Certificates from the Population Information System as a self-service

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

The following mobile browsers can be used:

• Chrome for Android
• Chrome for iOS
• Firefox for Android
• iOs Safari
• Samsung Internet

We recommend that

• 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 containing your personal details from the Population Information System. You can also order a life certificate, birth certificate and residence certificate for any of your dependants. You can select the dependants for whom you order the certificate after you have identified yourself in the service. You can access your dependants’ details for your period of custody. You and your spouse can jointly request a certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage. Each of you must request the certificate on separate applications. You cannot request the certificate on behalf of anybody else.

You can order a residence certificate or a birth certificate for yourself using an identification token (elDAS) issued by an EU country. You must give the following information in the order: your name; date, place and country of birth; address; and known personal identity code. A fee is charged for the certificate and it is delivered only in paper form. Only the information kept in the Population Information System is entered in the certificate. The certificate cannot be delivered if your details have not been entered in the Population Information System. You can request a check of your personal details from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s customer service.Avautuu uuteen ikkunaan Read more about the eIDAS identification token on the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s website.Avautuu uuteen ikkunaan

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.

Book an appointment with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s notary publicAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan

You must pay for the certificates from the Population Information System online when placing the order. You can make the payment with 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 directed back to Certificates from the Population Information System. The certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage is provided free of charge.

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 pageAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan.

You can order certificates from the Population Information System 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. You can order the certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage in Finnish, Swedish or English. The certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage is in Finnish or in Swedish.

If you are aged over 18 and have a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons, you can order certificates containing your own personal details from the Population Information System. You cannot order certificates in this service if

• you are aged between 15 and 18 and have a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons
• you want to order a certificate for a dependant of yours who has a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons.

The non-disclosure for personal safety reasons does not affect the ordering of a certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage. The certificate will be sent to the certificates self-service.

• A person aged between 15 and 18 can order a life certificate and a residence certificate.
• A person aged under 15 cannot order any certificates in this service.
• A person aged under 18 cannot order a certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage in this service because the Digital and Population Data Services Agency can only issue the certificate for a person aged over 18.

Only the valid information is entered in a certificate for a person aged under 18. If you also need to include previous information in the certificate or a person aged under 18 cannot order a certificate in this service,

• the guardian can order the certificate on behalf of the person aged under 18 or the person aged under 18 can contact the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s customer service for individual customers.
• the person aged under 18 can request the examination of impediments to marriage on a paper form and post the request to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency no earlier than one week before their 18th birthday. This is the first day on which the certificate can be issued.

You can check the progress of the examination of impediments to marriage on My certificates tab.

• Lapsed: Your spouse has not approved the order within 7-day deadline.
• Waiting for spouse’s approval
• Spouse has rejected order
• Pending: The order has transferred to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency to wait processing.
• Being processed: The order is being processed by official.
• Dropped: Processing of matter has ended because you did not answer to our contact or supplement request in time.
• Expired: Processing of matter has ended due to spouse’s/spouses’ own request.
• Decision made: The order has been processed and certificate sent to self-service.
• Negative decision: It has not been possible to process marriage no-impediment examination e.g. because marital status cannot be confirmed.

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 serviceAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan (dvv.fi).

The electronic certificates from the Population Information System that you have ordered can be found on the My certificates tab of this service for 24 hours. You must identify yourself in the service to view your certificate order history. On My certificates tab, you can open electronic certificates and receipts and save them on your own computer after you have opened the documents. If you have access Suomi.fiAvautuu uuteen ikkunaanMessages, you can also find the certificates in Suomi.fiAvautuu uuteen ikkunaanMessages. If more than 24 hours have passed from your order, send a message to todistus.palaute@dvv.fiAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan. If you have ordered a certificate for use outside Finland or requested a delivery by post, we will only send you a paper certificate. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will process your order within two to five working days. After this, the certificate will be sent to the delivery address given in the order as a priority letter (to addresses outside Finland) or an economy letter (to addresses in Finland).

You must identify yourself in the service to view your certificate order history. On My certificates tab, you can open certificates and receipts and save them on your own computer after you have opened the documents.

You can find the certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage on the My certificates tab of this service for four months.

The certificates are delivered to Suomi.fi MessagesAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan if you have activated Suomi.fi Messages before ordering the certificate and you are ordering an electronic certificate. If you have access to Suomi.fi Messages and the electronic certificate was not delivered there, send a message to todistus.palaute@dvv.fiAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan. The electronic certificates that you have ordered can also be found 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.

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.Avautuu uuteen ikkunaan You can only order standard certificates and certificates of the examination of impediments to marriage from the service. 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 service main page (Ordering a certificate tab). If you think that your personal details are incorrect, go to the Check your own personal details page of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency for instructions.Avautuu uuteen ikkunaan

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 pageAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan.

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. Call 0295 536 230 to request the verification. The phone service is open Mon–Fri 9–15. Certificates of the examination of impediments to marriage are not signed with a digital signature.

If you cannot order a certificate in this service, go to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's Order a certificate from the Population Information SystemAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan page take a look at

• other ways to order certificates
• other certificates from the Population Information System.

For instructions on other ways to request an examination of impediments to marriage, go to the examination of impediments to marriageAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan page of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

The certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage is valid for four months.

If the wedding ceremony takes place in the premises of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, you do not need to bring the certificate to the ceremony. If the wedding ceremony does not take place in the premises of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, the certificate must be presented to the officiator before the ceremony.

According to our data, you do not have a place of residence in Finland. For this reason, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) is not competent to investigate your surname matter. In other words, your surname will remain unchanged after the marriage ceremony, and you will not be able to change your surname in connection with the marriage ceremony.

If you are a Finnish citizen, DVV can process your surname matter, unless you live in Sweden, Norway or Denmark.

What does this mean in practice?

After the marriage ceremony, the Population Information System will show the surname that was on your passport before the ceremony. On the marriage certificate, DVV will write the surname you declare and a notice that the surnames in question are solely based on the spouses’ own declaration.

How do you get the surname you want?

Your surname can be decided

• by an authority of your country of citizenship if you are not a Finnish citizen
• by an authority of your country of residence if you are a Finnish citizen.

Please, ask them to decide on the matter. If your surname changes by their decision, DVV can register your changed surname in the Population Information System based on your new passport. This is free of charge and the change is made according to the date of issue of the passport. You find more information on our website https://dvv.fi/en/registration-of-a-namechange-performed-abroad1

The service uses the personal identity code to retrieve information on a user that has logged in with Finnish identification tokens. The information is used to check the order and to automatically complete the data fields. After you have paid the electronic certificate order, your personal identity code and the optional information you have selected are relayed to the Population Information System, which generates the ordered certificate. If you have ordered a certificate for use outside Finland or requested a delivery by post, your details are relayed to an official. The official will forward the details to the Population Information System, which generates the ordered certificate. The personal identity code of a person that has logged in using a foreign identification token is not forwarded and no basic data on this person can be retrieved. The order is referred to an official for processing. When you are ordering a certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage, your details are relayed to the case management system of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency where an official carries out an examination using the information you have sent as a basis.

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.

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 MessagesAvautuu uuteen ikkunaan 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.