How to issue a power of attorney to authorise someone to manage your Kela-related affairs
Published 2/7/2024
You can issue a power of attorney to authorise someone to manage your Kela-related affairs by phone, by mail or by visiting a customer service point. Understanding the details related to authorisation can be difficult due to for instance a language barrier or because the concept of authorisation does not exist in the person’s own culture. If the customer does not understand what authorisation means, his or her legal rights may be at risk.
What authorisation means and how to authorise someone else to act on your behalf
You do not have to manage your Kela-related affairs yourself. Instead, someone else can act on your behalf if necessary. For this purpose, a power of attorney must be drawn up (form VAL3). Complete details about yourself in section 1 of the power of attorney.
You can choose to whom you wish to give a power of attorney. However, the person must be at least 18 years of age. The person who acts on behalf of someone else using a power of attorney is an authorised person.
You decide what actions someone whom you have authorised can take. You can authorise the person to manage all of your affairs or just a specific matter. The authorised person can for instance apply for a benefit or report changes. To act on your behalf, the person can also receive confidential information about you, for instance about your benefits, your financial situation or your health.
It is possible to manage another person’s affairs by phone, by mail or by visiting a customer service point. It is not possible to file applications on behalf of someone else online.
If you wish to limit the authorisation to cover only a specific matter, write the name of that benefit in the power of attorney (for example housing allowance).
Attention! In the OmaKela e-service, customers must grant a so-called Suomi.fi mandate to the person they wish to authorise. The mandate is called Sosiaaliturvan etuusasioiden hoitaminen (Handling of matters related to social security benefits). Read more about acting on someone else’s behalf in OmaKela.
You also decide for how long the power of attorney is valid. The power of attorney will expire on a specified date or it can be valid indefinitely. You can also make changes to the period of validity or withdraw the authorisation at any time by informing Kela about it. You do not have to state a reason for the withdrawal.
By signing the power of attorney, you verify that you are issuing it personally.
You can provide the power of attorney to Kela through the OmaKela e-service or by mail, or you can hand it in at a customer service point. The authorised person can provide the power of attorney by mail or by handing it in at a customer service point.
Instructions for completing the form for power of attorney in different languages (pdf)
