Automated decision-making at the PRH
Automated decision-making means that the PRH processes a notification or an application by automated means without an officer in charge of the processing verifying and approving the decision.
Rules based on legislation or established decisional practice always form the basis for automated decision-making. The PRH has assessed in advance the factors enabling or preventing automated decision-making. If the conditions for automated decision-making are not met, the matter is handled by an officer in charge of the processing.
New legislation on automated decision-making entered into force in May 2023.
The new legislation requires us to disclose our automated decision-making procedures. For example, we have published a deployment decision in Finnish and Swedish with information about the new procedure and its conditions.
When is automated decision-making used at the PRH?
The PRH introduced a new automated decision-making procedure on 3 January 2024. Read more about automated decision-making when changes to persons responsible for a company are filed with the Finnish Trade Register.
We also use other kinds of automated decision-making procedures. Their descriptions and deployment decisions will be published on these pages by 31 October 2024, when the statutory transition period ends.
What is not automated decision-making?
At the PRH, automation is also used in administration and to assist in decision-making. This is not automated decision-making as referred to in the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act.
When we use automation to assist in decision-making, our information system prepares a draft decision. Our officer in charge of the processing verifies and finalises the draft and makes a final decision.
Authorities can also use automation in their actual administration and the implementation of decisions. If a register entry is made based on, for instance, special legislation, it may only be a result of administrative processing.
See the legislation for more information
Automated decision-making is based on the Finnish Administrative Procedure Act, the Finnish Act on Information Management in Public Administration, and special legislation.
Under the Administrative Procedure Act, automated decision-making can be used if case-by-case consideration is not needed and the officer in charge of the processing has verified and approved matters in advance that require case-by-case consideration.
An automated decision-making procedure can be introduced only as laid down in the Finnish Act on Information Management in Public Administration.
Read more in the reference database of Finnish legislation Finlex in Finnish and Swedish: