Did you get a fine?

The suspected violation and the consents given impact how the case is processed. Depending on these, the case may be resolved by 

• fixed petty fine order
• fine order
• fine request
• summary penal order
• penal order.

The police may issue a fixed petty fine order to impose a fixed fine on certain offences. A fixed fine is a monetary penalty of a fixed amount in euros, ranging from EUR 20 to 200 depending on the offence:

Public order violations

• Disturbing public order or endangering public security, EUR 70
• Use of intoxicating substances in a public place or in a public service vehicle, EUR 40
• Failure to comply with the obligation to prevent a public danger related to a building (e.g. snow falling from roof of the building), EUR 100
• Use of lights or advertisements in violation of the ban laid down in the law or unauthorised removal of a public announcement or notification, EUR 70
• Purchasing sexual services or offering sexual services against payment in a public place, EUR 100
• Defecating or urinating in a public place, EUR 40
• Organising a performance in a public place in violation of the ban laid down in the law, EUR 70
• Neglect to display contact information that ensures access to a building, EUR 70
• Possession of a substance suitable for painting graffiti in a public place without a valid reason, EUR 40
• Failure to comply with the duty of controlling dogs in built-up areas/in places referred to in the law, EUR 40
• Riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn vehicle in violation of the ban laid down in the law, EUR 40
• Petty possession of objects or substances suitable for causing injury to other people in a public place, EUR 70

Other offences

• Minor littering, EUR 100
• Fishing without a paid fisheries management fee, EUR 100
• Consumption of alcoholic beverages in a commercial enterprise or similar, EUR 40
• Consumption of alcoholic beverages in a public place regardless of having been urged not to do so by the police, EUR 40
• Possession of alcoholic beverages at the age of under 18, EUR 40
• Possession of strong alcoholic beverages at the age of 18−19, EUR 40

A summary penal order and penal order are used when a consent for a fine procedure is missing partly or in full or the matter requires a decision by the prosecutor. 

The police may use a summary penal order, for example, in a case where the income affecting the suspect’s day fines has essentially changed from the tax records. This gives the suspect an opportunity to submit information about the change in income to the prosecutor. 

A penal order is a fine imposed by the prosecutor on the basis of a summary penal order issued by the police. 

The summary penal order is used only in cases where the suspect has not given his or her consent for the fine procedure but the suspect is given a period of 30 days to personally consider whether he or she afterwards consents to the matter being processed in the fine procedure.

Just like an ordinary invoice, you may pay the fixed petty fine order or fine order using the account details stated on the form. You have 30 days to pay the fine from the date when it was issued. 

If you do not pay the fine within the payment time, it will be transferred to the Legal Register Centre, which will send you a payment reminder. You may apply for extension to the payment time from the Legal Register Centre using a separate application. If you still fail to pay the fine, it will be moved to enforced collection. 

LRC published an instructional video on applying for payment time for e.g. a traffic penalty fee. Watch the video to find out how to apply for payment time in e-service.

You can only watch the embedded video if you have accepted the cookies of the website. You can change your cookie settings on the page Information about the website using the button Change cookie settings at the bottom of the page. If you prefer not to accept the cookies, you can watch the video on Youtube.

You may appeal a fixed petty fine order, fine order or penal order to the district court of first instance in the area where the violation took place. The contact information of the district court is given in the fine form. 

As a rule, the appeal period is 30 days but the period depends on the type of the fine.