SERMI certification ensures safe vehicle maintenance and repair

You can easily order an extract from the criminal records for SERMI certification from the Legal Register Centre (LRC) e-service. The extract can be ordered by a company and its certified employees.

What is SERMI certification?

A clean extract from the criminal records is required to obtain the certificate. A clean extract from the criminal records means that neither the company nor its employees have a criminal record. The procedure improves security in the sector and prevents offenders from accessing vehicle safety data.

Not all employees need to be certified. Certification applies to the company and the employees designated by the company.

Brief description of the SERMI procedure

The company applies for approval for itself and permits for its employees from a conformity assessment body (AKL-Sertifiointi Oy). For approval and permits, the company and its employees must order for themselves an extract from the criminal records.
The assessment body verifies the information provided by the company through documentary and on-site inspections. The company must sign a declaration that its business is legal. Approval is only granted once the assessment body has checked the declaration and assessed compliance with the requirements.
The assessment body will issue an inspection certificate to the company if it meets the requirements. Individual employees in a company can only be granted a permit after an inspection by the conformity assessment body.
The assessment body sends the necessary information to the control centre, which maintains the permit database and transmits access rights information. The control centre creates a digital certificate and means of identification, and sends them back to the assessment body. The assessment body provides the certificates and PIN codes to the employees.

When is an extract from the criminal records needed?

A company and its employees can apply for an extract from the criminal records for SERMI certification in the following situations:

SERMI certification is being applied for for the first time.
SERMI certification is being renewed.
The control centre will check whether the conditions for granting certification, such as a clean criminal record, are still being met.

A SERMI certificate is valid for five years. When a company applies for renewal of the certificate, a check of extracts from the criminal records is carried out for all employees for whom a permit is required, regardless of when the employee originally obtained the permit.

The employee orders his/her extract from the criminal records him/herself. The extract can only be issued to a person in employment, not to a trainee or subcontractor, for example.

Order an extract electronically or by filling in the application form 

Order an extract from the criminal records for work from LRC’s e-service . The e-service requires strong authentication using either Finnish means of identification or eIDAS authentication.

If you are unable to use the e-service, please use the LRC's application form (PDF). Fill in the application form carefully and send it to us by one of the following means:

Suomi.fi/messages (Legal Register Centre > Register services).
By email to [email protected]. We recommend using the Ministry of Justice’s secure message service . Enter your email address and register it. You will receive a link in your email that will allow your message to be delivered securely. 
By post to the Legal Register Centre/Criminal Records, P.O. Box 157, 13101 Hämeenlinna.

You cannot order an extract by phone.

You can also make a free-form written application to the LRC. However, it must contain all the same information as on the LRC application form mentioned above.

Self-employed persons

A self-employed person cannot apply for an extract from the criminal records intended for companies. A self-employed person, such as an entrepreneur working under a business name, is treated as an employee in this context, so the self-employed person applies for an extract from the criminal records for an employee.

Processing the application and the ready extract

An extract costs EUR 6 when ordered online and EUR 12 when ordered by other means. An application made through the e-service must be paid for immediately. Applications sent by post and email are invoiced separately.

The processing time is 7 working days, and applications are processed in the order in which they are received. The processing time does not include postal delivery time.

Once the extract is ready, you can view and print it out for your use in LRC's e-service. The extract is also delivered to the subscriber's Suomi.fi messages or postal address.

It is valid for six months. The clean extract required for SERMI certification can either be submitted directly to the assessment body or to your own employer, who will then hand over all extracts to the assessment body when applying for certification.

A company applying for approval orders an extract from the criminal records for itself and submits it to the assessment body.

Order an extract electronically or by filling in the application form 

If you are a representative of a company entered in the Trade Register, you can order a corporate fine extract directly from LRC’s e-service.  

Otherwise, you will first need a Suomi.fi e-Authorization to order an extract from the criminal records. Once authorised, you can log in to our e-service and submit your application. 

If your organisation does not have Suomi.fi credentials,, use an LRC application form (PDF) . Fill in the application form carefully and send it to us by one of the following means:

through the Suomi.fi/messages service (Legal Register Centre > Register services). 
By email to [email protected]. We recommend using the Ministry of Justice’s secure message service . Enter your email address and register it. You will receive a link in your email that will allow your message to be delivered securely. 
By post to the Legal Register Centre/Criminal Records, P.O. Box 157, 13101 Hämeenlinna.

You cannot order an extract by phone.

You can also make a free-form written application to the LRC. However, it must contain all the same information as on the LRC application form mentioned above. 

Processing the application and ready extract

An extract from the criminal records costs EUR 6 when ordered online and EUR 12 when ordered by other means. An application made through the e-service must be paid for immediately. Applications sent by post and email are invoiced separately.

The processing time is seven working days, and applications are processed in the order in which they are received. The processing time does not include postal delivery time.

Once the extract is ready, it will be delivered to the company at its postal address. Anyone dealing on behalf of a company can also see the corporate fine extract in the e-service. 

It is valid for six months. A company must provide a clean extract to the assessment body. In this context, and with the consent of its employees, the company may also provide extracts for its employees who are applying for a permit.