Applying for an access licence

Using Suomi.fi Messages requires an access licence. This guide explains when a licence is required and how to apply for one.

Please note that separate access licences are required for different Suomi.fi services. The instructions on this page apply only to the Suomi.fi Messages access licence.

This page contains instructions for two target groups:

organisations with a statutory obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages (section 3)
organisations with the right to use Suomi.fi Messages (section 4)

First determine which group your organisation belongs to and read the relevant sections. Both groups use the same application form in Service Management.

The guide includes the following sections, as well as more detailed instructions for completing the different parts of the application form at the bottom of the page:

How to apply for an access licence

1) Before filling in the application

2) Accessing the application form

3) Instructions for organisations with a statutory obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages

4) Instructions for organisations with the right to use Suomi.fi Messages

Applying for an access licence using the intermediary model in Service Management
Legal basis for the obligation and the right to use Suomi.fi Messages

How to apply for an access licence

1. Before filling in the application

Your organisation must be registered in Suomi.fi Service Management, and
the person submitting the application must have the rights to submit an access licence application for Suomi.fi Messages.

In the Service Management section of the Suomi.fi for Service Developers website, you will find instructions for:

2. Accessing the application form

Remember to follow the instructions on this page when completing the application in Service Management.

Once the access rights in Service Management are in place, you can start filling in the access licence application by navigating to the Suomi.fi Messages access licence application (Suomi.fi Service Management)Opens in a new window. and logging in with strong identification.

If you cannot access the application form directly:

A representative of your organisation can first log in to Suomi.fi Service Management Opens in a new window.and then start the application process by selecting “Apply for permit to use” under Messages on the front page and choosing to apply as a representative of their organisation.

This requires that your organisation has already started using the service, in which case the Suomi.fi Messages service card is visible on the Service Management front page after login.

3. Instructions for organisations with a statutory obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages

A new access licence is not required if your organisation already has a valid licence with a broad purpose, such as:

“E-government”
“E-service”

In this case, you can proceed directly to step 4 of the administrative deployment of Suomi.fi Messages: Complete and return the service information form.

A new licence is only required if your organisation has previously been granted a licence with a limited purpose, such as “Early childhood education services” or “Environmental services”.

You can check previously granted licences in Service Management Opens in a new window.by logging in to your organisation’s account with strong identification and selecting “Applications” from the main menu in the upper right corner.
Using Service Management requires that you are a registered user and have been added to your organisation’s Service Management account.

If your organisation does not have a licence with a broad purpose, apply for one in Service Management. In the application, under “Name of the e-service”, enter the generic designation:

“Sähköinen viranomaisasiointi” / “E‑förvaltning” / “E‑government”

This ensures that the licence covers all your organisation’s use cases for Suomi.fi Messages, and you will not need to apply for a new licence for each deployment.

If your organisation later deploys Suomi.fi Messages in a new system, a new licence is not required. In such cases, deployment is initiated directly via the service information form referred to in step 4 of the Administrative deployment instructions.

An access licence with a broad purpose granted to organisations with a statutory obligation is organisation-specific. Remember to inform internally within your organisation about the valid licence.

The generic designation "Sähköinen viranomaisasiointi" / "E‑förvaltning" / "E‑government" used in the licence will not be visible to end users of your service.
The actual name of your service, including language versions, must be submitted to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency using the service information form at the start of the deployment process (see Administrative deployment, section 4).

4. Instructions for organisations with the right to use Suomi.fi Messages

New access licence

Your organisation must apply for an access licence for each new deployment of Suomi.fi Messages.

Information to be provided in the application

Name of the e-service = the actual public name of the service, including language versions
Provide justification for the right to use the service: describe what public task the organisation performs and on what law or agreement the task is based

More detailed instructions for organisations with the right to use the service can be found at the bottom of the page under E-service details.

Applying for an access licence using the intermediary model in Service Management

An intermediary, such as an IT vendor or service provider, can complete the access licence application on behalf of the organisation. However, the organisation must approve the application before it can be processed.

In the intermediary model:

the intermediary enables the functionality in Service Management
completes the application on behalf of the organisation
submits the application to the organisation for approval before processing (note: the application must be approved by a person registered in Service Management with the required access rights)

Instructions:

Legal basis for the obligation and the right to use Suomi.fi Messages

According to The Act on Central Government’s Joint e-Service Support Services (571/2016, in Finnish)Opens in a new window., public sector organisations have either an obligation or the right to use Suomi.fi Messages.

Other public sector actors have the right to use Suomi.fi Messages when performing statutory duties.

Private sector organisations do not have the right to use the service, except in cases where they perform a public administrative task.

The access licence must always be approved before moving to production use. However, we recommend that you submit the service information form (step 4 of the administrative deployment process) before the licence is approved, so that you can begin building and testing your technical implementation in good time.

More detailed instructions for completing the different sections of the application form are provided at the bottom of this page.

In the second section, you are asked to provide your organisation’s contact persons and their contact details.

The administrative contact person is responsible for matters related to the deployment of Suomi.fi Messages and the terms of use.

The technical contact person is responsible for matters related to the technical implementation, maintenance, and handling of incident situations.

Providing a shared email address is very important to ensure that you receive information about incidents also in the event of personnel changes or longer absences.

All contact details provided in the form are added to an email distribution list, which is used, if necessary, to communicate changes, incidents, and other matters related to the service.

Organisations with a statutory obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages

At the top of this page, you can find information on when and with what details an organisation subject to the obligation must apply for a new access licence (see section 3. Instructions for organisations with a statutory obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages).

Organisations with access licence to Suomi.fi Messages

In the "E-service details" section, you enter the required information on your service to be integrated.

As key information, the page will ask you to name the service you are connecting to Suomi.fi Messages in three languages. You must also enter the same name later in the Service information form you will complete separately.

The name will be displayed to the end users, for example,

in the user interfaces of Suomi.fi Messages, in connection with the message you send
when the end user is selecting the recipient for a new message that they have created themselves
on the list Organisations and services using Suomi.fi MessagesOpens in a new window.

Name your service clearly and carefully so that the name describes the service to the end user as well as possible. This enables you to avoid failure demand.

For example, rather than naming your service “E-service” or “Case management system”, aim to give it a more descriptive name. Also, avoid using different names of systems and Suomi.fi Messages as part of the name.

Recommended service names include, for example:

Pension record
Insurance and pension service
Applicant service

In this section, it is also important to provide a sufficiently good description of what kind of messages you intend to send through Suomi.fi Messages so that the access licence can be granted.

In addition to the purpose you will use the messages for, the legal basis for applying the licence also contributes to granting it. The legal basis for Suomi.fi Messages is section 5 of the Act on the Joint Electronic Support Services in Public Administration (Finlex)Opens in a new window., under which the following bodies have the obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages:

central government authorities and agencies, as well as institutions and state enterprises
municipal authorities when performing duties they are prescribed by the law
courts and other judicial bodies.

As a rule, other public sector organisations also have the right to use Suomi.fi Messages. Private-sector organisations cannot use Suomi.fi Messages unless they carry out a public administrative task.

In this section, you must be able to indicate if your organisation falls within the scope of the Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019, Information Management Act)Opens in a new window..

The Information Management Act mainly applies to the authorities, the universities referred to in the Universities Act (588/2009) and the universities of applied sciences referred to in the Universities of Applied Sciences Act (932/2014).
The Act is also partly applied to private individuals or communities or public-law entities other than those acting as an authority to the extent that they carry out a public administrative task.

If necessary, verify matters related to the scope of application with experts within your organisation, such as your information security officer.

In addition, complete the other questions in this section and, if necessary, seek assistance from an expert who is familiar with the system being deployed and your organisation’s information security practices.

Organisations with a statutory obligation and disclosure of data to third parties

In the section “Data processing in the organisation” of the access licence application, you are asked whether you disclose data transmitted via the service to third parties. Your organisation may have different practices for different services.

If, at the time of completing the application, you know that data from a particular service is disclosed to a third party, select Yes and provide further details.

Logging requirements

In the Logging requirements section of the access licence application, the item “the following conditions must be met” refers to the log requirements applicable to your organisation. The system you use must record events in a log.

The section refers to logging concepts such as the person running the query, time, and object of a query. These are defined below in this context:

Query: sending an individual message or another API request (e.g. checking the status of a mailbox or verifying message delivery)
Time of the query: the point in time when the organisation’s system made the API request
Object of the query: for example, a message (or its metadata) or the end user’s mailbox to which the API request relates
The personal details of the person running the query: a representative of the organisation or a system that makes the API request to Suomi.fi Messages

Log data may also be stored for longer than five (5) years, after which it must be securely destroyed.

Read and accept the terms and conditions of Suomi.fi Messages. You can then submit the licence application. Any questions arising during the processing of the application will be addressed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency to the administrative contact person specified in the application.

If your organisation has not yet started the administrative deployment of Suomi.fi Messages, you should take action at the latest now. Submitting the access licence application alone does not initiate the deployment of Suomi.fi Messages. Read more about the steps of the administrative deployment.

For questions related to the access licence, you can contact: suomi.fi-kayttoluvat@dvv.fi

Updated: 1/6/2026

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