Archive of death certificates

Death certificates from 1966 onwards are in Statistics Finland's death certificate archives. The copy of the death certificate can be released to the dead person's close relatives, pension institutions and official use.

The latest death certificates come to our archives at a delay of several months. If less than a year from the death, make a request for a death certificate to the health care establishment that issued the burial permit and death certificate for the deceased. The certificates are drawn up by both public and private physicians.

Requesting a death certificate from Statistics Finland's archives

General about death certificates

A death certificate is a document indicating the deceased's causes of death and the circumstances leading to death. The death certificate is issued by the physician who was treating the deceased during their last illness or by the physician who determined the cause of death. It is written only when all examinations relating to the cause of death have been completed.

The data in the death certificate are confidential. Copies or individual data in the death certificate can, however, be obtained if the right to do so is defined by law.

Relatives usually need the deceased's death certificate only to attend to possible insurance matters.

Attending to the deceased's affairs

You do not usually need a death certificate to attend to the deceased's affairs. You primarily need a report on the deceased person's family relationships, which is ordered from the parish and/or the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

How to order a report on family relationships (dvv.fi)

Before a report on family relationships is completed, you can often attend to some matters with an extract from the Population Information System that certifies that the person has died (dvv.fi). For example, this certificate can be used to terminate the deceased's tenancy or close the deceased's social media account or telephone subscription. This extract is not an actual death certificate, it just certifies that the person is deceased.

In addition to the documents mentioned above, you may need a death certificate for insurance purposes or for foreign authorities. The death certificate contains more detailed information on the deceased's cause of death.

Who can obtain information about the cause of death of the deceased?

The data in the death certificate with detailed information on the deceased's death are confidential. Copies or individual data in the death certificate can, however, be obtained for purposes defined in the Act on Determining the Cause of Death.

Close family member

By law, confidential data in the death certificate can be released to the deceased’s close family members or other persons close to the deceased. A close person similar to a close family member can be such as a cohabiting partner.

Close family members to the deceased usually include

A relative in the direct ascending line (e.g. the deceased's parent)
A married spouse
A relative in the direct descending line (e.g. the deceased's child)
The guardian of an underage child
A sibling (brother, sister).

If the deceased does not have any living close family members mentioned above, the right to a death certificate does not automatically pass on to other relatives.

Those entitled to receive information

In addition to close family members, data in a death certificate can be obtained by the following:

An insurance or pension institution (in connection with an application for benefits)

Authorities
A court of justice
Another corporation with the right to access information laid down in law.
If such an actor needs the data in the death certificate, the request must come from the actor in question.

Data may also be available for scientific research. More information about research use of Finnish cause of death data is available on the Research Services' website.

When and where do you obtain a death certificate?

The death certificate is written only when all examinations relating to the establishment of the cause of death have been completed. This can take several months.

The death certificate is issued to the deceased's close family members either automatically or upon request by the health care establishment in which the burial permit and death certificate were written.

Death certificates are stored in different locations depending on when the deceased died.

If you need a death certificate of a person who died more than a year ago, it can be found in the archive services. Archives are kept by various agencies. The agency responsible for archiving is determined according to the year of death.

Where can you find information about a person's time of death?

If you need information on whether the person is deceased or alive, please contact the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's address service. The same service provides information on when a person's death occurred.

Information is given only when there is an acceptable reason for the request. The service is chargeable.

You can find the opening hours of the address service, contact information and the price of the service on the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's customer service page under Address service.

Legislation related to death certificates

Death certificates involve legislation:

The Act on Determining Cause of Death defines to whom cause of death data may be disclosed.
The Act on the Openness of Government Activities stipulates, for example, the secrecy period of cause of death data.

The Act on Determining Cause of Death (finlex.fi, in Finnish)The Act on the Openness of Government Activities (finlex.fi, in Finnish)

Contact information

Further information from Statistics Finland's death certificate archives

Service email

kuolemansyyt@stat.fi