How to submit electronic documents
Send documents to the email address helsinki.kirjaamo@hel.fi.(Link opens default mail program) Use secure email(Link leads to external service) for confidential documents. The city can process your issue based on the email message or its attachment. Please send your documents in PDF format.
Please indicate the registration number you have received earlier if you are sending additional information for an ongoing case.
Ordinary email is not suitable for delivering sensitive personal data or other confidential information. Pleas submit confidential information to the Register Office via secure email or on paper. Examples of sensitive personal data include health information.
Send confidential or protected electronic material using the secure email service provided by the City of Helsinki: Send a secure email to the City of Helsinki Register Office.(Link leads to external service)
Encrypted messages using functionalities provided by email services such as Outlook and Gmail cannot be opened by the Register Office, and we cannot initiate your case with messages sent this way. The Register Office also cannot receive files shared through cloud services such as Google Drive and OneDrive.
Please name the files so that the filename describes the content of the file. Submit any attachments as separate files. Include the document date in the filename. Examples of naming files:
- Application 12.10.2024
- Attachment 1, photos
- Attachment 2, map
If you submit an attachment list, please name the files according to the list and the numbering indicated in it.
The Register Office accepts the most common text, image, video, and audio files.
Allowed text files: PDF in addition to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with extensions doc, docx, dot, xls, xlsx, xlt, xla, ppt, pptx. We recommend sending documents in PDF format.
Allowed image files: The most common raster-based file types with extensions jpg, jpeg, png, gif.
Allowed audio and video files: mp1, mp2, mp3, mp4.
How to submit paper documents
You can send paper documents by mail or bring them in person to the Register Office customer service point.
The Register Office will scan your submitted documents into electronic form for processing, so please do not staple the papers together.
Please note that as the sender, you are responsible for ensuring the document arrives on time, even if you send it via mail.
Please indicate the registration number you have received earlier if you are sending additional information for an ongoing case.
Send documents to the address:
Register Office, PO Box 10, 00099 City of Helsinki
If you wish to visit in person, you can bring the documents to the Register Office customer service point at Helsinki City Hall, located at Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13. We are open on weekdays from 9.00–15.00. The Register Office is located on the right after the main entrance, at the top of the short stairs. The City Hall reception will assist you if you need to use the elevator or need other assistance. From 8.00–9.00 and 15.00–16.00 you can turn the documents in to the City Hall reception.
General information about documents
Documents that are processed as administrative matters by the City of Helsinki are recorded in the city’s case management system by the Register Office. Such documents include, for example, appeals against decisions, administrative complaints regarding social and health care, opinions on regional planning and zoning, and initiatives by residents under the Local Government Act. In these cases, the city is the competent authority. You can send feedback or questions to the City of Helsinki through the Helsinki feedback service.(Link leads to external service)
If you are seeking a change to a decision you received, carefully review the appeal instructions before submitting your appeal. For more information about the decision or invoice you received, contact the additional information provider indicated on it. More information on how to appeal a decision made by the City of Helsinki.(Link leads to external service)
When the document you have submitted is recorded in the case register of the City of Helsinki, you will receive a registration notification. The registration notification provides information about the registration of your personal data in the case management system and on the rights of the registered person, as well as your case registration number.
When submitting additional documents to an ongoing case, please provide the registration number you have already received. Registration numbers are in the format HEL 202X-012345.
In Finland, the principle of publicity governs the activities of public authorities. This means that documents submitted to an authority are primarily public, and anyone can request to see them. The Act on the Openness of Government Activities specifies the information that makes official documents confidential. Confidentiality provisions may also be included in other legislation. Confidential information includes, for example, all health information, employment services and social welfare client information, business secrets, annual income and wealth information, and private life information. Official documents that include these are subject to confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations.
As the sender of the document, you are responsible for ensuring that your document is delivered by the set deadline. (Administrative Procedure Act, Section 17) The sender's responsibility applies to documents submitted both electronically and on paper.
