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In Finland, an authority may issue three types of fines in a fine procedure: a fixed petty fine order, a fine order or a penal order.

The penal order is the most severe type of fine of these and is decided by the prosecutor.

The police will first give you a fine request in which they propose a fine of a certain amount. The police then submit the fine request to the prosecutor. The prosecutor either confirms the fine request submitted by the police or reduces the amount of the fine*. The prosecutor’s decision on the fine is called a ‘penal order’.

You can pay the fine as soon as the police have submitted the fine request, even though the fine still needs to be confirmed by the prosecutor. If the prosecutor decides to reduce the amount of the fine, the Legal Register Centre will return the overpaid amount to you.

In some cases, the prosecutor may refrain from issuing a penal order, return the matter to the police or find that the fine request has been submitted for the incorrect offence. If the prosecutor finds the fine request to be too lenient, you can be served with a new, higher fine request. You will be notified of these measures if this happens in your case.

*This may be a reduction in the number of unit fines or in the amount of a unit fine.

More information on penal orders on the Legal Register Centre website. 

You will first receive a fine request from the police. You will then receive a notification when the prosecutor has made their decision, i.e. issued a penal order. You will not be fined twice; rather, you will be notified of the same matter when both authorities have handled their own part.

You can pay the fine as soon as the police have submitted the fine request, even though the fine still needs to be confirmed by the prosecutor. If the prosecutor decides to reduce the amount of the fine, the Legal Register Centre will return the overpaid amount to you.

More information on penal orders

Mediation in a criminal matter always requires the consent of both the victim and the suspect. Please note that offences involving domestic violence cannot be referred for mediation. Mediation in cases of domestic violence ended at the beginning of 2025 following a legislative amendment.

If you wish to have your case handled through mediation, you may inform the police already at the pre‑trial investigation stage. You may also request mediation after the case has been referred to a prosecutor. If necessary, the customer service of the National Prosecution Authority can forward your request for mediation to the prosecutor handling the case.

Further information on mediation is available on the Mediation in criminal matters page.

You can also find more information on mediation on the websites of other authorities:

THL (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare) – Mediation in criminal and civil cases

Victim Support Finland – Instructions for those considering mediation

If you have a legal assistant, you should first discuss the matter with them.

If necessary, the customer service of the National Prosecution Authority may forward a request for expedited handling to the prosecutor. If you are unsure which customer service unit to contact, you can view the prosecution districts and the municipalities belonging to them by clicking the contact information links on this page.

A request for expedited handling must be justified. Otherwise, the prosecutor will handle the case in the planned order.

Please note that it is part of the prosecutor’s duties to determine which cases require urgent handling. Prosecutors therefore continuously assess whether the consideration of charges in a particular case needs to be expedited. All cases are handled as smoothly, impartially and fairly as possible.

You can inform the National Prosecution Authority of any changes in income, maintenance obligations or other matters with relevance to the resolution of the matter.  

Complete the account form concerning fine procedure and send it to us. You can submit the form to any National Prosecution Authority office.

The information must be submitted to the National Prosecution Authority within 14 days of being issued with the fine by the police. 

For further information, see the page The right of a person fined to submit an account to the prosecutor 

See further information on the page After the prosecutor’s decision.

A legal guardian’s right to receive information on a pending criminal matter concerning the person under their guardianship ends on the date on which that person turns 18.