Graphical version

suomeksi |på svenska

Siirry sisältöön Search page Site Map

Main page > Register of Associations

Register of Associations

Register of Associations

It is the responsibility of the Association Affairs Unit of the National Board of Patents and Registration to maintain the Register of Associations and process the basic declarations and amendment and dissolution notices filed by associations, and to conduct preliminary examinations on the bylaws of the associations and the amendments made to them.

The Register of Associations serves its clients by giving them legal advice regarding the Associations Act, the practice followed in applying the Act and the bylaws of the associations, and by providing excerpts from and certificates concerning lists, documents and the Register. It also gives guidance and advice on the use of electronic information services.

The Register of Associations contains some 133,000 associations.

Notices to the Register of Associations

The basic notice or the notice for registration of an association must be filed in writing on basic notice forms.

The notice must be accompanied by the bylaws and charter of foundation of the association. The notice must state the full name, address, home municipality and personal identity code of the chairperson and any person authorized to sign for the association, and restrictions, if any, in respect of the right to sign for the association. The registering authority must check that the name proposed for the association clearly differs from the names of associations already entered in the register and that it is not misleading. Nor may there be an obstacle arising from Chapter 1 of the Associations Act, i.e. the associations must belong to the sphere of application of the Act. The association may not be a prohibited association referred to in the Act, nor may its purpose and area of activities be primarily financial.

The bylaws of an association must state at least the following details:

• the name of the association
• the Finnish municipality where the association is based
  
• the obligation of a member to pay membership fees and other fees to the association
• the number, or minimum and maximum number, of members of the Board of Directors and auditors and their term of office
• the accounting period of the association
• the time of electing the Board of Directors and auditors, adopting the financial statements and deciding on the formal approval of actions
• how and within which period the meeting of the association has to be convened
• how the association´s assets are to be used if the association is dissolved or abolished.

An amendment notice has to be filed when the association amends its bylaws or the persons authorized to sign for the association are changed. An amendment notice must be accompanied by the amended bylaws. Amendments will come into force once they have been registered in the Register of Associations.

A notice of dissolution must be filed when an association has decided to dissolve itself. The notice must state the names of the persons that have acted as liquidators and the fact that liquidation assignment has been completed.

Preliminary checks

The Register of Associations carries out preliminary checks concerning bylaws and amendments to bylaws of associations. A request for carrying out of a preliminary check is free in form and must be accompanied by two copies of the bylaws.

Basic, amendment and dissolutions notices can be submitted directly to the Register of Associations or filed with the local authority of the domicile of the association. The local authority will deliver the notice to the Register of Associations.

Would you like to make your association more accessible on the web?

Current processing situation at the Register of Associations

At the moment (30.01.2012) we process:
Establishment notices received in week 51/2011
Rule amendment notices received in week 27/2011
Notices of changes in signatory rights received in week 04/2012