During the past years there has been more than a few threads on everyman's rights in the Nordic countries and Finland on this forum. To avoid repetition and to collect all the useful and updated information into one single thread, I have created here a summary of everyman's rights in Finland. As a source I have used a really good and free publication Jokamiehenoikeudet ja toimiminen toisen alueella (only in Finnish) by Tuunanen & Tarasti & Rautiainen, but also the FINLEX Legislative Databank.
Questions and possible corrections are welcome.
GENERAL
- Any act by a person, authority or a sign of forbidding the access and use of a land where the access is granted by the everyman's right, is illegal and punishable by law.
- You may put up a nest box in any tree in any private or public land that is not a part of people's yards, military and border zones or strict nature reserve. Interesting enough, the land owner may remove the nest from the tree if it is not inhabited at the time! Likewise, making geocaches is allowed, but they may be removed by the land owner.
MOVEMENT
- You may move on foot, on bicycle, ski, swim, row/drive a boat or ride a horse without a permission on any private and/or public land outside people's yards, unless that land is either arable land, military and border zones or a strict nature reserve (where movement is allowed only on a few designated paths). You may not move using motor or horse-drawn vehicles in any such location without a proper permission from the owner of the land. Do notice that in many cases the owner of the land area and the body of water next to it are not the same person!
- You may land anywhere in an inhabited or uninhabited islands, unless the landing takes place in people's yards, military and border zones or strict nature reserve. However, you may go through such place(s) if it is the only possibility to access some other location and it causes minimal damage and trouble for the owner of the land.
- If you do not own the land, a dog older than five months must be kept on leash or it must be able to be attached to one in a short time between the 1st of March and the 19th of August. However, hunting dogs may be kept free during a hunt. Permission to keep the dog unleashed between the mentioned dates can be procured from the owner of the land.
CAMPING
- Camping is allowed in any private or public land, with the exception of people's yards, military and border zones & strict nature reserves. You may camp in one location as long as it can be considered temporary and causes no permanent harm for the environment. You may attach lines to trees and such if it does not cause them any permanent damage.
- Making a fire requires a permission from the land owner. During dry and/or windy seasons, the authorities might forbid making fires in certain parts of Finland. However, a fireplace or a stove is not considered a "fire".
NATURAL PRODUCTS
- You may collect wild berries (including rose hips, rowan, sea-buckthorn, and juniper berries), fungi (including tinder fungus, but not chaga), flowers and herbs from any private or public area, with the exception of people's yards, military and border zones or strict nature reserves. You may not collect moss, lichen or certain endangered plant species.
- You may collect earthworms, insects or insect larvae and ant eggs for baits. You may also collect non-threatened mussel species. Likewise it is allowed to collect mineral samples (i.e. small rocks), feathers, dry twigs, bark, conifer cones or nuts found from the ground (i.e. not attached to any tree, dead or alive).
- You may fish without using a reel in any private or public body of water without a fishing permission. There are no limits of how much fish can be caught or for what purpose it is caught. However, fishing using reels or nets require a fishing permission from the local authority. To hunt game species, you must have a permission for the weapon, permission for hunting, and a permission from the land owner.
Questions and possible corrections are welcome.
GENERAL
- Any act by a person, authority or a sign of forbidding the access and use of a land where the access is granted by the everyman's right, is illegal and punishable by law.
- You may put up a nest box in any tree in any private or public land that is not a part of people's yards, military and border zones or strict nature reserve. Interesting enough, the land owner may remove the nest from the tree if it is not inhabited at the time! Likewise, making geocaches is allowed, but they may be removed by the land owner.
MOVEMENT
- You may move on foot, on bicycle, ski, swim, row/drive a boat or ride a horse without a permission on any private and/or public land outside people's yards, unless that land is either arable land, military and border zones or a strict nature reserve (where movement is allowed only on a few designated paths). You may not move using motor or horse-drawn vehicles in any such location without a proper permission from the owner of the land. Do notice that in many cases the owner of the land area and the body of water next to it are not the same person!
- You may land anywhere in an inhabited or uninhabited islands, unless the landing takes place in people's yards, military and border zones or strict nature reserve. However, you may go through such place(s) if it is the only possibility to access some other location and it causes minimal damage and trouble for the owner of the land.
- If you do not own the land, a dog older than five months must be kept on leash or it must be able to be attached to one in a short time between the 1st of March and the 19th of August. However, hunting dogs may be kept free during a hunt. Permission to keep the dog unleashed between the mentioned dates can be procured from the owner of the land.
CAMPING
- Camping is allowed in any private or public land, with the exception of people's yards, military and border zones & strict nature reserves. You may camp in one location as long as it can be considered temporary and causes no permanent harm for the environment. You may attach lines to trees and such if it does not cause them any permanent damage.
- Making a fire requires a permission from the land owner. During dry and/or windy seasons, the authorities might forbid making fires in certain parts of Finland. However, a fireplace or a stove is not considered a "fire".
NATURAL PRODUCTS
- You may collect wild berries (including rose hips, rowan, sea-buckthorn, and juniper berries), fungi (including tinder fungus, but not chaga), flowers and herbs from any private or public area, with the exception of people's yards, military and border zones or strict nature reserves. You may not collect moss, lichen or certain endangered plant species.
- You may collect earthworms, insects or insect larvae and ant eggs for baits. You may also collect non-threatened mussel species. Likewise it is allowed to collect mineral samples (i.e. small rocks), feathers, dry twigs, bark, conifer cones or nuts found from the ground (i.e. not attached to any tree, dead or alive).
- You may fish without using a reel in any private or public body of water without a fishing permission. There are no limits of how much fish can be caught or for what purpose it is caught. However, fishing using reels or nets require a fishing permission from the local authority. To hunt game species, you must have a permission for the weapon, permission for hunting, and a permission from the land owner.
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