Authorising another person to act in Kela-related matters
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If you are 18 or older, you can authorise another person (i.e. give another person permission) to act on your behalf in Kela-related matters. The person you authorise must be at least 18 years of age. You can also authorise several different people. You can cancel the authorisations at any time.
You can make the authorisation in the following ways:
- You can issue a power of attorney to authorise someone to manage your Kela-related affairs by phone, by post or by visiting a customer service point.
- You can grant a Suomi.fi mandate to authorise someone to manage your Kela-related affairs online in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
Please note that some matters cannot be handled in OmaKela yet. If you want another person to be able to manage your Kela-related affairs online and by phone, please grant them both a Suomi.fi mandate and a power of attorney.
How to authorise someone by issuing a power of attorney
You can issue a power of attorney to authorise another adult to manage your Kela-related affairs by phone, by post or by visiting a customer service point. If you want the other person to also be able to manage your affairs online, for instance to apply for a benefit on your behalf in OmaKela, you must grant them a Suomi.fi mandate.
You decide what actions someone with your power of attorney can take. You can give them permission to manage all of your benefit-related affairs or only a certain benefit or matter. If you wish to limit the authorisation to cover matters related to a specific benefit only, write the name of that benefit in the power of attorney (for example, housing allowance for pensioners).
A power of attorney can also be used to appeal a decision on your behalf. If you issue the power of attorney on a Kela form, you must write on the form that the power of attorney is for handling an appeal. However, a separate power of attorney is not needed if the same person has previously had a power of attorney for the same purpose.
If you issue a power of attorney where you give permission to share your information, the person you authorise by the power of attorney may have access to your confidential information when it is necessary in order to manage your affairs.
You can draw up a power of attorney on the form Handling of matters related to Kela benefits VAL 3e (PDF). See more detailed instructions for filling in the form: Acting on behalf of another person: How to complete a power of attorney form (PDF).
Alternatively, you can draw up a power of attorney in your own words. Any power of attorney you draw up in your own words must include the following:
- sufficient details identifying both the person granting the power of attorney and the person(s) authorised
- details on what the power of attorney covers
- information about whether the authorised person may be given confidential information about the person granting the authorisation (the authorisation can be for access to benefit-related, financial or health information)
- period of validity (indefinitely or for a specified period)
- date and the signature and printed name of the person granting the power of attorney.
You can provide the power of attorney to Kela in the OmaKela e-service or by post, or you can hand it in at a customer service point. The authorised person can provide the power of attorney by post or by handing it in at a customer service point. However, the authorised person cannot send the power of attorney on your behalf in the OmaKela e-service.
How to provide the power of attorney in OmaKela:
- Fill in the form Handling of matters related to Kela benefits VAL 3e (PDF) or write the power of attorney in your own words.
- Save the power of attorney to your device or take a photo of it.
- Send the power of attorney as a supporting document.
- Select Lähetä liite (Send a supporting document) - Muut Kela-asiat (Other Kela-related matters) - Muut liitteet (Other supporting documents) and Valtakirja (Power of attorney). Attach your power of attorney and press Lähetä (Send).
You do not have to sign the power of attorney if you send it in OmaKela with your own credentials.
You can make changes to the period of validity or cancel the power of attorney at any time. You do not have to tell us why you wish to cancel the power of attorney. Please let us know about the cancellation by a message in OmaKela, by post or by calling our customer service.
How to authorise someone by granting a Suomi.fi mandate
If you wish to authorise another person to act on your behalf in Kela-related matters in the OmaKela e-service, grant them a Suomi.fi mandate called Manage social security benefits. The Suomi.fi mandate applies to all Kela-related matters, and it cannot be restricted to apply to specific matters only.
Suomi.fi mandates cannot be used to manage another person’s affairs by phone, by post or by visiting a customer service point. If you want another person to be able to manage your Kela-related affairs also by phone, for example, you must grant them a power of attorney.
Please note that some matters cannot be handled on behalf of another person in OmaKela yet.
How to grant another person a Suomi.fi mandate to act in Kela-related matters
The easiest way to independently grant a mandate to another person is to use the Suomi.fi online service. There are also other ways to grant mandates. This page contains instructions for the different alternatives.
If you have a means of electronic identification, such as online banking credentials or a mobile certificate, you can grant a mandate to another person through Suomi.fi e-Authorizations.
- Enter the details of the person you wish to authorise to act on your behalf.
- Select the mandate Manage social security benefits and specify its period of validity.
- Check that the information you provided is correct and confirm the mandate.
More information on granting mandates: Granting mandates as a person (suomi.fi)
Your loved one can use the Suomi.fi online service to request a mandate to manage your Kela-related affairs. The mandate is called Manage social security benefits. You need to accept your loved one’s request before it becomes a valid mandate.
You can accept a mandate request in the Suomi.fi online service or at a Digital and Population Data Services Agency service location.
More information on how to make a mandate request: Making a mandate request as a person (suomi.fi)
If you do not have a means of electronic identification and you are unable to visit a Digital and Population Data Services Agency service location to identify yourself, you can give authorisation with a mandate application.
You can find the mandate application online: Authorisation with an application (suomi fi).
More detailed instructions are available in the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's online service: Granting mandates if you are unable to use electronic services (suomi.fi).
A Suomi.fi mandate is valid for the period that you specify when granting the mandate. You can also cancel, or in other words, invalidate the mandate before it expires.