130 municipalities seek exemptions from Suomi.fi digital messages

At least 130 Finnish municipalities have applied to opt out of using some Suomi.fi messages, Yle reports. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency says more than 40 percent of Finland’s just over 300 municipalities have sought an exemption for at least one function or system.

Municipalities cite financial and technical reasons. Many exemptions concern systems that are due to be replaced, making it impractical to build a Suomi.fi connection for them, according to Joonas Kankaanrinne, a director at the agency.

“It is neither financially nor technically worthwhile to build a Suomi.fi messaging connection for a system at the end of its service life when municipal budgets are already tight,” Kankaanrinne said.

About half of the municipalities seeking exemptions have fewer than 20,000 residents. These municipalities also send relatively few messages.

Some exemptions concern recruitment systems that do not process personal identity codes. As a result, for example, a message informing an applicant that they have not been invited to an interview cannot be sent through Suomi.fi messages, Kankaanrinne said.

Punkalaidun will not use the service for now

Punkalaidun, a municipality in Pirkanmaa, decided last week to apply for an exemption from the obligation to use Suomi.fi messages.

The municipality cited technical and operational reasons, as well as cost efficiency, according to Kaija Seppä, an office manager. The changes required to its systems would be expensive compared with the number of official notifications Punkalaidun would send through Suomi.fi, she said.

Punkalaidun does not currently plan to use Suomi.fi messages for any matters. Its application covers systems used for decisions and notifications in areas including technical services, early childhood education and teaching.

Digital messages become the primary method

Suomi.fi messages are the authorities’ digital post service. Digital communication will become the primary method for official communications in 2026.

A person activates Suomi.fi messages by identifying themselves in an authority’s online service, such as MyTax. After that, official mail is delivered digitally through Suomi.fi messages. Users can stop the service in its settings.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency aims to speed up adoption by influencing companies that provide software to municipalities. The agency wants companies to support the service in future versions of their software.

Public administration organisations are required to adopt Suomi.fi services under the Act on Support Services for Digital Transactions. Municipalities can apply for exemptions on technical, operational, cost-efficiency or information-security grounds.

If a municipality continues using a parallel system, or introduces a new parallel solution without applying for an exemption, it does not meet the statutory requirements for notifying customers of decisions, Kankaanrinne said.