General information on how to file a notification
Notifications to the Trade Register are filed either in Finnish or in Swedish by using forms jointly created by the National Board of Patents and Registration (NBPR) and the Tax Administration. Businesses can report their details on a single form to the following registers of those two authorities:
- The Trade Register
- The Prepayment Register
- The Employer Register
- The VAT Register
- The Client Register of the Tax Administration
Forms
Fill in one copy of the form.
Please note: The form contains several pages. Fill in only the details that have changed.
Filing
Sign the forms and send them to the Trade Register. Please note that you have to send the original copies of the forms.
The mailing address is:
NBPR-Tax Administration
Business Information System
P.O. Box 2000
FI-00231 Helsinki
You can also submit your notification in person to the NBPR Client Service; the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres); the Tax Offices; or the Local Register Offices (‘maistraatti’ in Finnish).
Please note: You can submit your change of address online through the BIS Service. The notification is free of charge. Go to the BIS Service (the service is only available in Finnish and in Swedish).
Handling fees
All notifications submitted to the Trade Register are subject to a fee, except for changes of address or contact details, or termination of business. Please note that a notification of a change in the place of registered office or in the municipality where a company is managed (domicile) is subject to a fee.
The fee must be paid in advance. Please ensure that the receipt is enclosed with the notification. You can also pay the fee at our Client Service, the ELY Centres, or the Local Register Offices when you bring your notification. Please note that the fees cannot be paid at the Tax Offices.
Signatures
The notification form must be signed by a person who is liable to file the notification, or by a person he or she has authorised (Section 14 of the Business Information Act). If an authorised person signs the notification, the original power of attorney or a certified copy of the power of attorney must be enclosed (read more below).
Limited liability companies:
The form is signed by a member of the Board of Directors, or, if changes are notified, by the Managing Director.
General partnerships or limited partnerships:
The form is signed by a general partner.
Branches:
The form is signed by the representative, or the person authorised to sign the company name of the branch.
Private traders:
The form is signed by the private trader.
If a private trader or a partner of a general partnership or the liable partner (general partner) of a limited partnership dies, the distributee of his or her death estate is also liable for submitting a notification. But a distributee who has not benefited from the estate and, besides taking part in the estate inventory, has not taken any other steps than those referred to in Chapter 18, Section 3 of the Code of Inheritance (40/1965; perintökaari), is not liable for submitting a notification.
Other types of business: See Section 14 of the Business Information Act (Yritys- ja yhteisötietolaki).
Enclosures
In most cases, you must submit evidence of the matter which the registration is based on together with the notification. However, this does not apply to private traders. When your business circumstances change, you must submit the decision by the organ that made the change, e.g. the minutes of the general meeting when a board of directors has been appointed, or the minutes of the board of directors meeting when a managing director has been appointed.
One copy of the enclosures must be submitted, and they can be copies certified by one person. We also accept extracts from the minutes if they are certified by at least one person (read more below).
The following documents must normally be original documents:
- The notification form (always the original, i.e. the signatures on it must be original)
- The power of attorney (Please note: always the original general power of attorney but a certified copy of a special power of attorney)
The following documents must also be original:
- General partnerships and limited partnerships:
-The Partnership Agreement and the amendments to the agreement
-The agreement to change the partnership into a limited liability company - Limited liability companies:
-The Memorandum of Association
-The draft terms of demerger
-The draft terms of merger in a combination merger
Read more about the enclosures in the detailed instructions for each company type.
Extracts from the minutes as accompanying documents
The Trade Register is a public register, and the notifications, together with accompanying documents, submitted to the Trade Register are public documents.
We often require you to submit evidence of the company’s decision which the notification is based on. The evidence may for example consist of a certified copy of the minutes of the General Meeting or the Board of Directors meeting.
If the General Meeting has made other decisions, it is sufficient to submit a certified extract from the minutes showing the relevant decision. In other words, you do not have to send evidence of decisions about matters with no relation to the register.
Register extracts
As soon as the notification has been registered, we will send the company or the contact person an up-to-date register extract containing all valid company details. If amendments have been made to the Articles of Association, rules, or the Partnership Agreement, a copy of these updated documents will also be sent to the client together with the register extract.
Keep the register extract – it helps you to keep track of your registered details and it will help you remember to submit a notification when your circumstances change.