General information about service vouchers

A service voucher is a statutory way of arranging municipal services alongside municipal production and purchasing services. The service voucher is based on the Service Voucher Act, which entered into force in 2009, according to which many municipal services, such as social care, health care and early childhood education services, can be arranged through a service voucher. In this case, the service is provided by private service providers approved by the municipality. 

Service voucher is an electronic payment commitment. Therefore, the service voucher is not a genuine physical banknote, but an authorisation in the IT system to pay the service chosen by the customer, i.e. the citizen, to a service provider, i.e. a private entrepreneur. 

The purpose of the voucher is to increase the freedom of choice for local residents, to improve access to municipal services and to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors. Service vouchers are often used in municipalities, for example, to unload queues and reduce the administrative burden. 

Municipality, service provider and customer 

Municipality, association of municipalities, hospital district or province decides on the introduction, value and target group of the service voucher and the services to be purchased with the voucher. The municipality grants the service voucher to the customer on the basis of the established need. In addition, it is the responsibility of the municipality to approve private service providers that are entitled to provide services with the service voucher. 

A private service provider, such as a doctor, therapy or home service company, applies to become a service provider approved by the municipality. In order to be approved, a private service provider must comply with the criteria set by the municipality. The service provider produces a service, such as dental care, purchased with a service voucher instead of the municipality. 

A customer, a citizen, can use a service voucher received from the municipality to purchase municipal services, such as home cleaning, dental examination or child daycare, from a private company. The customer pays for the service received with a service voucher and possible excess share, if the value of the service voucher does not fully cover the cost of the service. In some of the services defined by the law, the deductible may not be paid by the customer. 

In a simple example, the municipality issues a service voucher to a citizen to treat a tooth decay, the citizen receives the voucher and pays for the service with the voucher and a possible excess share to the local private dental care center, and the service provider carries out the service in return of the service voucher. 

The customer decides whether to accept the service voucher offered by the municipality. If the customer decides to use the service voucher, he or she will search for service providers approved by the municipality from an electronic register. If the customer decides to reject the service voucher, the municipality should arrange the service by themselves or by outsourcing. The service voucher functions flexible alongside the municipal services and does not replace or supersede the municipal services. 

For what services can the service voucher be used? 

The service voucher may be used for the following services among others: 

• Early childhood education and daycare 
• Primary and specialised health care 
• Oral health care 
• Personal help 
• Housing services and assisted living 
• Home care
• Care giving
• Daytime activities
• Veteran services 
• Cleaning