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Death certificates

A death certificate is a document indicating the deceased's causes of death and the circumstances leading to death.

General about death certificates

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. More information is available below under Who can obtain information about the cause of death of the deceased?

Relatives usually need the deceased's death certificate only to attend to possible insurance matters. Other matters can usually be handled with an extract from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. This extract is not an actual death certificate, it just certifies that the person is deceased.

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.

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. For example, this certificate can be used to terminate the deceased's tenancy or close the deceased's social media account or telephone subscription.

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.

Useful information on what to do at the death of a close relative can be found in the Guide on death of a close family member (suomi.fi).

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.

Less than a year from the death of the deceased

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.

If the cause of death is examined by means of a forensic autopsy, the death certificate is issued by the police on request.

Instructions for close family members of a deceased undergoing a forensic autopsy can be found on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (in Finnish, thl.fi).

Old death certificates

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.

Deaths after 1965

Death certificates from 1966 onwards are in Statistics Finland's death certificate archives. The latest death certificates come to our archives at a delay of several months.

If you need a death certificate from us, read the detailed instructions on how to request one here [link to a new page on applying for a death certificate].

Deaths in 1936 to 1965

Death certificates from 1936 to 1965 are located at the National Archives of Finland.

Deaths before 1936

Death certificates have been written in Finland since 1936. Prior to this, the determination of the cause of death belonged to parishes and the deceased's cause of death was included in church records.

In some large towns, death certificates may have been written since the late 19th century. They can usually be found in the town archives.

The scope and timeline of archiving vary much by town. Rural municipalities do not have death certificates older than from 1936, in which case all information can be found in church records.

If you need information on the cause of death of a deceased who died before 1936, you should start your inquiries with the help of a parish of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (in Finnish, evl.fi).

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.

Contact information

Further information from Statistics Finland's death certificate archives:

Ulla Arkkio  
Telephone: +358 29 551 3757  
Email: kuolemansyyt@stat.fi

Further information about research use of death certificate data:

Statistics Finland's Research Services  

Email: tutkijapalvelut@stat.fi