Library card

You will need a National Library card, if you want to order materials for home or reading room loans from the closed storage of our library or loan works from our open collections.

Service description

Using the customer premises of the National Library of Finland and the materials from the open collections and the reference library in the reading rooms does not require a library card.

Who can get a National Library card?

National Library card can be granted to a person, who:

  • is over 15 years of age
  • lives in Finland (P.O. Box, poste restante or foreign addresses are not valid)
  • has a Finnish personal identification number.

Foreigners living in Finland can apply for the identification number from their local register office.

Local Register Offices (maistraatti.fi)

Exchange students or visiting researchers at the University of Helsinki may be granted a library card even if they do not meet all the above-mentioned criteria.

Other foreigners may be granted the library card with which they can reserve and borrow material to use in the reading rooms, but they can not have home loans.

How can I get a National Library Card?

You can order the card via Application for a National Library Card form and then collect your card from the library. Bring a personal identity card with a photo (driver's license, passport or official identity card). You can also get your library card in a few minutes in library's customer service. 

The first National Library card is free of charge, but ordering a new card to replace a lost or damaged card will cost 5€.

If a visiting researcher or an exchange student at the University of Helsinki does not have a Finnish personal identification number, a representative of the department can apply for a National Library card on their behalf.

How will you use the personal information given to you?

The customer data is only used for the library services and for managing the loans and orders of the materials. More information on client register data.

The more detailed conditions of use of the National Library card are available on the rules of the National Library.

Joining the service

Free of charge

Part of a service package