Published 13/4/2026
Official mail is becoming primarily digital. As of 14 April 2026, when you identify yourself in an authority’s e-service, you will be directed to activate Suomi.fi Messages. From then on, that is where you will receive mail from several public authorities. Suomi.fi Messages will replace official paper mail: you will not receive letters about the same matter later.
Suomi.fi Messages will be activated upon identification in the authorities’ e-services. The activation will require action from you and will not happen without you noticing. More than 2.6 million people already receive official mail in Suomi.fi Messages. In the future, the number of users is expected to rise significantly, as over four million people already handle their affairs with the authorities electronically.
– Suomi.fi Messages will be activated for you if you are an adult, use the authorities’ e-services and have not yet activated the service. You’ll be directed to activate Suomi.fi Messages when you use strong identification in a public administration e-service with online banking codes, a mobile certificate or the electronic certificate on an ID card, says Project Manager Annette Hotari from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
In connection with the activation, you will need to enter your email address and verify it. This way, you will receive email notifications of new messages. After entering your email address, you can continue to identify normally and move to the e-service you were about to use.
If you do not use the e-services of public administration, the change will not affect you, and you will continue to receive paper mail from authorities.
The change also does not apply to minors, persons under guardianship or persons with a valid continuing power of attorney.
Hotari says that you can still receive official mail in paper form even if you handle your affairs with the authorities digitally.
– You can change the delivery method back to paper mail once you have activated Suomi.fi Messages. This can be done in the Suomi.fi Messages settings.
The choice to receive paper mail remains valid for at least one year. The next time you to identify yourself in an authority’s e-service after a year has passed, you will be directed to activate Suomi.fi Messages again. If you do not identify yourself in any service, you will continue to receive official mail in paper form even after the one-year deadline.
If you wish, you can also authorize another person to read messages sent to you in Suomi.fi Messages. In this case, create an electronic authorization at suomi.fi/valtuudet. Another person’s means of identification must never be used when acting on someone else’s behalf.
Hotari points out that the Suomi.fi mobile application is the easiest way to read official mail.
– You can read messages sent by the authorities directly from the Suomi.fi application. The app also notifies you when a new message arrives. This way, the messages are easily accessible wherever you are.
It is important to always read new messages either in the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in at suomi.fi/messages.
– Never read a message through email or text message links. Suomi.fi Messages does not send text or WhatsApp messages to recipients. An email notification of the new message is sent, but it never contains a link for security reasons, Hotari says.
If necessary, you can also get help from the Suomi.fi service counselling (tel. +358 295 000).
If you are using the Suomi.fi mobile application, please remember that
Suomi.fi Messages is a secure electronic mailbox that replaces official paper mail. The service is used by several authorities, and its use is constantly increasing. Incoming messages can be read using the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in to the Suomi.fi Web Service at suomi.fiOpens in a new window.. This way, you can read incoming mail wherever you are.
You can activate Suomi.fi Messages by downloading the Suomi.fi mobile application or by logging in at suomi.fi/messagesOpens in a new window.. You can identify yourself with online banking codes, a mobile certificate or the electronic certificate on an ID card. When you activate Suomi.fi Messages, you will receive mail from several different authorities electronically as well.
Notifications of new messages are sent to the email address that you provide to the service. Users of the Suomi.fi mobile application will also receive notifications directly through the app.
In March 2026, there were already 2.6 million users of Suomi.fi Messages.
More information on Suomi.fi Messages: suomi.fi/en/messagesOpens in a new window.