A person who has completed military service may refuse reserve duty by submitting an application for supplementary service (täydennyspalvelus). The supplementary service application form is the same as the one used to apply for civilian service, and it must be delivered either to a Defence Forces regional office (aluetoimisto) or to the Lapinjärvi Civil Service Centre (Lapinjärven Siviilipalveluskeskus).
The Civil Service Centre recommends completing the application through the Omasivari online service; the form must still be signed and submitted to a regional office. In addition, paper forms are available from the Union of Conscientious Objectors (Aseistakieltäytyjäliitto). If you wish to collect forms from our office, please make an appointment in advance.
The application can be submitted at any time after completing military service – even after receiving an order to attend refresher training (kertausharjoitukset), or during the training itself. The application is automatically approved, so in practice it functions as a notification.
Supplementary Service
Supplementary service corresponds to refresher training in the same way that civilian service corresponds to military service. Under current legislation, all persons who permanently reside in Finland, are fit for service, and have applied for supplementary service before the year in which they turn 50, are assigned to perform it.
The obligation to perform supplementary service ends at the end of the year in which the person turns 50. Applicants over the age of 50 are not assigned to service but are automatically transferred to the additional reserve (lisävaranto). Military service liability ends at the end of the year in which a person turns 60, after which applying for supplementary service is no longer possible.
However, on 14 May 2025, the government announced its intention to raise both the upper age limit for reserve service and for supplementary service to 65 years, starting from the beginning of the following year. Further information on this topic is available here.
Supplementary service is organized by the Civil Service Centre, and by law it includes “either training or practical exercises,” or both. The legal maximum duration of supplementary service during peacetime is 40 days, but in practice, participants are currently assigned to serve only for three days.
Most supplementary service sessions have been held in Lapinjärvi, but since 2017, courses have also been organized in other locations and by other institutions – for example, the Peace Education Institute (Rauhankasvatusinstituutti) in Lohja and the Emergency Services Academy (Pelastusopisto) in Kuopio.
During supplementary service, participants receive a tax-free daily allowance and a taxable supplementary service pay, under the same conditions as in refresher training. If stipulated in your collective labour agreement, your employer will also pay the difference between your normal salary and the supplementary service pay.
Persons Released from Military Service in Peacetime
Those who have been released from military service in peacetime – i.e. members of the additional reserve (varareservi) – may also refuse by submitting an application for civilian service. In practice, they are not called up for new fitness examinations or assigned to civilian or supplementary service under normal circumstances.
Refusal of Reserve Duty in Times of Crisis
Following the amendment to the Civil Service Act that entered into force in May 2019, all those who have applied for and been accepted into supplementary service in peacetime are also exempted from military service during wartime.
However, those who apply for supplementary service after the outbreak of a crisis may be subjected to an examination of conscience (vakaumuksentutkinta). If the application is rejected, they may be required to serve in the armed forces.
Under the previous law (in effect until the end of April 2019), all persons who had not yet begun supplementary service could be subjected to such an examination, but since 1 May 2019, it applies only to applications made during wartime.
By law, persons who have already begun supplementary service are, in the event of a crisis, assigned to civilian duties under the direction of civilian authorities. The exemption from armed duties also applies to those who completed supplementary service before the current law entered into force.
Number of Refusals of Reserve Duty
The number of refusals of reserve duty has been increasing on average since the 2010s. A new record was reached in 2022, when a total of 3,808 persons refused reserve duty. The figures for 2023-2025 have also remained high.