How guardians grant mandates for managing the affairs of a child

Guardians of a minor can grant mandates independently in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations if

all guardians have a Finnish personal identity code
all guardians indicated in the Population Information System are able to use electronic services, and they have online banking codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.

If all guardians of an underage child do not have a Finnish personal identity code or token, the mandates can be registered on the basis of an application. Go to authorisation with an application.

One of the guardians starts creating a mandate – this can be any one guardian. If the child only has one guardian, the guardian can grant the mandate alone.

Once one of the guardians has begun the creation of a mandate, all guardians of the minor, as per the population register, must confirm the mandate, including the secondary and substitute guardians.

Can't a guardian automatically act on behalf of a child?

If you are a guardian of a minor, you do not normally need a separate Suomi.fi e-Authorization to use e-services when acting on behalf of the child. However, there are situations in which a guardian too needs a mandate.

When you start granting a mandate, do the following

At first

Use online banking codes, mobile ID, a certificate card or the Finnish Authenticator application to identify in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations at suomi.fi/e-authorizationsOpens in a new window..

Log into Suomi.fi e-Authorizations at suomi.fi/e-authorizations by clicking the Identification button.

Select “Act on behalf of another person” as the service role.

Select Act on behalf of another person as your role.

Select the minor dependent whose matters the new mandate concerns.

Select the person you want to act on behalf of. For example, if you have several children, their names will all appear here.

Click the Go to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations button.

Click the Grant or request mandates button. Select Grant mandates.

Press the Grant or request mandates button and select Grant mandates.

Step 1: Select the parties to the mandate

On the Parties page, you can see the details of the child and select who you grant the mandate to.

If you grant a mandate to a person who has a Finnish personal identity code, you will need their last name, first name or preferred first name and personal identity code.
If you grant a mandate to a company or organisation registered in Finland, you will need its name or business ID.

The assignee may not be a minor.

Step 2: Select the mandate theme

Read about the mandate themesOpens in a new window. before granting the mandate.

On the mandate theme page, search for the mandate theme

with search terms for the name or description (e.g. pharmacy services or health service)
with the name or web address of the e-service or organisation (e.g. Kela, My Kanta or kanta.fi).

You can expand the search by using more than one search term when adding them one by one. The list shows all mandate themes that include any of the search terms.

You can select more than one mandate theme. To continue, you must select at least one mandate theme.

If the mandate theme you have selected includes a specifier that restricts the competence of the mandate, you can restrict the mandate to a particular property, organisational department or agreement, if necessary. You should only use the specifier after you have received more detailed instructions on the e-service in which the mandate is intended to be used. Specifiers are not compulsory, and you may also grant a mandate without a specifier.

Further information about specifiers

Step 3: Define the period of validity of the mandate

On the Validity page, enter the start and end dates for the validity of the mandate.

Step 4: Validate the mandate on your part

Finally, on the Summary and validation page, you must check the details of the mandate and confirm it.

You will receive a notification if the validity period of the mandates to be granted overlaps with previously granted mandates, or you cannot grant the mandate to the person you have selected. You can delete the overlapping mandates or postpone their start dates. The mandates that you cannot grant to the person you have selected will be deleted automatically.

Check mandate details:

You are the assignor.
The assignee is a person, company or organisation that can act on behalf of a minor.
The mandate themes you have selected and the period of validity of the mandate are correct.

If you wish to change the details before the mandate is validated, you can go back over these steps.

Once you have verified the information, press the Confirm mandate button.

Once you conform the mandate, the child’s other guardians will receive a request to confirm the mandate in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. Mandates are valid only after all guardians have validated them individually.

Inform the other guardians of the mandates that need to be validated, as they will only receive a notification if they have activated Suomi.fi Messages.

Validating a mandate created by another guardian

Identify in Suomi.fi e-AuthorizationsOpens in a new window..
Click the Go to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations button.
Select “Act on behalf of another person” as the service role.
Select the minor dependent whose matters the new mandate concerns.
You will find the mandates awaiting validation on the “Awaiting your validation” page.
Validate the mandate.

On the Awaiting others' validation page, you can see the mandates that you have already validated that are still waiting to be validated by other guardians.

Mandates that have not been validated will be displayed in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations for six months, after which they will be removed.

Updated: 3/2/2026