Start-up notification - associations

Non-profit associations file their start-up notification with the Register of Associations at the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH).

All associations get a Finnish Business ID after filing a start-up notification.

If a registered association is running a business, it may be required to file a separate start-up notification with the PRH Trade Register. Read further instructions at prh.fi for associations on filing a start-up notification with the Trade Register (in Finnish).Open link in a new tab

To register as a customer at the Finnish Tax Administration, the association must fill in form Y1a and appendix form 6212.

Read more about the Register of Associations on the PRH website.Open link in a new tab

Please note: If the association has not been entered into the PRH Register of Associations and no registration is pending, the Tax Administration can treat it as a tax consortium. Read further instructions on the page ‘Start up-notification – other types of business or organization’.

Start-up notification online or on paper to the PRH Register of Associations

Non-profit associations submit their start-up notification to the PRH Register of Associations using an online filing service (available in Finnish and in Swedish). Go to the online filing service of the Register of Associations.Open link in a new tab

If the association uses a paper form for the start-up notification, it can also register with the PRH Trade Register at the same time.

Registration at the Tax Administration using paper forms only

Even though the association gets a Business ID once its start-up notification has been registered, its details will not be forwarded from the Register of Associations to the Tax Administration. When filing the start-up notification, the association can register as a customer at the Tax Administration by filling in both form Y1a and appendix form 6212 (available in Finnish and in Swedish).

It is not possible to submit the notification to the Tax Administration online.

If the association has no intention of registering at the Register of Associations but it needs to get a Business ID and file details with the Tax Administration, use form Y1a and appendix form 6212 (with ‘other association’ as the type of community). This applies to game management associations, fisheries regions and the like.

The association must fill in form 6212, for example, when it registers with or applies for entry in the VAT Register, Employer Register or Prepayment Register at the Tax Administration, or when it notifies that it is starting business activities. If the association does not consider its activities to be VAT liable, it must submit a separate report explaining how the activities meet the requirements for VAT exemption.

Enclose the following documents with form 6212:

• agenda and budget; and
• requirements for VAT exemption: a report with grounds explaining why the community does not consider its activities to be VAT liable (read the instructions about VAT liability in the instructions below).

For further information about the details to be filed with the Tax Administration, see the instructions below.

Entering an association into the VAT Register, Prepayment Register and Employer Register at the Tax Administration normally takes about three weeks.

Even though it is possible to file notifications with the PRH Register of Associations online, please note that you must file all notifications with the Tax Administration using paper forms. Please scroll down for the forms and instructions. The forms and instructions are only available in Finnish and in Swedish. Filing notifications with the Tax Administration is free of charge.

First, save the form you need to your computer to be able to fill it in. Fill in the form – either in Finnish or in Swedish - on your computer, then print it at A4 size, and send it to the address given on the form.