Business ID
The Business ID (Business Identity Code) is a code given to businesses and organizations by the PRH or the Tax Administration. It consists of seven digits, a dash and a control mark, for example 1234567-8.
The Business ID identifies the business. However, it is not possible to conclude from an ID whether a business has been registered with the Tax Administration registers or the Trade Register. If you need that information, please check it at the BIS search, the PRH, or the Tax Administration.
All companies registered in the Trade Register, VAT Register, Prepayment Register or Employer Register must state their Business ID on their invoices, business letters and forms.
Permanency of a Business ID
The Business ID of a legal person, such as a company, remains the same as long as the legal person is operative. If the company type changes in a way defined by law, the Business ID remains the same.
If the activities of a general partnership or a limited liability company are continued by a person operating as a private trader, the Business ID changes.
The Business IDs given to private persons are personal. This means that if the business operations of a private trader are transferred from one entrepreneur to another, the Business ID changes. The Business ID also changes if a company continues the business operations of a private trader.
IDs for businesses
A new business is issued an ID once its start-up notification has been registered at the Business Information System (BIS), which is a system jointly maintained by the PRH and the Tax Administration.
Entering a business into the VAT Register, Prepayment Register, and the Employer Register of the Tax Administration normally takes three weeks.
If you submit your start-up notification (private traders and limited liability companies) using the online service at ytj.fi, you will get a Business ID as soon as you have signed the notification, paid the Trade Register handling fee, and sent the notification in the online service.
If you submit your start-up notification on a paper form, you will get a Business ID within a couple of days after filing the notification.
You do not receive any separate confirmation that a Business ID has been issued, but you can check it using the company search two working days after you file the start-up notification. Go to the BIS company search.Open link in a new tab
IDs for associations
On 18 September 2019, all associations entered in the PRH Register of Associations received a Business ID. Registration numbers for associations are no longer in use.
If your association had a Business ID before 18 September 2019, it remains the same.
A new association filed with the Register of Associations is issued a Business ID once its start-up notification has been registered in the Business Information System (BIS).
You will not receive any separate confirmation that a Business ID has been issued, You can use the company search at ytj.fi to check the Business ID by the name of your association two working days after you file the start-up notification. Go to the BIS company search.Open link in a new tab