E-services for civil society organisations
Civil society organisations (CSOs) apply for discretionary government grants for their development cooperation projects via e-services.
Organisations using the service need a business ID
Companies and associations get their business identity code, called business ID, from the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PHR) or the Finnish Tax Administration. The Business ID consists of seven digits, a dash, and a control mark, for example as follows: 1234567-8.
On 18 September 2019, all associations/CSOs entered in the PRH Register of Associations received a Business ID. The registration numbers recorded in the Register of Associations are no longer in use. The change does not apply to associations/CSOs that have been issued a Business ID before 18 September 2019. New associations/CSOs filed with the Register of Associations will be issued a Business ID as soon as their start-up notification has been registered in the Business Information System (BIS). The PRH does not send any separate confirmation that a Business ID has been issued. The code will be visible through the association/CSO name search function approximately two weeks after a start-up notification has been submitted in paper format to the PRH. Associations/CSOs can obtain a Business ID free of charge.
Fill in the form and send it to
PRH-Verohallinto, Finnish Business Information System
PO Box 2000
00231 Helsinki
or take it to the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, a local office of the Tax Administration, an ELY Centre (Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment) or a Local Registry Office.
Log in to the Foreign Ministry's e-services
Accessing the shared online services of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence (Link to another website.)you need to identify yourself.
Please log in to Suomi.fi e-Identification to identify yourself using your online banking codes, a mobile certificate or a certificate card.
You need to have an authorisation to use the services on behalf of an association/a CSO
Using the service on behalf of an association, company or other organisation requires not only identification but also a relevant authorisation to do so, requested at Suomi.fi.(Link to another website.) The authorisation concerns “Application for a discretionary government grant”.
User instructions for Suomi.fi
User instructions can be accessed on the front page of Suomi.fi(Link to another website.). Go first to the Who can grant mandates in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations? section to check whether a company or association can grant the necessary mandates. The mandate service provided by public officials can be used only by associations/organisations, for which personal identification tokens that would authorise representation of the association/organisation in the e-services are not available in the register.
Forms and instructions in the e-services of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
The user instructions for the Foreign Ministry’s e-services can be accessed at the start page(Link to another website.). Read them carefully before starting to fill in the forms.
Send all forms and appendices relating to discretionary government grants via the e-services. The following browser-based forms are now available: basic information form, commitment, disbursement request form, complementary information form, and change of use application. NOTE: These forms can no longer be downloaded in PDF format; instead, they are browser-based. All forms in PDF format will be gradually removed from our website when browser-based forms are available. In future, only browser-based forms will be used in the Ministry’s e-services.
Fill in the forms in e-services directly on your browser as follows:
- Log in to the browser-based e-services.
- Select the organisation.
- Select development cooperation cases.
- Select the form of support.
- Select relevant items from 1 to 6 as appropriate.
- Select “Go to the commenced cases page".
- Select the matter, project or programme of your choice.
- Complete the form directly on your browser. NOTE: The forms open directly on your browser and cannot be downloaded or uploaded on your own computer. They will be available only on the e-services.
- When submitting the appendices required for the form of grant that you are applying for, follow the instructions provided in the e-services.
- Initiate your application.
Complete the other forms (including applications for communication and global education, annual reports) like before on a PDF form. To download the forms, you need an Adobe Reader programme, which can be obtained free of charge. Upload the PDF forms from the Foreign Ministry’s website and save them on your own computer (save target as) before opening them. You can edit, save or forward forms to others before you submit the application. Save the completed form on your own workstation. Log in to the e-services and go to the sheet where you can upload the completed PDF form to the e-services. Once you have uploaded an application you should go to the uploaded form and initiate the application. Check from the initiated forms menu whether the processing of the document has been initiated or whether it is pending initiation. Through initiating an application, the application is sent to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for processing.
More information:
If you have any questions related to the e-services, please contact the public official responsible for matters concerning your organisation in the Unit for Civil Society.
In matters concerning the Business ID, contact the Finnish Patent and Registration Office(Link to another website.) or the Tax Administration(Link to another website.).
In matters concerning authorisations:
- More information for private persons is available under Support and assistance at Suomi.fi(Link to another website.) or via email to palveluneuvoja@kansalaisneuvonta.fi or by phone to +358 295 000. A chat service is also in use.
- More information for companies and associations and other organisations is available under Information on Customer service for organisations at Suomi.fi(Link to another website.) or via email to organisaatiopalvelut@dvv.fi or by phone to +358 295 53 5115.