Registration and start-up notifications

As a rule, all companies must make a trade register notification. The trade register is maintained by the National Board of Patents and Registration, which is the official and public register of business information in the country. With the same notification, you can also register with the Tax Administration's registers, which include the Prepayment Register, the Employer Register and the VAT Register. (Note that on the electronic registration form, for example sole proprietors need to send separate notifications to the Tax Authorities’ registers.)

According to the law, the start-up notification must be made before the commencement of operations, but operations can often be started while the notification is pending. The Business ID is issued by the National Board of Patents and Registration or the Tax Administration as soon as the start-up notification has been recorded in the Business Information System (approximately two working days after the notification is received).

There is a fee for registering a company in the Trade Register, but registration to the tax administration's registers (pre-payment, VAT and employer register) is free of charge. The trade register fee varies depending on company type and whether the registration is carried out online or as a paper version.

Links:

• The Business Information System
• Finnish patent and registration office