Country kit
Bidding in Finland: the country kit
What a company from another country needs to know before it bids for a public contract in Finland.
Not legal advice. Rules and portals change: check the buyer's documents and the official portal.
Written notes last reviewed on November 15, 2026.
For a bidder from abroad
What a company from another country usually runs into. Each line names where you can check it.
- Portals
-
Notices above the national thresholds are published on Hilma. The bid goes to the tender system the buyer uses, which the notice links.
Check it at Hilma
- Account to submit
-
To submit you need an account on the platform the notice names. Open it days ahead: some platforms check a new company by hand.
Check it at Hilma
- Electronic signature
-
A qualified electronic signature is usually not required: in most procedures the bid counts as it is sent through the platform. The documents say when a signature is wanted.
Check it at Hilma
- ESPD and eCertis
-
The European Single Procurement Document is accepted as a first proof that you are suitable; here it is called ESPD (yhteinen eurooppalainen hankinta-asiakirja). eCertis shows which certificates of your own country match the ones asked for.
Check it at eCertis (European Commission)
- Registers and lists
-
There is no list to join before bidding. The successful bidder is usually asked for certificates on taxes, pension contributions and its entry in the trade register; a company from another state provides the equivalents of its own country.
Check it at Julkisten hankintojen neuvontayksikkö
- Language of the bid
-
Bids are written in the language of the buyer: Finnish or Swedish. Certificates in another language usually need a translation; the documents say whether it has to be certified.
Some buyers accept bids in English: the documents say so.
Check it at Hilma
From the register
Counted from the notices Aperlena reads. These lines change as the register does.
- Sources we read
-
Notices above the EU thresholds also arrive through TED, the EU's Tenders Electronic Daily.
- Open now
-
1,034 open notices. See them
Busiest sectors: Construction work (233), Architecture & engineering services (100), Business services (95)
- Time to bid
-
Open procedure above the EU thresholds: usually 26 to 35 days from publication to the deadline (median: 31, from 7,782 notices).
Open procedure below the EU thresholds: usually 16 to 28 days from publication to the deadline (median: 21, from 10,856 notices).
- Language of the notices
- Finnish, Swedish
- Currency
- Amounts are stated in euros (EUR).
- Working days
-
Deadlines on Aperlena count working days on the national calendar of Finland: Monday to Friday, without the national public holidays. Regional holidays are not counted.
The next national holidays on a weekday: , , ,
After the award
Not legal advice. The periods run from the day the decision is sent to you. Check your award letter and national law before you rely on any of them.
- Standstill period
-
Usually 14 calendar days from the day after the decision was sent.
The buyer usually may not sign the contract before it ends.
- Time to challenge
-
Usually 14 calendar days from the day after the decision was sent.
- Review body
- Markkinaoikeus
- Rule
- Hankintalaki 1397/2016, 129 § ja 147 §
The periods are the ones for contracts above the EU thresholds. Below them national rules differ, and some awards have no standstill at all.
On the page of an awarded notice the periods are counted from its award date, with a letter asking the buyer for its reasons. Awarded contracts in Finland