This guide is the checklist behind a Finnish bid: each document and step in the order a tender asks for it, and who may lawfully handle it. For how Finnish procurement works overall (thresholds, the 2026 reform, evaluation, challenges and payment), see How to bid for public tenders in Finland.
Before you bid
1. Register on the channel the call names. Most Finnish tenders run on Tarjouspalvelu.fi, Cloudia’s system, now part of Mercell; occasionally a call names Hankintasampo or the buyer’s own system. Bids are accepted only through the channel named in the call.
- Cost and time: one free seat per organisation; extra seats and premium features are paid, and the price isn’t published. Ready the same day after email activation, and the account stays open.
- Who does it: your company registers the organisation and becomes Admin. The Admin then creates the adviser as a user in Cloudia’s user management and gives them an edit right on the tender (vastuuhenkilö) or the Tarjouksen omistaja role. A second user may need a paid licence, so you decide whether to buy one.
- From abroad: the same; registering doesn’t require a Finnish Business ID (Y-tunnus).
2. Hansel frameworks. Hansel, the central purchasing body for central government and municipalities, runs framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems. Suppliers get on them by winning or qualifying; applying is free and works like any other tender in the named system, and you sign the framework if you are awarded.
With your bid
3. The ESPD (Eurooppalainen yhteinen hankinta-asiakirja). Mandatory preliminary evidence in EU-level procedures, completed electronically for you, each consortium member and each company whose capacity you rely on. Cloudia has separate eligibility forms for consortium members and resource subcontractors.
- Cost and time: free; 1 day. Valid: for the one procedure.
- Who does it: an adviser drafts it as a named user; you confirm that your declarations on exclusion grounds are true.
4. References. Most tenders want a list of comparable deliveries as evidence of technical capacity. It is free and takes 1–3 days to draft from your records; you confirm it. Foreign references are valid.
5. A valtakirja when someone else signs or files. A power of attorney authorises a signatory or adviser to act for the company, including to receive Tax Administration certificates on your behalf. It is free, drafted the same day and valid for what it states; your company’s signatories sign it. A foreign company may need an apostille on it.
6. The language. Each call must state the tender language. Most are Finnish or Swedish; ask in the Q&A whether English is accepted. A translator needs days.
7. Submit in the named channel, exactly as asked. Your own authorised user reviews the declarations and submits before the deadline, signing if the call requires it; an adviser submits only under an explicit power of attorney. A tender that adds your own terms or reservations, or arrives through any other channel, is excluded.
If you’re in line for award
The buyer now checks exclusion grounds and your right to operate.
| Evidence | Issued by | Who can get it for you | Valid for | What only you do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of paid taxes or tax debt certificate (verovelkatodistus) | Verohallinto (Finnish Tax Administration) | Your accountant, printing it in MyTax with a Suomi.fi mandate, or anyone named in your power of attorney | Shows the situation on the issue date; 3 months for Contractor’s Liability Act use | Grant the mandate or sign the power of attorney |
| Trade Register extract (Business ID) | PRH / YTJ | Anyone, as it is public; register status is visible in YTJ | Recent | — |
| Criminal-record extract for the company and its representatives | Oikeusrekisterikeskus (Legal Register Centre) | Nobody else: the company and the persons concerned request it | 12 months | Request it |
The tax certificate is available immediately in MyTax, electronically if you have email or Suomi.fi Messages switched on, or in about a week by post. It shows taxes paid, or any tax debts and payment arrangements. Standing monthly or quarterly orders are possible. A foreign company gives home-country equivalents, or uses the same service once registered in Finland.
Then the written contract. A Finnish public contract is formed only by a separate written contract. Your authorised signatory signs it with their own e-ID the same day; Cloudia supports electronic signing of decisions and contracts, and a foreign company uses an eIDAS signature or whatever the call allows.
Before the contract and the first invoice
- Contractor’s Liability Act documents (tilaajavastuulaki 1233/2006). Before subcontracted or agency work in Finland is contracted, the client has to collect your registrations, tax payment certificate, pension insurance, the applicable collective agreement, occupational health care and, in construction, accident insurance, none older than 3 months. Many suppliers share them through a reporting service such as Luotettava Kumppani. Since 2026 the Finnish Supervisory Agency oversees the rules. Your accountant assembles the certificates under your mandates; you hold the underlying insurances and registrations. Most written advice and negligence fees involve foreign contractors, so prepare your home-country equivalents early.
- Prepayment register or tax-at-source card. Outside the prepayment register (ennakkoperintärekisteri), the buyer must withhold tax from payments for work. A foreign corporation with one assignment can instead get a tax-at-source card for the contract (form 6202). Free, but it takes several weeks; your accountant applies with your mandate or power of attorney, and you sign or authorise.
- VAT and employer registration (foreign winners operating in Finland). Check your VAT registration duty in advance. With a permanent establishment and employees you register as an employer; otherwise it is voluntary but recommended. Free, several weeks, filed by your accountant under your mandate.
- Tax numbers on construction sites. Construction workers can’t start until they are in the register of tax numbers (veronumero). A foreign employer gives the employee details to the project supervisor before work starts, and construction work is reported monthly. Free; your accountant or payroll provider handles it, you provide the employee data, and workers carry their tax-number ID cards.
- Finnish minimum employment terms. Central government contracts, and every buyer’s works contracts, require at least Finnish statutory and collective-agreement minimum terms for work done in Finland, including for posted workers. You commit to them and document them.
- E-invoicing. Buyers must accept EN 16931 e-invoices and can require them (Act 241/2019), in formats such as Finvoice or Peppol. Your accountant sets up an e-invoicing operator or Peppol within days; you choose the operator. A foreign supplier uses a Peppol access point.
- A Finnish branch (sivuliike), only if you want one. A lawyer or accountant prepares the registration, and your company signs it. You don’t need one to bid.
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Account on Tarjouspalvelu.fi | You register; the Admin adds the adviser as a user | Keep the Admin role; buy a seat if needed |
| ESPD | Drafted by an adviser as a named user | Confirm the declarations |
| References | Drafted from your records | Confirm them |
| Valtakirja | Drafted for you | Sign |
| Translations | A translator | — |
| Submission | Your authorised user; an adviser only under explicit power of attorney | Review the declarations and submit |
| Tax certificate | Your accountant with a Suomi.fi mandate, or under your power of attorney | Grant the mandate or sign the power of attorney |
| Trade Register extract | Anyone, from the public register | — |
| Criminal-record extract | Nobody else | Request it |
| Written contract | — | Sign with your own e-ID |
| Contractor’s Liability Act documents | Your accountant | Hold the insurances and registrations |
| Prepayment register, tax-at-source card, VAT and employer registration | Your accountant | Sign or authorise the application |
| Tax numbers (construction) | Your accountant or payroll provider | Provide employee data |
| E-invoicing | Your accountant | Choose the operator |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| Tilitoimisto or auktorisoitu taloushallinnon asiantuntija (KLT, HLT); tilintarkastaja (KHT/HTM) for audit statements | PRH audit oversight (tilintarkastajat); Taloushallintoliitto authorises accounting firms (trade-body scheme) | Act for your company in MyTax under a Suomi.fi mandate; order tax debt certificates and certificates of paid taxes under your power of attorney; handle prepayment register, VAT and employer registrations and construction-site tax-number reporting; an auditor confirms financial figures where a tender requires audited data |
| Tarjousasiantuntija or tarjouskonsultti (bid writer) | Unregulated | Work in Tarjouspalvelu.fi as a user your Admin adds with an edit right on the tender; draft the tender, the ESPD and the quality responses |
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Finnish company to bid: you prove your right to operate with your home country’s registration, licence or a sworn statement. Who may bid from abroad is covered in How to bid for public tenders in Finland. For the paperwork:
Instead of the Finnish tax certificate, give your home country’s equivalent; once registered in Finland, you can use the same MyTax service. Instead of an extract from the Legal Register Centre, give a home-country criminal-record extract, or a sworn declaration where none is issued. Your ESPD is the same, foreign references count, and a valtakirja may need an apostille. For Contractor’s Liability Act purposes you provide home-country equivalents. Sign with an eIDAS signature or as the call allows. If you deliver in Finland, add the prepayment register or a tax-at-source card, VAT and employer registration, tax numbers on construction sites and, only if you want one, a branch.
Pitfalls
- Never hand over your bank ID or mobile certificate. An adviser acts through a Suomi.fi mandate under their own identification.
- Bid only through the channel the call names, and add no terms or reservations of your own: either one gets the tender excluded.
- Check whether you need a second Tarjouspalvelu.fi seat before planning to work on a tender together.
- Collect Contractor’s Liability Act documents before any subcontracted work in Finland, and keep them under 3 months old.
- Screen for sanctions before bidding. Russian nationals, Russia-established entities and entities over 50% Russian-owned can’t be awarded contracts above EU thresholds, and China-origin operators are excluded from medical-device tenders worth €5 million or more.
- Start the prepayment register application early: it takes several weeks, and without it tax is withheld from your payments.
Doing it with askTender
In Finland, your askTender Partner is added as a named user on your company’s account on Tarjouspalvelu.fi (Cloudia) and works under their own login. You keep your own login and sign only what the law reserves to you: the ESPD declarations, the submission unless you give an explicit power of attorney, Suomi.fi mandates and powers of attorney, and the written contract. The askTender Desk prepares the ESPD and references and assembles the tender; askTender Partners, such as an auktorisoitu taloushallinnon asiantuntija or a tilintarkastaja, do the steps their authorisation covers.
Questions
Which documents go in with a Finnish bid?
At EU level, the ESPD, completed electronically for you, each consortium member and each company whose capacity you rely on. Most tenders also ask for references, and a valtakirja is needed if someone other than your authorised signatory signs or files. Tax certificates, the Trade Register extract and criminal-record extracts come from the intended winner. Whatever you send must go through the channel the call names, with no terms or reservations of your own.
Who can get the certificate of paid taxes?
Anyone the company authorises. A person with a Suomi.fi mandate for your company prints it in MyTax immediately, or the Tax Administration issues it to people named in a power of attorney you sign. By post it takes about a week. Standing monthly or quarterly orders are possible, which helps keep Contractor’s Liability Act documents under 3 months old.
Can an adviser work in my Tarjouspalvelu.fi account?
Yes, as their own user. Your Admin creates them in Cloudia’s user management and gives them an edit right on the tender (vastuuhenkilö) or the Tarjouksen omistaja role. Each organisation gets one free seat, and a second user may need a paid licence, so check before you plan to work on a tender together.
What is the prepayment register, and what if my company isn’t in it?
If your company isn’t in the Finnish prepayment register (ennakkoperintärekisteri), the buyer must withhold tax from its payments. A foreign corporation with a single assignment can get a tax-at-source card (form 6202) for that contract instead. Registration is free but takes several weeks, so start early; an accountant applies with your mandate or power of attorney.
Who signs the contract in Finland?
Your own authorised signatory, with their own e-ID. A Finnish public contract comes into being only through a separate written contract, so the award decision alone doesn’t bind anyone. Signature rules are set in each call, and a foreign company uses an eIDAS signature or whatever the call allows.
Sources
- Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts 1397/2016 (Finlex)
- Tarjouspalvelu.fi (Cloudia)
- Tax Administration: certificate of paid taxes and tax debt certificate
- Tax Administration: taxation of foreign businesses in Finland
- Tax Administration: employers’ and contractors’ obligations
- Hansel: becoming a supplier
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.