Helsinki: Svar på instruktion: Oplysninger om regler om slettefrister for
kriminalitetsoplysninger i andre EU-lande
360-sag: 23/01147
In Finland, the deletion periods for criminal records are laid down in the Criminal Records Act
(770/1993). Data are erased from the register as follows:
1) information on conditional imprisonment; an ancillary fine, community service or
supervision imposed in addition to conditional imprisonment; a juvenile punishment; a fine
imposed instead of a juvenile punishment; removal from office; and corporate fine after five
years;
2) information on a sentence of imprisonment of at most two years, a monitoring sentence,
and community service after ten years; and
3) information on a sentence of imprisonment of more than two and at most five years, and
information on waiving of punishment under chapter 3, section 4, subsections 1 and 2 of the
Criminal Code after twenty years from the date of issue of the final judgment.
4) If a person has been sentenced to more than five years' imprisonment, the information
will only be deleted from the register when the person reaches the age of 90 or dies.
Furthermore, possible new convictions affect the deletion periods: if the criminal record
contains more recent information that cannot yet be deleted under the rules above, the
information on older punishments are not deleted either. Therefore, no conviction is erased
from the criminal record in isolation, but the entire record is always deleted at once. All
information concerning a person are deleted from the criminal records after the person has
died or reached the age of 90 years.
Information on sanctions imposed abroad is erased in accordance with the time frames set out
above. However, information on sanctions imposed in another Member State of the European
Union are deleted once the Member State that provided the information notifies that it has
deleted the information from its own register.
The time limits for deleting the register of fines are laid down in the Act on the enforcement of
a fine (672/2002): The Act allows the Legal Register Centre, despite the obligation of secrecy,
to disclose information on request to those whose right to receive such information is
specifically provided for by law. No information may be disclosed after three years have passed
since the pronouncement or issue of a final judgment or other final decision of the authorities.
The data contained in the register of fines is erased five years after the enforcement of the
penalty has been completed.