Enforcement and reporting violations

• If at all possible, talk about the issue first with the person who provided the service or made the decision or their supervisor. If there has been a mistake or if you suspect that the matter was handled badly, the issue may be corrected after a discussion. Receiving a decision by a Regional State Administrative Agency in an enforcement case may take approximately a year. 

  • In matters concerning health care, social welfare or early childhood education and care, you can submit a written objection directly to the service provider. If you are dissatisfied with the reply to the written objection, you can file a complaint with the Regional State Administrative Agency. Attach the objection you have filed and the response you have received to the complaint. 
     

• Check if the matter about which you want to file a complaint is within the authority of the Regional State Administrative Agencies. 
  • Please note that we do not usually investigate a complaint, if
    • it involves an issue older than two years
    • the complaint was submitted anonymously or it was so incomplete that it does not state what the issue involves
    • a complaint on the same issue has already been processed
    • another authority is processing the issue
    • according to our assessment it to be unfounded or of minor significance.
      
       
• Note that the Regional State Administrative Agency can hear the subject of the complaint, if necessary. In connection with the hearing, we will send all documents you have provided to the subject of the complaint. In that case, the subject of the complaint will know your name. 
   
• Note that the decision on a complaint is confidential, if the complaint includes confidential information for the protection of privacy, such as customer information from health care and social services.  
   
• Note that the decisions of the Regional State Administrative Agency are mainly administrative decisions that cannot be appealed. 
   
• If you are filing a complaint on behalf of another person, obtain a power of attorney. Only legal representatives can receive a decision in the case of the person they represent without a power of attorney. A legal representative can be the custodian of a minor or the legal guardian of a person. Add the guardianship decision as an attachment to the complaint.

If you have sent a complaint to the registry by e-mail, the registry will send you a confirmation of receipt.

We will review the complaint. Please note that it will take more time for us to process the matter if it contains several different questions. If the complaint does not give reason to take measures, we will notify you about it as soon as possible.

We can also refer a complaint concerning social welfare and health care services to a wellbeing services county or private service provider for processing as an objection. Similarly, a complaint concerning early childhood education and care may be referred for processing as an objection to the office or official in charge of early childhood education and care.

After we have started to investigate the complaint, we will obtain the reports and documents we consider necessary. When we request a clarification, we will send all documents you have submitted to us to the object of the complaint. If necessary, we may also ask you for a response to the reports received.

Once a decision regarding your complaint has been issued, we will notify you of the outcome. If you have filed a complaint on behalf of another person and the complaint involves confidential matters, we will only send you the decision if you have submitted a power of attorney to us. In any case, we will notify you that a decision has been made on the complaint.

In our decision on the complaint, we can provide administrative guidance to the party whose action your complaint concerns. We may conclude that this party has breached the law 

• by informing the party of our understanding of lawful conduct 
• by drawing the party’s attention to its conduct to ensure that it will be in accordance with the law or good administrative practice in the future, or 
• by giving the party an admonition for the future. 

1. Using a PDF form

Fill in the complaint form. We recommend that you send us the form via secure email. Use secure email especially if your complaint or its attachments include information covered by the protection of privacy.

Complaint form (pdf, in Finnish)

Secure email (you can select a language from the top menu) 

You can also send your complaint by post or take it to our registry. Remember to sign the form. You can find  the contact information of our registries at the bottom of this page. 

2. Other considerations

You can also file a complaint in another person's case. However, we can only disclose confidential information without the consent of the person concerned to their legal representative. The person concerned may give their consent by giving a power of attorney.

Power of attorney (in Finnish)

We can hear the subject of the complaint if necessary. In connection with the hearing, we will send all documents you have provided to the subject of the complaint. In that case, the subject of the complaint will know your name.

Note that the decisions of the Regional State Administrative Agency are written in Finnish or Swedish. However you can file a complaint in English.

For more information and advice on filing a complaint, please contact our customer service.

An objection can be filed as a freeform letter.

Objections must be responded to within 1ꟷ2 months. The response must describe how the objection has been handled at the facility and what action may have been taken as a result. 

A response to an objection cannot be appealed.

If you have filed a written objection, please wait for the response before taking any other action.