Henkilötunnukseen

Henkilötunnus, often abbreviated as HETU, is the Finnish personal identity code. It is a unique identifier assigned to all Finnish citizens and residents for administrative purposes. The code serves to distinguish individuals in various official systems, including healthcare, taxation, social security, and education.

The structure of the henkilötunnus consists of a date of birth, a unique serial number, and a checksum character. The date of birth is represented in the format DDMMYY, where DD is the day, MM is the month, and YY is the last two digits of the year. This is followed by a hyphen and a four-digit serial number, which is assigned sequentially. The final character is a checksum, calculated using a specific algorithm based on the preceding digits, ensuring the validity of the code.

The Finnish Personal Identity Code is issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto). It is a crucial document for everyday life in Finland, facilitating transactions and ensuring accurate record-keeping. While primarily used for official purposes, it is also sometimes requested in private sector transactions where identity verification is necessary. Unauthorized use or disclosure of a henkilötunnus can have legal consequences.