Finland · Openness of government activities

Finland's Openness Act — government records public by default

AccessPoint manages requests under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (julkisuuslaki, 621/1999) — access without delay and at the latest within two weeks, the § 24 secrecy grounds, and appeals to the administrative court — pre-configured for Finland and running inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

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Finland at a glance

Response standard
Without delay, and at the latest within two weeks; one month for large or complex requests (§ 14)
Access principle
Openness by default — official documents are public unless secrecy is specifically provided by law
Secrecy framework
The secrecy grounds listed in § 24 of the Openness Act, applied where the law provides
Charges
Oral information and on-site inspection are free; copies may carry a statutory fee
Oversight
Administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court; Parliamentary Ombudsman and Chancellor of Justice
Languages
Finnish and English

Built for Finland

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

Openness Act request lifecycle

Intake to release under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (julkisuuslaki, 621/1999) — the two-week clock, the recorded legal basis for anything withheld — all on Microsoft 365.

Openness by default

Every official document is public unless secrecy is specifically provided by law — and a requester need give no reason. AccessPoint treats disclosure as the default and records the legal basis for anything withheld.

The two-week clock

Information must be given without delay, and at the latest within two weeks of the request; for documents that are numerous or require exceptional work, within one month. AccessPoint computes both deadlines and reminds you before they fall.

The § 24 secrecy grounds

Section 24 sets out the categories of secret official documents — state security, foreign relations, criminal investigation, business secrets, personal privacy and more. Apply them line by line on a colour-coded, audit-trailed redaction record.

Free information, fees for copies

Oral information, and inspecting a document on site, are free; the authority may charge a fee for copies it produces. AccessPoint computes the charge and issues the estimate.

In your own tenant

Every request and record stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud, no cross-border transfers, and no per-user fees.

Openness by default

In Finland, government records are public by default — secrecy has to be found in the § 24 catalogue.

Finland's Act on the Openness of Government Activities turns the usual question around: official documents are in the public domain unless a law specifically makes them secret, and anyone may ask for one without giving a reason. Where secrecy applies, it comes from a defined source — most often the long catalogue in Section 24, running from state security and foreign relations to criminal investigations, business secrets and personal privacy. The authority must still answer without delay, and at the latest within two weeks. AccessPoint runs every request to that openness-first standard.

Public by default Documents are public unless a law makes them secret.
The § 24 catalogue The defined grounds an authority must point to before withholding.
Two-week answer Access given without delay, at the latest within two weeks.

Configured out of the box

Installing the fi-foi configuration pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • The Act on the Openness of Government Activities (julkisuuslaki, 621/1999) as the legal-authority and citation spine
  • The Finnish public-holiday calendar and the two-week / one-month (§ 14) due-date rules
  • The § 24 secrecy-grounds catalogue, colour-coded for redaction, with the statutory basis on record
  • Openness-by-default intake — disclosure as the default, no stated reason required
  • Copy-fee rules, with free oral information and on-site inspection and an itemized estimate for copies
  • The appeal workflow to the administrative court (hallinto-oikeus) and onward to the Supreme Administrative Court
  • Parliamentary Ombudsman and Chancellor of Justice oversight references
  • Openness Act correspondence templates in Finnish and English with statutory wording

Finland Questions

How quickly must a Finnish authority respond to a request?
Information from a public document must be given without delay, and at the latest within two weeks of the request. Where the documents are numerous, contain secret parts, or otherwise require exceptional work, the limit is one month (§ 14). AccessPoint computes both deadlines and reminds you before they fall.

What makes Finland different — openness by default?
Yes. Under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, official documents are in the public domain unless secrecy is specifically provided by law, and a requester need give no reason. Secrecy must be grounded — most often in the Section 24 catalogue — and refusals are appealed to the administrative court. AccessPoint treats disclosure as the default and records the basis for anything withheld.

What can an authority charge?
Oral information, and inspecting a document on site, are free. For copies it produces, the authority may charge a fee set under the state fee criteria. AccessPoint computes the charge and issues the estimate before copies are produced.

Where does data reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, and audit history never leave your control — no third-party cloud, no vendor access, and no cross-border data transfers.

Run Finland's Openness Act in One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for Finland. No credit card required.

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