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Changing company details at PRH: fees and steps for an Oy

Karma Accounts · Published 14 October 2026

When the registered details of a Finnish limited company (osakeyhtiö, Oy) change, the company must tell the Trade Register (kaupparekisteri) without delay by filing a change notification (muutosilmoitus) in the YTJ service. An address change is free, a change of board member or managing director costs 55 euros per item, and a change to the articles of association, which is how an Oy changes its line of business or domicile, costs 300 euros. A change to the articles does not take effect until the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) has registered it.

Why the register has to be right

Under the Trade Register Act (kaupparekisterilaki), section 10, any change in the registered details must be reported without delay. Section 9 explains why it matters: as a rule the company cannot rely on unregistered information against someone who did not know of it. A new managing director's appointment is valid from the board's decision, but until it is registered and published, the company cannot rely on it against an outsider who did not know of it.

PRH can also impose a negligence fee (laiminlyöntimaksu) of 300 euros on a company that does not correct missing or wrong details after being asked to (Trade Register Act 24 §), and according to PRH a second fee, twice the first, if it still does nothing after a new request. Typical triggers are a missing address, board or beneficial owner details. PRH sends its requests by post to the registered address, so keep it current. A company with no competent board in the register risks more: PRH must order it into liquidation or strike it off unless the defect is put right (OYL 20:4).

What each change costs in 2026

PRH's processing fees for changes; PRH charges no VAT on them:

Changes in who owns the shares are not registered as such. The company records them in its own shareholder register (osakeluettelo) under the Limited Liability Companies Act (osakeyhtiölaki, OYL) 3:15. If a change of ownership changes the company's beneficial owners, though, the beneficial owner details must be updated without delay, free of charge.

Board and managing director

The general meeting elects the board unless the articles say otherwise (OYL 6:9), and the board elects the managing director (6:20). In a private company a board member's term runs until further notice unless the articles provide otherwise (6:11), so you notify only when the board changes. A board of fewer than three members must have at least one deputy member (6:8). At least one ordinary member must live in the European Economic Area unless PRH grants an exception (6:10), and PRH applies the same test separately to the deputy members. The managing director must always live in the EEA unless PRH grants an exception (6:19).

In YTJ you need not attach the minutes of the election, but the company must have the decision, and PRH can ask to see it. Our templates for board meeting minutes and AGM minutes cover both. For a person without a Finnish personal identity code, attach a copy of their passport or other identity document certified by one person.

A board member who resigns can report the end of their own post, free of charge.

Address

The company must have a postal or visiting address in the register. An address change is a separate, free notification in the YTJ service and is registered automatically. It does not pass to Posti, so tell Posti separately. Anything you report as contact details is public in the YTJ search.

Line of business, domicile and name

The articles of an Oy must always state the company's name, its domicile (a Finnish municipality) and its line of business (toimiala) (OYL 2:3). Changing any of them is therefore a change to the articles, decided by the general meeting with at least two thirds of both the votes cast and the shares represented, unless the articles require more (OYL 5:27 and 5:30), or by all shareholders in writing without a meeting (5:1).

The decision must be reported without delay and may not be put into effect before it is registered (OYL 5:30). Attach a copy or extract of the general meeting's minutes, or of the shareholders' written decision, certified by one person, showing every change you report; for a partial change, write out the new wording of each changed clause in full. In YTJ you edit the current articles in a text field, and the register stores exactly what you type.

If you broaden the line of business, PRH examines the company name again against others in the field, and you may have to change it.

How to file

1. Check the current details in PRH's free Virre service.
2. Log in to the YTJ service with Suomi.fi identification and choose "Muuta yrityksen tietoja tai lähetä tilinpäätös".
3. A board member or the managing director signs; a procuration alone is not enough. An ordinary board member or the managing director can authorise another person in the YTJ service to sign the company's notifications. The authorisation goes to a named person, not to a firm, and is not given through Suomi.fi.
4. Add the attachments as PDF or Word files, sign, and pay in the service by online bank or card.

From 1 January 2026 all notifications must be made electronically, and PRH does not register notifications sent by letter or email. If none of the company's responsible persons has a Finnish personal identity code, PRH's instructions point to its online forms instead of YTJ. Do not attach documents containing personal identity codes, home addresses or health information.

PRH handles notifications in the order they arrive; on 12 October 2026 it was processing board and managing director changes filed on 5 October and other changes submitted through YTJ on 29 September. You can follow progress in Virre.

What we do

We keep the books for limited companies, prepare the financial statements and remind you when a decision also needs a change notification. Once you have authorised us in the YTJ service, we can file the notification for you; PRH's fees are paid to PRH. Our accounting for a limited company costs 199 euros a month up to 240 000 euros of turnover and 249 euros above, plus VAT 25.5 %, with software and the year-end included and no limit on receipts. We are based in Helsinki and work online across Finland. More on our limited company accounting page; starting fees are in our article on company registration costs.

Sources

• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: change notification of a limited company (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: fees for changes and closures (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: board, managing director and other persons (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: articles of association (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: line of business (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: address and contact details (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: beneficial owner notification (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: permits for persons living outside the EEA (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: filing in special situations from 2026 (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: negligence fee (in Finnish)
• Finnish Patent and Registration Office: processing times (in Finnish)
• YTJ: reporting general changes (in Finnish)
• YTJ: authorisations in the YTJ service (in Finnish)
• Finlex: Trade Register Act 564/2023, sections 9, 10 and 24 (in Finnish)
• Finlex: Limited Liability Companies Act 624/2006, chapters 2, 3, 5, 6 and 20 (in Finnish)

Please note: this is general information about Finnish rules, not advice for your own situation, and the rules change. Ask us before you act on it.

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