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Frequently asked questions
On this page, you can find answers to frequently asked questions. If you cannot find the answer to your question, you can contact the customer service of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency or give feedback via feedback form.
Ordering a certificate
The Finnish term “virkatodistus” refers to an extract/certificate from the population register containing personal and/or family relationship information. Parishes use the term “virkatodistus” for these certificates.
A “virkatodistus” could mean, for example, a life certificate or a report on family relationships. Always find out from the party requesting the certificate what information the certificate must contain, and order it accordingly.
You can order certificates on a device that has an internet connection.
The service works with the following desktop browsers:
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Opera
- Safari
- Chrome for Android
- Chrome for iOS
- Firefox for Android
- iOs Safari
- Samsung Internet
- you use the latest browser versions to ensure secure and trouble-free operations
- you do not use Internet Explorer for information security reasons.
You can order a certificate for yourself.
You can also order a life certificate, birth certificate and residence certificate for any of your dependants. You can select the dependants you wish to obtain certificates for once you have signed into the service. You can access of your dependants’ information for your period of custody.
You can place an order using an identification token issued by an EU country (eIDAS). You can order your own residence or birth certificate. When placing an order, we ask you to give your name; date, place and country of birth; address; and known personal identity number. The certificate is subject to a fee, and it is delivered only in paper form. Only the information registered in the Finnish Population Information System is included in the certificate. The certificate cannot be delivered if your information has not been registered in the Finnish Population Information System. You can request the checking of your personal details from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s customer service. Read more about the eIDAS identification token on the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s website.
You can order a life certificate from the Finnish Population Information System only if you live in Finland permanently. This is because the information on your existence is not automatically updated in the Finnish system from abroad.
If you live abroad and need a life certificate,
- you can use services in person while visiting Finland at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s notary public, or abroad, you can visit a Finnish embassy
- to find out whether you can obtain a life certificate from a notary public or other authority in your country of residence.
You must pay for the certificates online when placing the order. You can make the payment with a Finnish online banking Ids or a credit card (Visa, Visa Electron or Mastercard).
When you want to pay for your order, go to the Paytrail service. If you want, you can still cancel the order at this point. If you want to continue, select the payment method next. After this, you can go to the service of the bank or creditor you have selected. Once you have paid for your order, you are taken back to the service Certificates from the Population Information System.
You should order the birth certificate from the country where you were born.
You can order the birth certificate from this service if your birth and the details of your parents have been registered in the Population Information System.
You can check your details in the Population Information System by identifying yourself on the Suomi.fi personal data page.
You can order certificates in Finnish, Swedish and English. You can also order an EU translation form in any of the official languages of the European Union for a certificate written in Finnish or Swedish. The EU translation form, which is attached to the certificate, is used within the EU as a translation aid.
If you are of adult age and are subject to an order of non-disclosure for personal security reasons, you can order certificates for yourself as normal.
You cannot order certificates through this service if
- if you are aged 15–18 and have a valid order of non-disclosure for personal security reasons
- if you want to order a certificate for your dependant and they have a valid order of non-disclosure for personal security reasons.
The details of a valid non-disclosure for persona safety reasons are stated on a residence certificate.
A person aged 15–18 can order a life certificate or a residence certificate. A person under 15 cannot order any certificates themselves.
The certificate will only include valid data. If you also need to include historical information in the certificates or a minor needs other certificates, the guardian may order the certificate on behalf of the minor, or the minor may contact the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s customer service for individual customers.
If your dependant is taken into care by the child welfare authorities, you cannot order certificates through this service.
Accessibility is a key consideration in the Certificates from the Population Information System service. The Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland supervises compliance with the accessibility requirements in the whole country.
For more information on accessibility, see the certificate accessibility statement for the Certificates from the Population Information System service (dvv.fi).
Delivery of the certificate
The electronic certificates that you have ordered are available on the My certificates tab of this service for 24 hours. You must identify yourself in the service so that you can open and save the certificates. If you have access to Suomi.fi Messages, you can also find the certificates in Suomi.fi Messages.
If more than 24 hours have passed from your order, send a message to todistus.palaute@dvv.fi.
If you have ordered a certificate for use outside Finland or requested delivery by post, we will only send you a paper certificate.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will process your order within 2 to 5 working days. After this, the certificate will be sent to the delivery address given in your order – overseas as a Priority letter and within Finland as an Economy letter.
The certificates are delivered to Suomi.fi Messages if you have activated Suomi.fi Messages before ordering the certificates and you are ordering electronic certificates.
If you have access to Suomi.fi Messages but the electronic certificates have not been delivered to that location, send a message to todistus.palaute@dvv.fi. The electronic certificates that you have ordered are also available on the My certificates tab of this service for 24 hours.
As a rule, the certificates are delivered to the customer’s permanent address. The address details are retrieved from the Population Information System in connection with the identification.
If your municipality of residence registered in the Population Information System is located outside Finland or you have a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, the permanent address is not retrieved in connection with the identification. In that case, you can give the delivery address at the end of the order. For data protection reasons, you should order the certificates to your own address.
Certificate contents
The information on the certificate has been retrieved from the Population Information System. You can check your details in the Population Information System by identifying yourself on the Suomi.fi personal data page.
The certificates ordered from this service are delivered as standard certificates. Before ordering the certificates, make sure to check that the certificates contain the information that you need. The information contained on different certificates can be found on the Ordering a certificate tab.
If you think that your personal details are incorrect, go for instructions to the Check your own personal details page of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
The address details shown in the certificate and the self-service delivery address are retrieved from the Finnish Population Information System. You can check your details in the Population Information System by identifying yourself on the Suomi.fi Personal data page. If you think that your address details are incorrect, go to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s Check your own personal details page for instructions.
A residence certificate automatically includes your permanent address and municipality of residence and your temporary address if it has been entered in the Population Information System. Your old permanent and temporary addresses for the requested years can also be included in a certificate as optional information. Your postal address is not shown on a residence certificate.
Address details have been registered in the Population Information System since 1971 (the year when the register was established). From 1971 to 1982, only the two most recent addresses were recorded. Since 1983, all reported address changes have been entered in the register.
You can check your current and past address details in the Population Information System by identifying yourself on the Suomi.fi personal data page.
The exact time of the birth is not registered in the Population Information System and for this reason, it cannot be added to the certificates containing information from the system.
The location of the marriage ceremony is not registered in the Population Information System and for this reason, it cannot be added to the certificates containing information from the system. If you need a certificate stating where your marriage ceremony was held, you should contact the person who officiated the wedding. This person may be able to provide a marriage certificate stating the date and location of your marriage ceremony.
Electronic certificates do not contain the signature of the person issuing the certificate. For this reason, the party requesting the certificate may want to check the validity of the document.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency may, on request, check the validity of the certificate using the 32-character identifier at the bottom of the certificate. For instructions, go to the certificate templates page of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
If you cannot order the certificate you need independently using this service, visit the Certificates from the Population Information System page of the Digital and Population Data Services Agencyto read about
- other ways of ordering certificates
- other certificates from the Population Information System.
How do we take care of data protection in the service?
The information provided by you is sent to the certificate service. The service automatically checks the information, and after payment your information is sent to the Population Information System, which then creates the requested certificate. Digital and Population Data Services Agency can also access the information from automatically processed applications.
The information you enter is processed at Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
The service uses cookies and does not require separate consent. Cookies must be enabled in order for you to log in to the service and order a certificate. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer from websites you visit. For an unidentified user, the service cookie remembers whether the user has closed the top banner of the home page. The cookie is deleted when you close your browser. When you log in to the service, the cookie remembers your session. The cookie is deleted when you close your browser. In addition, we use cookies to collect information about fault situations.
By continuing to use the site, you consent to accepting cookies.
Digital and Population Data Services Agency saves the details of sent applications to its digital archive, from where they are sent onwards for processing if needed.
In order to examine any faults which may arise, we also store log data about system operations, which can be used to see what the users have done in the service.
The Suomi.fi identification service identifies the user and fetches the user’s basic personal data for use in the service.
We obtain information from Suomi.fi Messages as to whether the user is using that service or not. We send information such as guidelines and notifications as messages which the user can read in Suomi.fi Messages.
We send payment information to the Suomi.fi Payment.
All personal data is protected from unauthorised access, accidental or unlawful destruction, manipulation, disclosure or transfer, and other unlawful processing.