of life cannot be ascertained from the report on family relationships, for example, when the heir lives abroad.  

A report on the family relationships of a living heir is required if  

• they want to renounce their inheritance  

• there is a testamentary disposition or life insurance provision for the grandchildren of the deceased in a situation, where the names of the grandchildren are not mentioned in the disposition or provision 

• the deceased has a living spouse who has during the marriage been a member of a different church or resigned from the church. 

When one of the heirs has died before the deceased 

If one of the heirs has died before the deceased, a report on their family relationships will also be required. 

When the deceased doesn't have children 

If the deceased is childless, information on their parents is required. If the parents are dead, information on the siblings of the deceased is required. If there are no siblings, reports on the grandparents family relationships are required.  

Information on whether they are alive or dead is sufficient of the uncles and aunts of the deceased, because cousins are not heirs.   

When the deceased has a spouse 

A report on the spouse's family relationships for the duration of the marriage is required if the spouse has been registered in a different register. 

Information as per the date of death is required for the estate inventory, so the report on family relationships cannot be ordered in advance.

You can also use the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's report on family relationships in other situations related to managing the estate’s affairs.  

For example, reports on family relationships obtained for the estate inventory deed can be used for a subsequent estate distribution agreement if no changes have taken place in the estate. 

A report on family relationships is also required of the person renouncing the inheritance as of the age of 15, so that the heirs replacing them can be clarified. 

Order a report on family relationships according to the instructions on this page either from us or the Church.