Get to know Valvira 

Valvira is the central agency within the administrative sector of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, which provides guidance, supervision and grants licences.

Introducing the new Finnish Supervisory Agency

As of 2026, we will form part of the new Finnish Supervisory Agency. This new authority will assume all the duties of Valvira, most of the duties of the Regional State Administrative Agencies and the majority of the duties of the Environment and Natural Resources area of responsibility of the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. The domain of the new authority will encompass areas such as health and social services, environment and education.

Valvira employees will migrate to the new authority along with their duties. The authority will have some 2,000 employees around Finland.

The new authority will unify licensing and supervisory practices and streamline licensing processes.

Read more about the reform on the Ministry of Finance website.

Guidance

  • guidance for Regional State Administrative Agencies and wellbeing services counties in social welfare and health care tasks
  • guidance for Regional State Administrative Agencies in early childhood education and care tasks
  • guidance for Regional State Administrative Agencies on alcohol administration tasks
  • guidance for municipalities on health protection and tobacco control tasks

Licences and registrations

Professional rights

  • licensing, title protection and temporary licences for social and health care professionals
  • licence to operate as a hygiene tester for household and swimming pool water

Engaging in business

  • licences for the manufacture, import, wholesale and use of alcohol
  • national registration of service providers and service units in health care and social welfare

Health and research

  • licences for pregnancy termination and sterilisation (in some cases)
  • licences under the Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments

Supervision

Social welfare and health care

  • the activities of social welfare and health care professionals and organisations
  • compliance with the essential requirements of patient and customer information systems 

Alcohol Act

  • the activities of manufacturers, wholesalers and licence holders of alcoholic beverages
  • alcohol product control
  • marketing and sales promotion

Tobacco Act

  • marketing ban
  • tobacco product control

Health protection

  • the activities of competence testers for household water and swimming pool water hygiene

Early childhood education and care

Valvira also includes the Finnish Adoption Board (link), which issues adoption licences, and the National Medical Research Ethics Committee, Tukija.