Licensing and registration of private social service providers 

The Act on Supervision of Social Welfare and Health Care has entered into force on 1 January 2024. The material in this section is not up to date. We will update our material as soon as possible.

Licensing

Private social service providers must have access to suitable premises and equipment. The premises must be suited to the treatment and other care of the customers from the perspective of health and otherwise. Service providers must employ enough staff considering the nature of their services and the number of customers. 

It is also the service provider’s responsibility to appoint a person to oversee the facility and ensure that the services provided satisfy the relevant requirements. The person in charge must have a relevant university degree, experience of the industry and management skills.

Only service providers whose premises satisfy the aforementioned requirements and who can be deemed capable of meeting their financial obligations can be licensed. Special conditions relating to the volume of services, the number of staff, the premises, equipment, tools and procedures can be added to licences to ensure the safety of customers. Once a licence application has been approved, the competent Regional State Administrative Agency enters the licensee and their premises into the national register of private social welfare and health care providers. 

Applying for a licence

If you only provide services in one region, you can apply for your licence through the Regional State Administrative Agency. The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health is the competent licensing authority if

  • you operate in two or more regions or
  • you are applying to expand your business into a second region.

You cannot begin to provide services until you have been issued a licence.

You need to apply for a new licence if your business ID changes as a result of, for example, business restructuring. You can contact either the competent Regional State Administrative Agency or the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, depending on the geographic scope of your operation, to ask whether your new facility is likely to qualify for a licence before you apply.

Licence applications take two months on average to process. However, we cannot issue your licence until all the required documents have been supplied.

Registration

Private social service providers must have access to enough competent staff considering the nature of the services provided and the number of customers. The requirement must be satisfied separately for each cost centre. A cost centre in this context can be, for example, a team that delivers services in customers’ homes or, in the case of services provided across a wide geographic area, an individual base from which services are delivered in a specific area.

Any premises on which services are provided must be sufficiently spacious and suited to the purpose. However, providers of non-institutional social services, such as services delivered in customers’ own homes, do not need to have designated premises.

Each cost centre must also have a designated person to oversee the operation and ensure that the services provided satisfy the relevant requirements. The person in charge must have a relevant university degree, experience of the industry and sufficient management skills. The area served by each cost centre as well as the service portfolio and the number of staff must not be excessive considering the ability of the person in charge to genuinely ensure the standard of service and customers’ safety.

The above mentioned prerequisite for a suitable higher education degree concerning the responsible person is the main rule for acting in a position of responsibility. However, the requirement may be deviated from in the case of small home service companies whose responsible person may also be a practical nurse. In this case, at most three employees can work in the unit, including the person in charge. 

Local authorities issue opinions on service providers’ ability to satisfy the registration criteria for the competent Regional State Administrative Agency, including 

  • whether their services comply with legal requirements, 
  • whether their premises are suited to the operation in question, 
  • whether the person in charge has enough experience of the industry, sufficient management skills and suitable training, 
  • whether the responsibilities of the person in charge are reasonable and manageable, and
  • whether the number and structure of the service provider’s human resources is compatible with the proposed operation. 

Only service providers whose premises satisfy the aforementioned requirements and who can be deemed capable of meeting their financial obligations can have their details entered into the national register of private social welfare and health care providers. The decision as to whether or not a service provider satisfies the registration criteria rests with the competent Regional State Administrative Agency.

Frequently asked questions

Social service providers do not normally need a health care licence. Licences issued to social service providers and the registration of residential service providers also cover the provision of some health care services. For residential services to be of a sufficiently high standard, it is vital that they include at least some of the health care services that the customers also require, such as pharmacotherapy.

A separate health care licence is required if a residential service provider offers any of the following health care services: 

  • patient-controlled analgesia pumps 
  • intravenous medication administration  
  • intravenous fluid therapy 
  • therapeutic injections of controlled drugs 
  • substitution therapy  
  • vaccinations for which a charge is payable (that are not covered by the contract between the local authority and the residential service provider on vaccinations to be given to customers of the residential facility)

A health care licence is also required for any provision of health care services (such as home-based nursing) to customers outside of a residential social service facility. 

As a rule, the person in charge of a unit must have a relevant university degree, experience in the industry and sufficient management skills. The responsible person at small-scale home service companies may also be a practical nurse. In this case, at most three employees can work in the unit, including the person in charge. 

Contact information of Regional State Administrative Agencies’ registries

Links to legal texts

Act on Disability Services and Assistance (380/1987) (in Finnish)

Child Welfare Act (417/2007) (in Finnish)

Mental Health Act (1116/1990) (in Finnish)

Substance Abuse Treatment Act (41/1986) (in Finnish)

Act on Service Vouchers in Social and Health Services (569/2009) (in Finnish)