Everybody has the right to engage in commercial activities in Finland

Under the Constitution of Finland, everybody has the right to earn his or her livelihood by the employment, occupation or commercial activity of his or her choice. More detailed provisions on this right are laid down in the Enterprise Act (565/2023).

Under the Enterprise Act,

• a natural person residing in the European Economic Area,
• a Finnish corporation or foundation,
• a foreign corporation or foundation that has been established under the legislation of a member state of the European Economic Area and that has its registered office, central administration or principal place of business in a member state of the European Economic Area may engage in business activities.

A natural person residing outside the European Economic Area and a foreign corporation or foundation that has its registered office outside the European Economic Area and that establishes a branch in Finland can engage in commercial activities in Finland under a licence granted by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office. The license shall be granted if the trader is available to fulfil the obligations arising from engaging in business activities on the basis of the information provided.

A partner in a general partnership and the general partner in a limited partnership must also obtain a licence for engaging in commercial activities in Finland from the Finnish Patent and Registration Office if the partner/general partner resides or is domiciled outside the European Economic Area unless at least one of the partners in a general partnership or the general partner in a limited partnership resides or is domiciled in the European Economic Area.

• Read more on the website of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office

Regulated trades

There are also commercial activities in Finland that are subject to a license. These include the serving of alcohol and guarding service business.

There are also commercial activities that require a registration in a register kept by the authorities. The entrepreneur submitting the registration notification must meet the prerequisites laid down for the registration in the law. The registration obligation covers such activities as package travel business, dept collection, real estate agencies and letting agencies.

There are also commercial activities in which the authorities must be notified of the start of the activities. Under the law, restrictions and obligations may also be imposed on commercial activities for which a notification is required.

In most cases, the entrepreneur may already start the operations before the authorities have considered the notification.

• Read more on the Suomi.fi website

Debt collection

Debt collection refers to the collection of receivables on behalf of another party. 

The act on the registration of debt collectors has been in force since the beginning of 2019. According to the act, debt collection constitutes a trade that requires registration. A private entrepreneur or a private legal person entered into the register of debt collectors maintained by the Finnish Supervisory Agency is entitled to practise debt collection activities.

The purpose of registering debt collectors is to ensure compliance with good debt collection practices.  Registration will also facilitate the supervision of debt collectors and prevent shadow economy.

The registration authority is required to check the debt collectors’ professional competence, reliability and solvency. To qualify for registration, the debt collector must have on its payroll a person in charge of debt collection activities who will ensure compliance with good debt collection practices and the law.  Everyone practising debt collection must have sufficient professional competence required for the task.

The Finnish Supervisory Agency serves as the supervisory authority of debt collectors. The Agency may use coercive measures if any inappropriate debt collection practices come to its attention.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for the preparation of the act on the registration of debt collectors (411/2018).

• Finnish Supervisory Agency's website

Real estate brokerage agencies and letting agencies

Only private entrepreneurs or legal persons registered as real estate brokerage agencies may operate as real estate brokerage agency. Only private entrepreneurs or legal persons registered as letting agencies or real estate agencies may operate as letting agency.

The registration notification must be submitted to a Finnish Supervisory Agency. The Finnish Supervisory Agency must register as a real estate brokerage agency or a letting agency each party submitting a registration notification that meets the requirements laid down in the law.

The requirements for registration are as follows:

• The agency has taken out a liability insurance that is estimated to cover any losses arising from the operations.
• The agency has a person in charge for its operations. The person responsible for the operations of a real estate brokerage agency must possess the professional competence demonstrated in the LKV (licensed real estate agent) qualification test, while the person responsible for the operations of a letting agency must possess the professional competence demonstrated in the LVV (licensed letting agent) or LKV qualification test.

Organisation of the qualification tests is the responsibility of the qualification test board of the Finland Chamber of Commerce.

The person in charge of the agency must ensure that at each office of the agency, there is a person engaged in the real estate or letting agency business that possesses the same professional competence as the person in charge of the agency.

Professional competence requirements

The professional competence requirements of the persons engaged in the real estate or housing rental agency business were made stricter under the legislative changes introduced at the start of 2016: At least half of the persons working for the agency and acting as real estate or letting agents at each of its offices must possess the professional competence demonstrated in the qualification test.

The Act on Real Estate Brokerage Agencies and Letting Agencies (1075/2000) applies to the right to work as real estate brokerage agent and letting agent. The act comes under the area of responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Separate provisions on the contracts concluded with real estate or housing rental agencies are contained in the Act on Working as Real Estate Agent and Housing Rental Agent (1074/2000). The act comes under the area of responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

• Finnish Supervisory Agency
• Finland Chamber of Commerce

Accommodation and catering business

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for the Act on Accommodation and Catering Services (308/2006), which contains provisions on certain obligations concerning the accommodation and catering business. The main obligations concern the passenger card. According to the Act, the accommodation business operator is responsible for the passenger cards of the passengers arriving at the operator’s place of accommodation. Accommodation business operators are also required to submit a notification referred to in the Health Protection Act to the health protection authority. 

According to the Act on Accommodation and Catering Services, accommodation business operations mean the offering of furnished rooms or other accommodation for customers in need of temporary accommodation on a professional basis. In practice, the scope of the Act covers different forms of accommodation business, including hotels, motels, hostels or holiday resorts, camping sites, farm tourism, and commercial bed and breakfast services and provision of holiday homes. 

The passenger card may be completed by the passenger, the accommodation business operator or a member of staff on the basis of the information provided by the passenger in advance. If the passenger is accompanied by their spouse and underage children, the details of all family members must be entered on the same passenger card. On prearranged group tours, the leader of the group may enter the details of all group members on a single passenger card.   

The accommodation business operator is also required to verify the identity of a foreign passenger or, for group travellers, the identity of the group leader.

The accommodation business operator must submit the passenger details of foreigners to the competent police department in the location of the accommodation facilities. Passenger cards and information must be retained for one year after which they shall be destroyed. 

The Act also provides for the right of the accommodation and catering business operator to refuse entry to the premises or to refuse to serve food or drink to a customer in certain situations and, if necessary, to remove the customer from the premises. In its activities, the operator shall take into account the provisions of the Non-Discrimination Act banning discrimination.  

Provisions on the serving of alcohol by food and beverage service businesses are included in the Alcohol Act (1102/2017).

• Suomi.fi: Passenger cards