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Criminal penalties in Finland

Checked in October 2026 against the Rikoslaki (Criminal Code, 39/1889), consolidated text on Finlex, read in Finnish in October 2026.

These are statutory ranges for a first offence, from the least to the most the law allows. A court decides the actual sentence in each case. We read the code in its original language and give the offences in plain English, with the legal term where it helps. For anything that matters, rely on the code itself. Not legal advice.

How Finland sets penalties

  • Finland's Criminal Code sets a basic offence, an aggravated offence ('törkeä') and often a mitigated one ('lievä') for most crimes. An aggravated version applies only if the offence is also aggravated 'when assessed as a whole', so a listed circumstance alone is not enough.
  • A prison term is either for life or for a fixed term of at least 14 days and at most 12 years (ch. 2c, s. 2). Where the Code says 'at least eight years' for killing, the range therefore runs from 8 to 12 years.
  • Many offences carry 'a fine or imprisonment for up to N years'. Finnish fines are in day-fines: the number of days reflects the seriousness of the act, and the amount of each day-fine reflects the offender's income. This table does not state the euro amount.
  • Finland has three tiers of killing: tappo (homicide, 8 to 12 years), murha (murder, life) and surma (a mitigated killing, 4 to 10 years). This table maps murha to the 'first degree' row and tappo to the 'second degree' row.
  • This table shows first-offence ranges. Repeat offending can be an aggravating factor in some offences and is not shown.

Death penalty: No. The most serious punishment in the Criminal Code is life imprisonment, set for murder (ch. 21, s. 2).

Read the Finland legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →

First-degree murder

Life imprisonment

Murder (murha, ch. 21, s. 2) is a homicide committed with deliberation, in an especially brutal or cruel way, causing serious general danger, or by killing an official while they were maintaining order or security or because of their official duty, and the offence is also aggravated when assessed as a whole.

Second-degree murder

8 to 12 years (homicide); 4 to 10 years (mitigated killing)

Finland has no second-degree murder. The ordinary killing is homicide (tappo, s. 1), with a minimum of 8 years. If the killing is, considering the exceptional circumstances, the offender's motives or other matters, committed in mitigating circumstances when assessed as a whole, it is punished as surma (s. 3) with 4 to 10 years.

Voluntary manslaughter

Up to 2 years (killing by negligence) to 4 to 10 years (mitigated killing)

Finland has no offence called manslaughter. The nearest are killing in mitigating circumstances (surma, 4 to 10 years) and causing death by negligence (kuolemantuottamus, a fine or up to 2 years). A more serious negligence offence exists for gross negligence and was not read for this table.

Robbery

4 months to 6 years (robbery); 2 to 10 years (aggravated robbery)

Burglary

Up to 1 year 6 months (theft) up to 4 years (aggravated theft)

Finland has no separate offence of burglary. Break-ins are punished as theft (varkaus) or aggravated theft (törkeä varkaus). Theft is the taking of another's movable property, and the offence is aggravated only if it is also aggravated when assessed as a whole.

Arson

4 months to 4 years (destructive offence, including starting a fire); 2 to 10 years (aggravated)

Finland's offence of tuhotyö ('destructive offence') covers starting a fire, causing an explosion and other means of widespread destruction. Aggravated tuhotyö applies where the offence is also aggravated when assessed as a whole.

Aggravated assault

A fine or up to 2 years (assault); 1 to 10 years (aggravated assault)

Rape and sexual assault

1 to 6 years (rape); 2 to 10 years (aggravated rape)

Finland defines rape by the absence of voluntary participation (ch. 20, s. 1). A person does not participate voluntarily if they have not shown it in words, behaviour or otherwise, if they were forced by violence or a threat, or if they could not form or express their will for a listed reason (unconsciousness, illness, disability, fear, strong intoxication and others).

Kidnapping

Up to 2 years (deprivation of liberty) up to 10 years (taking a hostage)

Embezzlement

A fine or up to 1 year 6 months (embezzlement); 4 months to 4 years (aggravated)

Forgery

A fine or up to 2 years (forgery); 4 months to 4 years (aggravated)

Drunk driving, first offence

A fine or up to 6 months (blood alcohol 0.5 per mille or more); at least 60 day-fines or up to 2 years (aggravated)

Drunk driving (rattijuopumus) is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 per mille or more, or 0.22 mg per litre of exhaled air, while driving a motor vehicle or tram. The aggravated offence applies at 1.2 per mille (0.53 mg per litre) or more, or where the ability to drive is clearly impaired and the circumstances endanger others.

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