The new Archiving Act has been approved

The Parliament approved the new Archiving Act on May 20th 2026. The Archiving Act provides for the archiving of authorities’ documents and data materials as well as private archive materials received by the National Archives.

The Parliament approved the new Archiving Act on May 20th 2026. The date of entry into force of the law is not yet known. The President of the Republic still needs to ratify the law. The Archiving Act provides for the archiving of authorities’ documents and data materials as well as private archive materials received by the National Archives.

The Archiving Act repeals the current Archives Act (831/1994) in its entirety.

The aim of the Act is to promote digital archiving in public administration. The scope of application and key definitions of the new Act will be aligned with those of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999) and Act on Information Management in Public Administration (906/2019). In addition, the new Archiving Act clarifies the relationship between data protection legislation and archiving.

“We are delighted and pleased that work on the new Act, which has taken many years, has been successfully completed. The new Archiving Act is a significant step in two ways: it promotes digital archiving in public administration and makes the National Archives’ digital services available to the entire public sector. In addition, the Archiving Act and the Act on Information Management in Public Administration now form a more consistent whole", says Päivi Happonen, Director General of the National Archives.

The National Archives will guide and support its customers in implementing the new Archiving Act in a variety of ways. We will produce an information package on the effects of the Act for the National Archives’ website. Information about the changes will also be provided in newsletters, authorities’ announcements and related webinars.