Hilma

Hilma (hankintailmoitukset.fi) is Finland's national portal for public procurement notices. Under hankintalaki, Finnish contracting authorities must publish their tenders there, both national tenders and those above the EU thresholds. It plays the same role as Norway's Doffin or France's BOAMP. Searching is free, and you do not need an account to read notices.

How does Hilma work?

Hilma is a statutory service. Since 1 January 2025 the State Treasury (Valtiokonttori) has had statutory responsibility for it, taking over from the Ministry of Finance (valtiovarainministeriö). The central purchasing body Hansel Oy handles technical operation, maintenance and development on the State Treasury's behalf.

The contracting authority fills in the notice in Hilma. If the contract is above the EU threshold, Hilma forwards the notice to TED, the EU's common database. Tenders above the Finnish national thresholds but below the EU threshold are published only in Hilma. EU notices use eForms, the same standard forms used on Norway's Doffin and across the EEA.

Hilma carries several types of notice:

• Prior information notices: advance warning of upcoming tenders.
• Contract notices: the call for tenders itself, with deadline and documents.
• Contract award notices: who won, and often the contract value.
• Direct award notices: when the authority has bought without competition.
• Corrigenda: changes to a notice already published.

You can search by free text, contracting authority, region and CPV code. For email tender alerts (hakuvahti), you need to register with a personal email address. Hilma also works as a tendering platform, so for some tenders you submit your bid directly there. Other notices link to the authority's own system.

The service is available in Finnish and Swedish, with parts in English. The notices themselves, however, are often only in Finnish. A translation tool helps you skim, but read the tender documents carefully before you decide to bid.

An example: A Norwegian software company wants to see what Finnish municipalities buy in case management systems. She searches Hilma for CPV 48000000 (software packages and information systems) and finds both large EU tenders and smaller national tenders around €80,000. The small ones are not in TED. She registers and sets up a hakuvahti on the same CPV code, so new notices land straight in her inbox.

Why does Hilma matter for suppliers?

Finland has low national thresholds: €60,000 for goods and services. Many mid-sized tenders therefore fall below the EU threshold and are published only in Hilma. If you follow only TED, you see a small part of the Finnish market.

Contract award notices are useful too. They show who wins with which buyers and help you understand who you are competing against. Cobrief pulls in notices from Hilma, so Finnish tenders show up in your alerts alongside those from Doffin and TED. That makes it easier to keep track of relevant tenders and assess them quickly.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost anything to use Hilma?

No. Searching and reading notices is free. Registration, which you need for email alerts, is free as well.

Are all Finnish tenders on Hilma?

All tenders above the national thresholds in hankintalaki must be published there. Small procurements below the thresholds do not have to be, although some authorities publish them anyway.

Do I need Hilma if I already follow TED?

Yes, if you want the national Finnish market. TED shows only tenders above the EU thresholds.

In short: Hilma is Finland's tender portal. Every Finnish tender the law requires to be advertised is published here, and it is the only place to find the national ones.