Valvira's tasks

Valvira manages social welfare and health care supervision and licensing administration as well as the related field and authority steering. Valvira also has steering and control tasks related to alcohol administration, environmental health, and tobacco.

We grant the following licenses:

Professional rights

• legalisation of social welfare and health care professionals, job title protection and fixed-term licenses
• license to act as a domestic and pool water hygiene tester

Conducting business

• licenses for the production, import, wholesale and use of alcohol
• national licenses for private health care operators
• national licenses for private social welfare operators

Health and research

• abortion and sterilization licenses (in some cases)
• licenses under the Act on Assisted Fertility Treatments
• Adoption licenses

We supervise the regularity of activities in the following content areas:

Social welfare

• activities of social welfare professionals
• activities of social welfare units

Health care

• activities of health care professionals
• activities of health care units

Supervision under the Health Protection Act

• supervision of the activities of domestic water hygiene and pool water hygiene competence testers

Supervision under the Alcohol Act

• supervision of the activities of producers, wholesalers and licensees of alcoholic beverages
• alcohol product control
• supervision of advertising and sales promotion

Supervision under the Tobacco Act

• supervision of the advertising ban and marketing
• supervision of contaminants and package labelling.

We steer operators, municipalities and Regional State Administrative Agencies in our sector

Valvira steers operators, municipalities and Regional State Administrative Agencies in tasks related to social welfare and health care. The aim is that the steering, licensing and supervision practices are as uniform as possible throughout Finland.

Valvira and the Regional State Administrative Agencies carry out supervision in accordance with their joint supervision programmes on social welfare, health care and alcohol administration. The Finnish Food Authority, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) and Valvira jointly draw up a national health protection supervision programme.

National Committee on Medical Research Ethics

The National Committee on Medical Research Ethics TUKIJA operates in connection with Valvira.

TUKIJA website (tukija.fi)