The business register in Finland is the Kaupparekisteri / Handelsregistret (Trade Register), kept by the Patentti- ja rekisterihallitus — PRH (Finnish Patent and Registration Office). It works together with the tax administration through the joint Yritys- ja yhteisötietojärjestelmä — YTJ (Business Information System) at ytj.fi, where a single start-up notification serves both the Trade Register and the tax registers and produces the Y-tunnus (Business ID). The register is public, and the electronic trade register extract is now free of charge.

The company registry in Finland

The register is governed by the kaupparekisterilaki (Trade Register Act) of 2023, which entered into force on 1 June 2023 and has been amended since. The Act names PRH as the registrar and, in a change from the previous law, makes registration of a private trader conditional: a natural person carrying on a trade must register only if obliged to prepare financial statements under the Accounting Act or if resident outside the European Economic Area. Others may register voluntarily and are then treated as notification-obliged parties. PRH also keeps the yhdistysrekisteri (Register of Associations) and the säätiörekisteri (Register of Foundations).

Obligations introduced by the reform

Three changes matter in practice. From 1 January 2026 all notifications and applications must be filed electronically, with private traders, associations and foundations exempt; PRH does not accept documents by e-mail. Since 2025 a late fee applies where financial statements are not filed within eight months of the end of the financial year, and a negligence fee may be imposed where register deficiencies — a missing address, board, beneficial owners or identity code — are not corrected. From 2027, limited companies, cooperatives, European companies and European cooperative societies and foreign traders with a Finnish branch must annually confirm that their register and business information details are up to date; other parties, including private traders and partnerships, have the right but not the obligation to confirm. Enforcement is active: PRH removes inactive companies and cooperatives from the register under its statutory powers.

Legal forms that can be registered in Finland

  • Yksityinen elinkeinonharjoittaja, toiminimi / enskild näringsidkare (Private trader) — a natural person with unlimited personal liability; registration is mandatory only in the cases described above.
  • Avoin yhtiö / öppet bolag (General partnership) — all partners are personally, jointly and severally liable for the partnership’s obligations.
  • Kommandiittiyhtiö / kommanditbolag (Limited partnership) — the general partners are personally liable while the silent partner is liable only to the amount of the contribution.
  • Osakeyhtiö — Oy / aktiebolag — Ab (Private limited company) — a separate legal person whose shareholders are not personally liable for its obligations, under the osakeyhtiölaki (Limited Liability Companies Act). The minimum share capital requirement was abolished in 2019, which makes this the default Finnish form.
  • Julkinen osakeyhtiö — Oyj / publikt aktiebolag — Abp (Public limited company) — may have its securities traded on a regulated market; minimum share capital EUR 80,000.
  • Osuuskunta / andelslag (Cooperative) — members are not personally liable unless the rules provide otherwise.
  • Eurooppayhtiö — SE (European Company) and eurooppaosuuskunta — SCE (European Cooperative Society) — the EU-law forms, treated in the same way as their national counterparts.
  • Eurooppalainen taloudellinen etuyhtymä (European Economic Interest Grouping) and its branch — members bear unlimited joint liability.
  • Sivuliike ulkomaisesta elinkeinonharjoittajasta / filial (Branch of a foreign trader) — no separate legal personality; the foreign trader remains liable.
  • Asunto-osakeyhtiö (Housing company) and keskinäinen kiinteistöosakeyhtiö (mutual real estate company) — entered in the same Trade Register rather than in a separate register.
  • Osuuspankki, säästöpankki, hypoteekkiyhdistys and the insurance forms — regulated banking and insurance entities, including mutual insurance companies and insurance associations.
  • Asumisoikeusyhdistys (Right-of-occupancy association) and valtion liikelaitos (state enterprise) — further statutory forms on PRH’s list.
  • Aatteellinen yhdistys and säätiö (Non-profit association and foundation) — primarily in the Register of Associations and the Register of Foundations, but they must also be entered in the Trade Register if they have a permanent place of business or at least one employee for business activity.

Information available from the Finnish business register

The Trade Register Act provides that everyone may obtain information, extracts and certificates from the register entries and from the documents held by PRH, including filed notifications and their enclosures. In practice access is split across two services.

Free on the Business Information System are the Business ID, the registers the entity belongs to, the company name, parallel and auxiliary names, the company form, the domicile, the main line of business, the language, the address and contact details, the status where the entity is in bankruptcy, liquidation or restructuring, tax-debt entries, the legal entity identifier and the European unique identifier. Free through PRH’s own information service are the basic details and the electronic trade register extract, including history extracts, which no longer carries a charge.

Chargeable items are the articles of association or partnership agreement and cooperative rules, the financial statements, translated extracts, certificates and electronic copies of the documents filed with notifications.

What is restricted

Finland is explicit on this point: unlike other details entered in the Trade Register, beneficial owner details are not public. The Act permits disclosure only to an identified recipient who has a basis under the Anti-Money Laundering Act or to an authority for a statutory task; what is public is only the fact that a beneficial ownership notification has been registered. Company representatives and the beneficial owners themselves can obtain free extracts through PRH’s beneficial owner information service.

Personal data are protected as well. The register records a person’s full name, personal identity code, nationality and municipality of residence, with the home address recorded only for persons resident abroad; the identifying part of the personal identity code and the home address of a person resident abroad are disclosed only where the recipient has a data protection basis and demonstrates adequate safeguards. Contact details of agents and contact persons in filings made from 2025 onwards are not public.

Documents that can be obtained from the register

  • Kaupparekisteriote / handelsregisterutdrag (Trade register extract) — the current registered details: name, Business ID, domicile, line of business, representatives, share capital, board, managing director and auditor, and the status of the beneficial ownership filing. A history extract can be produced for a chosen date or period. The electronic extract is free of charge; translated English extracts are chargeable.
  • Yhtiöjärjestys / bolagsordning (Articles of association) — also partnership agreements and cooperative rules, available through PRH’s information service.
  • Tilinpäätös / bokslut (Financial statements) — filed with PRH and obtainable from the same service; the filing deadline is enforced by a late fee.
  • Todistukset (Certificates) — certificates issued from the register, ordered through PRH’s information service. Finland has no document called a certificate of good standing; the trade register extract or a certificate performs that function for banks, tenders and notarisation.
  • Edunsaajarekisteriote (Beneficial owner extract) — restricted as described above; free for a company’s own representatives and for the beneficial owner concerned, and otherwise available only for anti-money-laundering purposes.
  • Jäljennökset ilmoitusasiakirjoista (Copies of filed notification documents) — electronic copies of the notifications and their enclosures, available on order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the business register in Finland called?

The Kaupparekisteri (Trade Register), kept by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and served jointly with the tax administration through the Business Information System.

Do sole traders have to register?

Only conditionally. A private trader must register if obliged to prepare financial statements under the Accounting Act or if resident outside the European Economic Area; others may register voluntarily.

Is there a minimum share capital for a Finnish limited company?

No. The minimum share capital requirement for the private limited company was abolished in 2019. A public limited company requires EUR 80,000.

Is the Finnish trade register extract free?

Yes. The electronic trade register extract, including history extracts, is available free of charge through PRH’s information service; translated extracts, articles of association and financial statements are chargeable.

Are beneficial owners public in Finland?

No. Beneficial owner details are expressly not public. Disclosure is limited to identified recipients with a basis under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and to authorities; only the fact that a notification has been registered is public.

What is a Business ID?

The Y-tunnus (Business ID) is the identifier assigned through the Business Information System when an entity is entered in the Trade Register or the tax registers, and it is the key used to look the entity up.

Sources

Keywords

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