Changes in place of registered office

Private traders

General partnerships and limited partnerships

Limited liability companies

New addresses because of merging of municipalities

Private traders

If your business address changes, you should inform the Trade Register without delay.

The place of your registered office determines which court will deal with your matters. It must be a municipality in Finland; it cannot be any administrative unit smaller or bigger than a municipality. Private traders’ place of registered office is deemed to be the municipality from which they actually manage their activities.

Please note: Your place of registered office is not changed by the Trade Register when you file a notice of removal with the post or any Local Register Office.

Form

• Form Y6
• The form must be signed by either the private trader or someone he or she authorises. If an authorised person signs the notification, the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney must be enclosed.

Enclosures

• Receipt for handling fee

Handling fee

• 85 euros (must be paid in advance; please see our payment instructions)

General partnerships and limited partnerships

As far as general partnerships and limited partnerships are concerned, the Trade Register requires that the partnership agreement must state the municipality from which the activities are managed. Consequently, a change in the municipality is deemed to be a change to the partnership agreement, and the Trade Register must be notified. Click here for information on how to notify the Trade Register of changes to partnership agreements. Please note that a decision to amend a partnership agreement is valid only if the partners are unanimous in their decision.

The place of registered office must be a municipality in Finland; it cannot be any administrative unit smaller or bigger than a municipality. The place of registered office is deemed to be the municipality from which the partnership actually manages its activities.

Form

• Form Y5
• The form must be signed by a general partner, or by a person he or she authorises. If an authorised person signs the notification, the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney must be enclosed.

Enclosures

• Original agreement amending the partnership agreement
• Receipt for handling fee

Handling fee

• 175 euros (must be paid in advance; please see our payment instructions)

Limited liability companies

The Articles of Association of a limited liability company must state the company’s place of registered office, which must be a municipality in Finland. It can never be any administrative unit smaller or bigger than a municipality. The place of registered office determines where the company’s general meetings must convene. It also determines the competent law court. The place of registered office does not have to be linked with the company’s activities; neither does the company’s address need to be in the same municipality as their registered office – although it normally is.

To be able to amend the Articles of Association, the general meeting must adopt a decision by qualified majority voting.

Forms

• Form Y4 and appendix form 13. Form Y4 is bilingual and can be filled in either in English or in Finnish, whereas appendix form 13 can only be written in Finnish or in Swedish.
• Form Y4 must be signed by a Board member, the Managing Director, or a person authorised by either a Board member or the Managing Director. If an authorised person signs the notification, the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney must be enclosed.

Enclosures

• Certified copy of general meeting minutes
• Receipt for handling fee

Handling fee

• 380 euros (must be paid in advance; please see our payment instructions)

Time limits

• There are no exact deadlines, but you should submit the decision concerning any change to the Articles of Association for registration without delay.

New addresses because of merging of municipalities

If a municipality ceases to exist because it has been merged with another municipality, we change the business’s place of registered office in the Trade Register automatically free of charge. The matter is regulated by chapter 7 section 34 of the Act on Local Authority Boundaries (No. 1698/2009).

Once the change has been updated, the new place of registered office is available from both the Trade Register information on the business concerned, and from the Business Information System (BIS), which we jointly maintain with the Tax Administration.

However, the new place of registered office is not automatically updated in the business’s organisation rules. When you amend your Articles of Association or partnership agreement, it is good to update any change in the place of registered office at the same time, if there has been a merging of municipalities.

The name of a municipality that no longer exists may continue to be part of the business’s name.