Call Kela

Open weekdays 9–15.

Choose a customer service number that corresponds to the topic of your question. It is not possible to call Kela’s individual customer service points. If you want to schedule an appointment at a customer service point, call the appropriate customer service number.

Our customer service phone lines are usually busiest around lunch time and immediately before and after starting a new month.

The holidays around Christmas and New Year affect the opening hours of Kela’s customer service and the application times and the payment dates for benefits.

Families, students, unemployed and housing 020 634 2550020 634 2550

military or civilian service
families with children
housing
social assistance
students (Healthcare fee for students in higher education)
unemployed

Health and pensions 020 634 2650020 634 2650

disability
European Health Insurance Card
Kela card
pensioners
rehabilitation
sickness

International situations 020 634 0200020 634 0200

open weekdays 10−15
social security when moving to or from Finland
other international situations
Centre for International Affairs

If your matter concerns housing benefits, housing allowance for pensioners, social assistance, financial aid for students or child maintenance allowance, call the other service numbers.

Customers with a non-disclosure for personal safety reasons 020 635 3500020 635 3500

Overpayment Recovery Centre 020 634 4940020 634 4940

open weekdays 10:00 to 15:00
recovery of benefits
collection of and exemption from payment of child support debt
collection of and exemption from payment of government-guaranteed student loan debt
collection of healthcare fee for higher education students

Contact the Overpayment Recovery Centre if you wish to discuss a payment plan or if you have questions about benefit recovery and debt collection. If you have questions about a decision on recovery, call the customer service number for the benefit that the recovery concerns.

If you don't know which service number to call, choose a number that best corresponds your situation. If needed, we will forward you to the right number.

Call Kela in other languages

If necessary, you can also handle your matters with the help of an interpreter.

How to book a Kela taxi

Each region have two service providers from which customers can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela. You can choose from which one to book your taxi.

Dispatch numbers

Exceptions to opening hours

Our phone service is closed during weekends and holidays.

On New Year’s Eve (31 December) Kela’s telephone service is open 9.00 to 13.00 and service for customers with an urgent need of social assistance is available until 16.00.

Calling rates

Calls to Kela’s phone service, including the wait times, are subject to charges.

Depending on your phone plan, the following rates apply:

local network rate, when calling from a fixed line
mobile network rate, when calling from a mobile phone
international rate as applicable.

If calling from outside Finland, first dial +358 followed by the telephone number of your choice without the first zero. E.g., Health and pensions, +358 20 634 2650.

If you have a phone plan with limited talk, ask your operator if calls beginning with 020 are included.

Callback service

Our telephone service uses a callback service, through which the customer can ask Kela to call the customer back. The callback service is available for almost all service numbers.

The request to call back is made for the phone number from which you call Kela. If you have blocked your number so that it does not show to the recipient, you cannot make a callback request.

If you make a callback request, Kela’s customer service specialist will call you back once. If we cannot reach you, you will get a text message from Kela, asking you to call Kela’s telephone service again.

Phone calls from Kela to individual customers typically come from one of two numbers: 020 692 219 or 020 634 1611. When Kela calls you back, the call is free of charge for you.

Recording of phone calls

Kela records incoming and outgoing calls in the customer service.

Feedback survey

Kela monitors customers’ satisfaction with our services through an SMS survey. The feedback survey is sent from 018 444 033, 018 444 034, or 018 444 569. Participating in the survey does not cost you anything. You can read more about our feedback surveys in the About Kela section.

Current topics

Changes to Kela benefits in 2025

Next year will see several changes to Kela benefits, affecting both benefit rates and eligibility criteria.

Effects of the war in Ukraine

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the war in Ukraine and the social security benefits available from Kela.

Read the answers