Each region has two service providers from which customers can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela. You can choose which of them to contact to book a taxi. If you book a taxi in some other way, Kela cannot reimburse you for the trip. As an exception, if you are in the Åland Islands, contact the operator directly to book a taxi.
You will need a certificate for reimbursement of travel costs (form SV 67) from the healthcare provider in the following situations:
You have to use a taxi for health reasons (keep the certificate for 6 months).
You travel to a private healthcare provider and the treatment you get is reimbursed by Kela.
You do not need a new certificate, if you have filed a certificate on the right to use a taxi on a continuous basis from the healthcare provider with Kela and you travel to a public healthcare provider. When you book a taxi, tell the dispatcher that you have the certificate.
You also do not need a certificate, if a representative of the healthcare provider books the return trip from the regional dispatch centre due to your health status. The call to book the taxi corresponds to the information on the certificate.
The Åland Islands use an authorisation procedure for taxi transport. You can hand the driver a certificate about the use of a taxi (form SV 67).
If you have to use a taxi because public transport is not available, tell the dispatch centre this when you book a taxi.
If part of the trip can be made using public transport, you can use a taxi for the part of the trip for which public transport is not available.
Ride-sharing is used, so there may also be other customers who are going to a healthcare provider in the Kela taxi you booked.
The use of ride-sharing means that
you may arrive at the healthcare provider an hour before your appointment
you may have to wait for the return transport for one hour (if you have booked the return transport at least one hour before the return trip, you do not have to be prepared for extra waiting time)
your journey time may take up to double the time or 2 hours more than a direct taxi ride.
Ride-sharing is not used if you have a certificate from a healthcare provider exempting you from it (certificate on form SV 67).
How to book a Kela taxi
Call your regional dispatch centre by 2 pm the previous day.
Please note that you cannot book a taxi for the same trip from both regional service providers at the same time.
You can book the trips that you know you will make in the next 14 days all at the same time. The dispatcher will tell you when the taxi will pick you up. You can choose to receive a text message when a taxi has accepted your booking. The text message will also include the driver’s phone number. Your taxi should arrive within 15 minutes of the agreed pick-up time.
You should call the dispatch centre also if you need a taxi unexpectedly or forgot to book a taxi on the preceding day. In such situations, the trip to the healthcare provider must start at the latest within 2 hours of booking the taxi. In Lapland, the trip to the healthcare provider must start at the latest within 3 hours of booking the taxi. The return trip from the healthcare provider must be made at the latest within one hour of booking the taxi.
If the taxi does not arrive at the agreed time, call the same dispatch centre again.
If the details of your trip change or you wish to cancel a transportation request, call the dispatch centre immediately. You can be charged the price for a trip that has not been cancelled.
Present your Kela card or ID to the driver before the trip begins. That way you will get reimbursed straight away and will only have to pay a copayment of up to EUR 25. You cannot claim reimbursement afterwards for the taxi ride.
Information you should provide when calling the dispatch centre
When you book a taxi, you will be asked for the following information:
reason for using a taxi (tell the dispatcher if you cannot use public transport for health reasons (certificate SV 67) or if public transport is not available). Plan the trip with the help of the route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi).
name and personal identity code
your pick-up address
the destination
latest possible time of arrival at the place of treatment
any person accompanying you
the phone number where you can be reached
any assistive devices you use and whether you need to stop for instance at the pharmacy on the return trip.
Also mention if you have a payment voucher or service voucher from the wellbeing services county for private healthcare services or a rehabilitation decision from Kela.
Example of medical procedure performed by a doctor
Liisa’s mother goes to a private service provider for hip surgery and she pays for the treatment herself. This is a treatment-related procedure performed by a doctor. Exceptionally, the trip to the procedure can be reimbursed even though reimbursement from Kela is not paid for the procedure. The travel costs are reimbursed according to the principle of the nearest place of care, i.e., up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from home to the university hospital of the collaborative area.
Regional dispatch numbers
Calls to your regional dispatch number are free of charge.
Calls to the dispatch centre are recorded for quality assurance. Kela may sometimes check a transport request afterwards. The information you provide over the phone will not be used for any other purpose than as required to arrange the trip and to process your reimbursement. Kela is the data controller within the meaning of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
The current service providers will continue until the end of 2026.
The dispatch centre receives information from Kela on your right to use a taxi. Kela uses an electronic lookup service (TAKSO) to transmit information to the dispatch centre. Via the service, the dispatch centre gets information for instance on
whether you have the right to direct reimbursement
what type of vehicle you have the right to use (taxi, wheelchair taxi, stretcher taxi or accessible vehicle) if you have filed a certificate on the right to use a taxi on a continuous basis (form SV 67) with Kela
whether you have the right to use a familiar taxi driver
For the transmission of this information you must tell the dispatch centre your personal identity code when you book a taxi. Your personal identity code is also needed because the trips count towards the annual out-of-pocket maximum and Kela pays the reimbursement to the service provider.
You can also ask the dispatch centre to add information related to the arranging of trips on a continuous basis to your customer data, if you for instance need special assistance during the trip or you have assistive devices with you.
The dispatch centre must ensure that each booking is fulfilled according to the customer’s request. Your taxi should arrive within 15 minutes of the agreed pick-up time. If the taxi does not arrive, call the dispatch centre you booked the taxi with. The dispatch centre must arrange other transport for you. This transport is free of charge for you.
If you arrange for other transportation yourself, the dispatch centre will compensate you for the necessary costs. Claim compensation for these costs directly from the transport provider from which you originally booked the taxi and that was unable to arrange a taxi according to the booking.
You can give feedback to the dispatch centre from which you booked the Kela taxi. You can find the feedback link with the search function.
You can give general feedback to Kela on a taxi ride on the feedback form. In that case, remember to state the region and the service provider you booked the taxi with.
Who is entitled to a familiar taxi driver?
Using a familiar taxi driver means that the customer always has the same taxi driver and the customer can agree on the trips with the driver.
Children under 16 years of age who attend treatment or rehabilitation regularly and travel alone have the right to use the services of a familiar taxi driver.
In certain specific situations, also seriously ill children who receive treatment in a central or university hospital may have the right to use the services of a familiar driver, regardless of whether they are accompanied by a parent or other person.
The right to a familiar taxi driver can, on Kela’s discretion, be granted to
a customer who travels unaccompanied and who for health reasons can only travel with a driver who knows what kind of special assistance the customer needs during the trip.
a customer with impaired mobility which requires the right kind of assistance, and where the wrong kind of assistance can cause serious harm.
Sami-speaking customers in the Sami homeland (Enontekiö, Inari, Utsjoki and the reindeer owners’ association of Lapland in Sodankylä) have separate instructions for how to order a taxi:
Call Kela’s customer service number at 020 634 2650.
When calling, tell us what kind of special assistance, guidance or supervision you need during the ride due to your state of health and whether you always have someone accompanying you. Also tell us why you cannot travel in any other way than with a familiar taxi driver.
File a certificate on the right to use a taxi on a continuous basis (form SV 67) with Kela. Kela cannot verify your right to use the services of a familiar driver until you have provided the certificate.
If the customer is a child under 16 years of age who travels unaccompanied and who has regular healthcare or rehabilitation visits, no certificate is necessary. However, contact Kela so that the information on the right to a familiar taxi driver can be forwarded to the dispatch centre.
We will look at your situation and tell you whether you have the right to use the services of a familiar taxi driver. You will get a message about this in the OmaKela e-service, if you have given Kela permission to send you messages this way. Otherwise you will be notified by mail. We will also notify the dispatch centre for Kela taxis about your right to a familiar taxi driver.
How to book a familiar taxi driver
Call the regional dispatch number to book a taxi until you get information from Kela on your possible right to a familiar taxi driver. If you are granted the right to a familiar taxi driver, contact the dispatch centre in your region in the manner stated on their website to get a familiar taxi driver. As regards taxi rides that are reimbursed by Kela, the driver must belong to one of the service providers with whom Kela has made an agreement on taxi rides that Kela reimburses.
Book the trip directly from the taxi entrepreneur or the taxi driver when you have the information about your familiar taxi driver. Please note that that even if you have the right to a familiar taxi driver, you may have to share the ride with other customers travelling in the same direction, since ride-sharing is used.
Ride-sharing is not used with unaccompanied children under 16 unless their guardian expressly allows it.
How to book a taxi if you have a hearing or speech impairment
If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela by text message.
After that, book the trip with a text message to either one of the dispatch centres in your region. In the following you find the regional numbers for the text message service. Provide the following information in the text message:
your name
your telephone number
your pick-up address
the destination
the time by which you need to reach your destination
any assistive devices you use, such as guide dog or wheelchair
any person accompanying you.
You can also ask that more detailed information about your pick-up is added to your customer data (for instance pick-up indoors or need of a person accompanying you to the relevant ward).