How to apply for liquidation or deregistration from the Trade Register of a limited liability company
You can file an application with the PRH and request the company be removed from the Trade Register or be ordered into liquidation in the situations described in the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act.
Please note that mere inactivity is not a legal ground for ordering the company into liquidation or for deregistration. Read our instructions on how to close down an inactive company: Liquidation of limited liability companies.
You will find more detailed information in the links below.
This page includes the following information
- When can I apply?
- Who can apply?
- How to apply for deregistration from the Trade Register
- How to apply for an order of liquidation
- How to file your application using online forms
- How to send your application by post
- Who should sign the application?
- What to do if you do not have a Finnish personal identity code
- Handling fee
- What happens after sending your application?
- What happens after ordering a company into liquidation?
- Please note before applying
- See the legislation for more information
When can I apply?
You can file an application for deregistration or liquidation of a company only in the situations described in the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The most common situations are:
- The company has failed to file its financial statements with the Trade Register within one year of the end of the financial period despite reminders from the PRH.
- The company has failed to file a competent Board of Directors with the Trade Register despite reminders from the PRH.
Who can apply?
An application for the liquidation or deregistration of a company may be filed by one of the following:
- a member of the Board of Directors
- the Managing Director
- an auditor
- a shareholder
- a creditor
- anyone whose rights may depend on appropriate registration or the placing of the company into liquidation.
How to apply for deregistration from the Trade Register
File a free-form written application with the PRH. Use our online form to file your application or send it by post.
In your application, ask the PRH to order the company be removed from the Trade Register.
Give the legal grounds for removing the company from the Trade Register. See “When can I apply?”.
Also enter the name of any representative or other contact person. Enter the contact details of the contact person using the personal data form. Open: Personal data form. (pdf, 197.3 kt)
The contact details of the contact person are not public in applications initiated on or after 1 January 2025.
The application must be signed by the applicant or a person they have authorised. If an authorised person signs the application, enclose the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney.
How to apply for an order of liquidation
File a free-form written application with the PRH. Use our online form to file your application or send it by post.
The application must contain the following:
- Request for the PRH to order the company into liquidation and the legal grounds for ordering the company into liquidation. See When can I apply?.
- State whether the company has enough assets to cover the liquidation costs or if someone else will bear the liquidation costs.
- The name of the liquidator in the application. Enclose a consent signed by the liquidator and a personal data form with the name and personal identity code of the liquidator.
- Do not write any other personal identity codes or home addresses in your application. Save the personal data form on your computer before filling it in. Open: Personal Data Form. (pdf, 197.3 kt)
- Also enter the name of any representative or other contact person. Enter the contact details of the contact person using the personal data form.
The contact details of the contact person are not public in applications initiated on or after 1 January 2025.
The application must be signed by the applicant or a person they have authorised. If an authorised person signs the application, enclose the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney.
Please note: All the files you attach to the application will be made public, except for the personal data form. Do not include any files that contain personal identity codes, home addresses, or other confidential details (such as health details or business secrets).
How to file your application using online forms
To log in to the online form, you need to have a Finnish personal identity code and one of the following: personal internet banking codes, a mobile certificate, or a certificate card. What to do if you do not have a Finnish personal identity code
When you have logged in, select the application you want to file. Add the application, the receipt for the handling fee, and all other required documents in PDF format. Send your application.
Go to the online form Application to the Trade Register (in Finnish).Open link in a new tab
How to send your application by post
Send your application, the receipt for the handling fee, and all other required documents to:
PRH
Legal Unit
FI-00091 PRH, Finland
Who should sign the application?
The applicant or a person they have authorised should sign the application.
If an authorised person signs the application, enclose the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney.
What to do if you do not have a Finnish personal identity code
If you do not have a Finnish personal identity code, you can file your application using our online form if all the following requirements are met:
- You are a citizen of an EU country.
- You use another EU country's means of identification.
- The application concerns a limited liability company or a branch.
File your application using our online form: Identification method for foreign persons – Notification to the Finnish Trade Register.
When you log in, select the country whose means of identification you use. After you have logged in, select the notification of termination of a limited liability company. Enter the company details. Attach the application forms (see our instructions about applications) and all other required enclosures in PDF format. Send your application.
Go to the online form Identification method for foreign persons - Notification to the Finnish Trade Register.Open link in a new tab
Handling fee
The application fee is 180 euros.
Pay the application fee in advance and enclose the receipt with your application. See our payment instructions.What happens after sending your application?
The PRH sends a reminder letter to the company requesting the company to file the missing details by the deadline.
If the company fails to file the missing details by the deadline, the PRH will record the reminder in the company's Trade Register details. The reminder will also be published in the Official Journal. At the same time, the PRH requests the creditors to make any remarks by the deadline. The company must file the missing details within about 3.5 months.
If the company fails to file the missing details by the deadline, the PRH will deregister the company or order it into liquidation. The PRH may decide the matter even if no proof of the company receiving the reminder is available.
What happens after ordering a company into liquidation?
After the company has been ordered into liquidation, the liquidator applies for a public summons. Go to our instructions on applying for public summons.
Please note before applying
Please note that according to the current legislation
- a deregistered company cannot be re-entered into the Trade Register
- the liquidation of a company ordered into liquidation cannot be terminated.
See the legislation for more information
Provisions on ordering into liquidation or removing from the Trade Register are given in chapter 20, sections 4–6 of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act.
Read more about the Limited Liability Companies Act in the reference database of Finnish legislation Finlex in FinnishOpen link in a new taband Swedish.Open link in a new tab