Guide · Estate inventory

Genealogy report: DIY or professional service?

Q: Why does the service cost 79–159 euros when the authority fees are the same?

The service fee, from 79 euros (79–159 euros depending on the scope of the case), covers researching the registry history, placing orders with all authorities, tracking progress, and verifying the certificate chain. Authority fees are invoiced separately based on actual costs, typically around 120–250 euros in total and in extensive cases around 400–800 euros. Without the service, these steps fall on you. Both the service fee and authority fees are deductible from the estate for inheritance tax purposes.

Losing a loved one brings a wave of practical matters, often at a time when energy is at its lowest. The genealogy report is one of the first tasks needed for the estate inventory.

You can compile it yourself, but the process involves more steps than most people anticipate: identifying every registry authority that has held the records, ordering each certificate separately, and verifying that the resulting set is complete.

Published March 2026 · Updated 7 July 2026 · Reading time approx. 6 minutes

Written by Rasmus Nykänen Lawyer

What does a genealogy report actually mean?

A genealogy report is not a single document. It is a collection of official certificates that proves who the heirs of the deceased are. The core of this collection is the deceased's unbroken certificate chain from the age of 15 until the date of death, but the deceased's chain alone is not enough.

For the estate inventory and bank processing, certificates are also needed for heirs, spouses, and if the deceased was childless, the deceased's parents. If an heir died before the deceased, their own genealogy report is also required.

Certificates are ordered from every registry authority that has held the person's records: the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Orthodox Church, DVV and, in some cases, the National Archives or the Swedish authorities. Identifying the correct registrars requires knowledge of the deceased's and heirs' life histories.

Within the Evangelical Lutheran Church, one order covers all membership periods: moves and parish changes within Finland do not increase the number of certificates. A new certificate is needed only when the registrar changes, for example after leaving the church or because of membership in the Orthodox Church.

Legal requirement: Under the Finnish Code of Inheritance (Perintökaari, 40/1965), the estate inventory deed must include a genealogy report identifying all heirs. An incomplete report can delay the estate inventory or lead to additional requests from the Tax Administration.

What does DIY require in practice?

Compiling a genealogy report yourself is possible. But it means handling four separate steps on your own, each of which takes time and requires precision.

Research which registries are needed. Depending on the life histories of the deceased and heirs, orders may need to go to several different authorities. Read more about the different registry authorities.
Order each certificate separately. Each authority has its own form, processing time, and fee schedule.
Wait and track. Each authority processes orders on its own schedule. If an order was sent to the wrong authority, the process starts over for that certificate.
Verify completeness. This is the most critical step: the deceased's chain must be unbroken, and the set must also include the certificates for the other persons described above.

Most common mistake: ordering only the most recent certificate from a single authority. A gap in the chain is usually discovered at the estate inventory, by the bank, or by the Tax Administration, and ordering the missing certificate afterwards takes additional weeks.

Why completeness matters

The genealogy report is used at three stages: the estate inventory, bank processing, and inheritance tax processing. A complete document set means that

the estate inventory can proceed on schedule when all certificates are ready,
the bank can confirm the heirs in one go, and
the Tax Administration does not need to request additional documentation.

Ordering is the easy part. Verification is not.

Ordering certificates is the most visible part of the process, but not the most difficult. The real challenge is verifying that the document set as a whole is complete and that any special situations have been accounted for.

An individual certificate may appear complete, but the document set required for the estate inventory may still be incomplete. This is where professional experience makes the difference.

How the service works: the registry history is researched, all required certificates and genealogy reports are ordered on your behalf, and the specialists verify the complete package before delivery. Filling in the order form takes about 5 minutes.

How does the procurement method affect total estate inventory costs?

The single largest cost in an estate inventory is the professional's hourly fee. Compiling the genealogy report and verifying its completeness is a task where you can save significantly without affecting the quality of the outcome.

Most heirs have three options:

A: The law firm or bank handles everything

The professional identifies the authorities, orders certificates and verifies the chain's completeness. This is effortless, but expensive: routine work is typically billed as a separate document procurement fee (approx. €150–400) or charged at the lawyer's hourly rate.

B: You order the certificates yourself

You save on the ordering phase, but you bear the responsibility for the research yourself. There is also a hidden cost: since the lawyer is legally responsible for the estate inventory's validity, they must still review every certificate you provide carefully. If even one certificate is missing, the savings can quickly be consumed by the lawyer's supplementary work and additional ordering rounds.

C: A pre-verified package from Sukuselvitys.fi (from €79)

The certificates are ordered and the unbroken chain verified on your behalf. The lawyer receives a complete, verified package that can generally be used as-is for the estate inventory and at the bank. This minimises the lawyer's time and directly lowers your estate inventory bill.

Comparison: genealogy report procurement methods

	A: Bank or lawyer	B: Order yourself	C: Sukuselvitys.fi
Cost	€150–400*	€0	from €79
Scope of work	Procurement and verification	You do all the work	Procurement and verification
Lawyer's work	Included in fee	Full review (hourly rate)	Final check only
Chain verification liability	Professional liability	Your liability	Professional liability

* Typical document procurement fee charged by banks and law firms. Usually does not include potential hourly charges for resolving gaps in the chain.

A: Bank or lawyer

Cost€150–400*

ScopeProcurement and verification

Lawyer's workIncluded in fee

LiabilityProfessional

B: Order yourself

Cost€0

ScopeYou do all the work

Lawyer's workFull review (hourly)

LiabilityYours

C: Sukuselvitys.fi

Costfrom €79

ScopeProcurement and verification

Lawyer's workFinal check only

LiabilityProfessional

* Typical document procurement fee charged by banks and law firms.

What the service guarantees

Completeness guarantee. If the estate inventory preparer finds a gap in the report, it is supplemented free of charge and without delay.

Bank-ready. The genealogy report is delivered as official certificates in the format Finnish banks and authorities require.

Fixed service fee. The fee depends on the scope of the case and is confirmed before you pay.

Frequently asked questions

It depends on the deceased's life history. If the deceased's records have remained with a single registrar, for example the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the process is relatively straightforward. If the registry history is split across several registry authorities, the workload and the risk of errors increase significantly.

The service fee, from 79 € (79–159 € depending on the scope of the case), covers researching the registry history, placing orders with all authorities, tracking progress, and verifying the certificate chain. Authority fees are invoiced separately based on actual costs, typically around 120–250 € in total and in extensive cases around 400–800 €. Without the service, these steps fall on you. Both the service fee and authority fees are deductible from the estate for inheritance tax purposes.

Yes. The order form asks for the deceased's basic details and a few background questions that help direct the orders to the correct authorities. You don't need to know everything: the registry history is researched and the correct authorities are identified as part of the service.

Yes. When placing the order, you can mention which certificates you have already received and send them in, and the missing ones are ordered to complete the set. The documents you already have are still reviewed first, because some self-ordered certificates may cover the wrong scope or an incomplete time span.

When is the service worth it?

The service is most useful when the registry history spans several authorities, the deceased or an heir has lived in Sweden, an heir died before the deceased, or you are unsure whether the document set is complete. In these situations the orders are placed with each authority for you, and the specialists verify the complete set before delivery.

Order a genealogy report, from 79 €