Applying for disability services

You can read about the transport services on our website.  

Go to the Transport Services page 

If necessary, you can obtain more information about the transport services by calling a transport service social instructor for Services for People with Disabilities in your area of residence. 

See the contact information for the transport service social instructors 

Fill in the form below. 

Download the transport service application form (PDF)  

As you are applying for transport services based on your illness or disability, tick under “Haettava palvelu” (Service being applied for) the option “Vammaispalvelulain mukainen kuljetuspalvelu” (Transport service pursuant to the Disability Services Act). 

You will need an up-to-date medical certificate concerning your need for transport services to accompany your application. You can ask for one from a doctor at your local health station. In the certificate, the doctor assesses how and to what extent your disability or illness impairs your use of public transport. 

Print out the medical certificate form for the transport service needs assessment (PDF) 

Please attach certificates of your studies or employment to your application if you are applying for related transport services. 

For trips to and from your school, you can get a certificate of attendance from your educational institute’s student affairs office. We grant school trips for a maximum of one academic year at a time.  

A copy of your employment agreement is a valid attachment for your commuting application. We grant commute trips for the duration of the employment or for a maximum of two years at a time. 

If you later need an extension to the transport service for work or studies, please submit a new application with new certificates of studies or work to a transport service social instructor in good time. It is advisable to submit the application no later than 1 to 2 months before the end of your fixed-term service. 

If you need help in filling in the application, you can contact Counselling for People with Disabilities.  

See the contact information for Counselling for People with Disabilities 

Print out the transport service application you have filled in and sign it. 

Send or deliver the filled-in and signed application together with the required attachments to a service point of Services for People with Disabilities in your residential area. 

See the contact information for the transport service social instructors and service points 

The transport service social instructor will process your application within three months of its arrival. We will post the decision to your home address. 

If you receive a negative decision and are dissatisfied with it, you can appeal against it to the City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care Committee. 

You can find the appeal instructions attached to the decision. They are also available on our website. 

Read the appeal instructions 

If you received a positive decision, you will receive a transport service payment card. The payment card for paying for transport service trips will arrive in the post within two weeks. 

If the card does not arrive within two weeks of receiving a positive decision, contact a disability services office secretary. 

The office secretary is available Mon–Fri 8.15–16.00 at +358 9 310 23100(Link starts a phone call). 

You can order transport from Helsinki Transport Service (Helsingin Matkapalvelu). Your information and special needs have been provided to the customer service staff. 

See the contact information for Helsinki Transport Service(Link leads to external service) 

Before applying for informal care support with your loved one, read about it on our website. 

Go to the Informal Care Support page 

If you wish, you can assess your informal care situation in the Omaolo service.  

Assess your informal care situation in Omaolo (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service) 

Fill in the application form for informal care support. 

Download the application form for informal care support (PDF) 

The application must be accompanied by a medical statement C or another statement by a health care professional, which has been dated less than one year ago. The statement contains a doctor’s assessment of your state of health and functional capacity. 

Print out the filled in informal care support application and make sure to sign it! 

Send the filled-in and signed application together with the required attachments to a service point of Services for People with Disabilities in your residential area. 

See the contact information for the informal care social instructors and service points 

After receiving the application for informal care support, a social instructor will contact you and visit your home to prepare a service plan together with you and the person you are caring for. 

The social instructor of informal care support makes a decision on the granting of informal care support. The decision will be posted to your home. 

If you receive a negative decision and are dissatisfied with it, you can appeal against it to the City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care Committee. 

Read the appeal instructions 

If you are not yet a client of Services for People with Disabilities, read about the disability services in the Disability Services Guidebook and consider what kind of help or support you need.  

Download the Disability Services Guidebook (PDF) 

You can use a weekly schedule made available for assessing your needs for help. When you fill in the schedule for a week, it is easier for you to see which things you can manage on your own and which are difficult for you to manage on your own. You can fill in the schedule together with your loved ones.  

Download the weekly schedule for assessment of the need for help (PDF in Finnish) 

You can submit the disability service application form either electronically in the Maisa service or on paper. 

Using the Maisa service requires strong authentication. The disability service application can be found under Menu in section “Social Services”. 

Go to Maisa(Link leads to external service) 

Please note that you cannot send attachments through Maisa. Attachments must be sent separately by post.  

You can also download the disability service application form below and fill it in.  

Download the disability service application (PDF in Finnish)  

If necessary, you can also request the application from Counselling for People with Disabilities. You can also contact the counselling service if you need help in filling in the application. 

See the contact information for Counselling for People with Disabilities 

In the case of your first disability service application, you must attach medical statement B or C or another opinion by a health care professional, which has been dated less than one year ago and describes your functional capacity. Some of the services also require other expert statements. 

Send or deliver the filled-in and signed disability service application to a unit of Services for People with Disabilities in your area of residence. 

See the contact information for the social workers and service points 

Within a week of receiving the application, you will be sent a notification of receipt of the application and a request for further clarifications, if necessary. At the same time, you will be sent the contact information of your designated social worker. They will contact you and assess your service needs together with you. 

Make an appointment with your social worker to prepare your service need assessment. 

Your application will take up to three months to process. The decision will be posted to your home address. 

If you have applied for several services in the same application, you may receive a negative decision for some and a positive decision for others. 

If you received a negative decision and are dissatisfied with it, you can appeal against it to the City of Helsinki Social Services and Health Care Committee. 

Read the appeal instructions