Increases proposed to Traficom’s service fees

Increases proposed to Traficom's service fees

The Ministry of Transport and Communications has submitted draft decrees concerning the fees charged for the services provided by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute for comments. These decrees would replace the current ones, which will expire on 31 December 2025.

It is proposed that nearly all Traficom's service fees will be increased. The aim of the increases is to ensure cost recovery in the agency's chargeable activities. The current fees have remained unchanged for several years, even though costs have steadily risen. At the same time, new duties have been assigned to Traficom through national legislation, EU regulations and international agreements. The proposed fee increases would mainly range between 10% and 30%.

The adjustments are also based on a policy decision by the Government's Ministerial Committee for Economic Policy in June 2025, which stated that agencies' chargeable operations must achieve cost recovery in accordance with the Act on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State by 2027 at the latest.

During this government term, total savings of EUR 523 million have been targeted at central government. The savings allocated to the administrative branch of the Ministry of Transport and Communications amount to EUR 32.6 million.

No significant changes are proposed to the fees of the Transport Infrastructure Agency or the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Moderate impact on citizens

Although the proposed increases to Traficom's fees are high in percentage terms, the practical impact on citizens would remain moderate in most cases.

For aviation tests, personnel licences and other licences, the average increase would be around 15%. Most of these licences are valid until further notice, meaning the fees are one-off payments.

For watercraft registration, the average increase would be around 16%, corresponding to EUR 5-10. Compared to the total cost of owning and operating a watercraft, the registration fees remain low and are collected only for infrequent registration events.

Road traffic licences are typically fixed-term or one-time licences, meaning the costs are spread over several years or are paid once. Many are relatively low in euro terms, so even a higher percentage increase would mean only a few euros. For example, driving licences and personnel licences would rise by around 16%, or EUR 3-7, while driving examination fees would increase by around 13%, or EUR 6-15.

Most rail transport fees concern organisations rather than individuals.

The domain name fee would increase by 33%. It is possible that registrars will pass the increase partly or fully on to customers, which would raise the price of fi domain names.

The basic frequency fee would rise from EUR 1,295.50 to EUR 1,450. The last adjustment to this fee was made in 2006. Frequency fees are paid directly only by certain user groups, so the change would have no direct impact on most citizens.

What's next?

Comments on the draft decrees can be submitted via the Lausuntopalvelu.fi website until 20 November 2025.

It is intended that the decrees will enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Enquiries:

Sanna Ruuskanen, Director of Unit, tel. +358 295 342 122, [email protected]