Frequently asked questions about Suomi.fi Messages
You can read more about the transition to primarily digital communication with authorities and about how to activate Suomi.fi Messages when you identify yourself in an authority’s e-service on the page What is Suomi.fi Messages.
On the page Using Suomi.fi Messages, you can find instructions on, for example, using the service safely and updating your email address.
No, you cannot make choices concerning individual authorities or types of messages in Suomi.fi Messages. All authorities that have joined Suomi.fi Messages can send messages to you through the service.
There are still organisations that do not use Suomi.fi Messages to send electronic messages. In addition, some organisations that use Suomi.fi Messages still send some of their messages electronically and others as paper mail.
Suomi.fi Messages have not been activated if you do not sign in to authorities’ e-services using your own identification tools, such as online banking credentials or a mobile certificate. When Suomi.fi Messages are activated, you are guided to complete the activation yourself. The service will not be activated without you noticing.
You can also easily check the situation by signing in at suomi.fi/messages. In the service, you can see whether Suomi.fi Messages are in use and activate them if needed. If Suomi.fi Messages are not in use, you will see the following info after authentication:
Yes, it is possible to use Suomi.fi Messages, for example, on behalf of your underage child, a person who has given you a mandate for guardianship, or another close person.
You can also authorise a trusted person to read the official messages you receive and to help you use Suomi.fi Messages.
Read more in the section Acting on behalf of another person and special situations.
Possible reasons for why you have not received a notification of a new message to your email:
- You may not have checked the content of all your email folders carefully enough.
- You may have accidentally deleted an email notification.
- The notification email may have ended up in your spam folder, which was emptied automatically. Depending on the email service provider, the messages are deleted after a certain time period. Suomi.fi Messages has been developed so that messages should not end up in the spam folder, but this cannot be guaranteed in all cases.
- The email service provider has rejected the message because of a fault or some other feature in the message.
- You have entered the wrong email address. You can go to your settings in Suomi.fi Messages to check whether your email address is up to date.
- You have entered an email address that contains special Nordic characters.
If your e-mail program allows, you can mark the notification sending address noreply@suomi.fi as a safe sender. This prevents notifications from being sent to the spam folder.
At the moment, Suomi.fi Messages notifications cannot be sent by text message.
- You may have received a notification of an unread message. The system will send you a reminder of an unread message if selected by the sending authority.
- A new message may have arrived for a person or company on whose behalf you are entitled to act. In this case, the email message will state that a message has arrived for another person or company.
Possible reasons for why you have not received a push notification of a new message on your phone:
- Sending push notifications is prohibited from the Suomi.fi mobile application on your device. You can block or allow push notifications in your device's settings.
- Your identification for the Suomi.fi mobile application has expired. To continue receiving push notifications, open the application and re-identify yourself.
- Your mobile device has put the Suomi.fi application into inactive mode. The application will be made active when you reopen it. You can prevent the application from going inactive in your device's settings.
- The push notification has been blocked due to an internal disruption in Suomi.fi Messages.
The Suomi.fi mobile application can be used with Android system version 11 or later. In the iOS operating system used on Apple phones, the application can be used with version 16 or later.
The operating system requirement is based on the fact that, for example, the Android operating system manufacturer will no longer release new security updates for older versions.
This operating system requirement helps ensure that the use of applications on a mobile device is as safe as possible.
If you have an old version of the operating system, you can still use Suomi.fi Messages via the Suomi.fi web service when you identify yourself at https://www.suomi.fi/frontpageOpens in a new window.. Access is possible from a browser on both your computer and mobile device.
If you want to continue using Suomi.fi Messages by using the Suomi.fi mobile application, please, make sure that your device is compatible with the new application, and you are not using an older operating system version.
On the help page Reading messages, you can find more information about solving the most common issues and requesting support.
If you cannot open the attachment, your device may not have the program needed to process the attachment. For example, mobile devices may require a separate application to open PDF files. You can download an application to open attachments from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. Alternatively, you can log in to Suomi.fi Messages on a computer in the Suomi.fi Web Service (suomi.fi/messagesOpens in a new window.) and try to open the attachment there.
If you use Suomi.fi Messages on a computer, please note that some browsers do not support all file formats used in Suomi.fi Messages. You can open the attachment by using another browser or a program designed to handle the file type.
Activity history related to the use of Suomi.fi Messages has been temporarily disabled. The functionality will be restored later once it has been improved to better meet users’ needs. You can still use the Activity history section to review other activities related to Suomi.fi services.
For information security reasons, Suomi.fi Messages does not intentionally send links when notifying you of new messages or reminding you of unread messages. However, some programs used to receive emails try to identify possible links in the text and turn them into functional links even if they were not intended as links. For this reason, when you receive a notification email of a new Suomi.fi Message, Suomi.fi text may turn into a link. We do not recommend opening these or any links.
If you receive a notification of a new Suomi.fi Message, check the Suomi.fi mobile application or go to suomi.fi/messages in your browser to read the message.
You can deactivate Suomi.fi Messages in the settings of your inbox. For more detailed instructions, see Stop using Suomi.fi Messages.
For example, if you no longer have an electronic identification token, contact Advisory service on Suomi.fi services to deactivate Suomi.fi Messages.
The Act on Common Administrative E-Service Support Services (Support Services Act 571/2016Opens in a new window.) contains provisions on the production and development of Suomi.fi Messages. Under the Support Services Act that the production and development of Suomi.fi Messages is the task of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The Support Services Act includes requirements concerning the processing of personal and other data as well as the quality and security of the service, which the Digital and Population Data Services Agency must take into account when producing and developing Suomi.fi Messages. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is responsible for ensuring that Suomi.fi Messages meets the requirements laid down in the Support Services Act and other legislation.
Functionalities of Suomi.fi Messages are based on legislation. Suomi.fi Messages is a messaging service referred to in the act on common administrative electronic support services for public services users (Support Services Act, 571/2016Opens in a new window.) that enables an authority or another party that performs a public task and a Suomi.fi Messages user to exchange electronic messages and send documents, whether electronically or by paper mail.
Under the Support Services Act, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency activates Suomi.fi Messages for the user in the manner provided by the Act, either as part of the use of Suomi.fi e-Identification or upon a separate request. In addition, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency maintains a register for the purpose of enabling electronic service of notices related to public authority activities. For additional information on the Suomi.fi Messages register and its content, see the Suomi.fi Messages privacy statement on the Privacy page of this website. Provision of general consent for the implementation of the electronic notification procedure means that the individual activates Suomi.fi Messages and starts receiving messages electronically. In certain cases, they will also be able to send messages via Suomi.fi Messages. On the basis of the Support Services Act and legislation on the notification procedure, a notification is sent to a user of Suomi.fi Messages when a new message arrives in the service.
Pursuant to the Support Services Act, an authority or other party that performs a public task shall utilise Suomi.fi Messages to support their service, another task they are responsible for, or a service it provides. Organisations that use the service are responsible for the content and delivery of their documents and communications on the basis of legislation that applies to them. Suomi.fi Messages is a secure data channel for the transmission of electronic messages and the delivery of documents.
Under the Support Services Act, other support services, such as Suomi.fi e-Identification, Suomi.fi e-Authorizations and the Suomi.fi Web Service, are used in the implementation of Suomi.fi Messages.
Under the act on common administrative electronic support services for public service users (Support Services Act, 571/2016Opens in a new window.), different public sector organisations are either obliged or entitled to use Suomi.fi Messages in electronic communications.
Bodies that have the obligation to use Suomi.fi Messages include
- 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.
Additionally, some other public sector organisations are entitled to use Suomi.fi Messages. Private sector organisations can only use Suomi.fi Messages when performing a public task (such as pension institutions).