The copayment for a one-way trip is a maximum of
EUR 25.
Reimbursement of travel costs
On this page
Can you get reimbursement for travel costs?
You can get a reimbursement for your travel costs from Kela if you travel to a public or private healthcare provider for one of the following reasons:
- illness
- rehabilitation provided by Kela or a public healthcare provider
- pregnancy or childbirth.
Kela usually reimburses your travel costs for the cheapest means of transport to the nearest treatment provider. If you need a taxi for health reasons, book a Kela taxi. If you have to stay overnight in the city or town where you get care or rehabilitation, you can also get accommodation allowance.
Kela does not reimburse for instance the following types of travel:
- trips to preventive care (e.g. vaccination, screening or health examination)
- trips made only to pick up medical supplies
- trips made specifically to visit a pharmacy
- transports of an assistive device or a sample
- trips made by patients in public institutional care
- trips reimbursed under the Act on Services for Persons with Disabilities and the Social Welfare Act
- trips reimbursed under the Act on Special Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities
- trips related to school health service and accidents at school
- daily trips to and from education or training provided by Kela as vocational rehabilitation
- trips made in relation to participating in scientific research.
Destination (place of care)
Kela provides compensation on the basis of the principle of the nearest place of care. This usually means the place of care that is closest to your permanent home address. Trips within your own wellbeing service county (stm.fi) are reimbursed to the place where you obtained care.
Primary healthcare (e.g. health and social services centre, health centre)
If you visit a care provider located in your wellbeing services county, Kela will reimburse you for the costs of travelling to that provider.
Because you have the freedom to choose your healthcare provider, you can choose to be treated by a primary healthcare provider that is located outside your wellbeing services county (stm.fi). In such a case, Kela can reimburse you up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from your permanent home address to a health and social services centre in your wellbeing services county that offers extensive health services.
Specialised medical care (for example central hospital, university hospital)
Trips to a specialised medical care provider are reimbursed within the collaborative area (stm.fi) you live in to the specialised medical care unit where you were treated. The collaborative area you live in is determined based on your permanent place of residence.
Because you have the freedom to choose your medical care provider, you can discuss your options with your doctor and choose to go to a place of care located in another collaborative area to get specialised medical care. If you do so, Kela will reimburse you up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from your permanent home address to the university hospital in the collaborative area you live in. Which collaborative area you live in is determined based on your wellbeing services county.
Assistive devices
If you have been given an assistive device as part of your medical care, Kela can reimburse you for the costs of travelling to the place where the assistive device is manufactured, serviced or supplied. You can get this reimbursement if a public healthcare provider has issued the assistive device directly to you or given you a payment voucher, service voucher or referral for the assistive device. Kela will not reimburse you for the costs of having the assistive device shipped or transported to you.
Payment vouchers or service vouchers
If you have such a voucher from the wellbeing services county, you will be reimbursed for the cost of travelling to the treatment location.
If you visit a private healthcare provider, Kela will, as a rule, reimburse you for your travel costs if the treatment you get is reimbursable by Kela. Kela can also reimburse you for your travel costs if you see a doctor and they perform a procedure that is part of the treatment of your condition or illness, even if the procedure itself is not reimbursable by Kela. Examples of such procedures include hip surgery, mole removal and ear tube surgery for small children.
Payment vouchers, service vouchers or rehabilitation decisions issued by Kela
If your wellbeing services county has issued you a payment voucher or service voucher or you have a rehabilitation decision from Kela that covers your treatment, Kela will reimburse you for the costs of travelling to the service provider that treated you.
General practitioner, dentist, dental hygienist, physiotherapist
If you visit a private primary healthcare provider in your wellbeing services county (for instance a general practitioner, dentist, dental hygienist or physiotherapist), Kela will reimburse you for the costs of travelling to that provider.
If you visit a private general practitioner, dentist, dental hygienist or physiotherapist that is located outside your wellbeing services county, Kela will reimburse you up to an amount equal to the cost of travelling from your permanent home address to a centre for social and health services in your wellbeing services county (stm.fi) that offers extensive health services.
Specialist, specialist dentist
If you visit a private specialist doctor or a private specialist dentist, Kela will reimburse you up to an amount equal to the costs of travelling from your permanent home address to the university hospital in the collaborative area you live in as determined based on your wellbeing services county (stm.fi).
Freedom of choice pilot for people over 65
Kela also provides reimbursement for travel costs related to the freedom of choice pilot for persons aged 65 years or over.
If you are in rehabilitation arranged through Kela, you will usually get a reimbursement for travel costs to the rehabilitation site. If any limitations apply to the reimbursement of your travel costs, this will be explained in the rehabilitation decision you get from Kela.
If you have a rehabilitation decision from Kela stating that a family member or a relative participates in the rehabilitation, you can also get reimbursement for their travel costs.
Education granted by Kela as a vocational rehabilitation measure
If you attend a course of study that has been granted as vocational rehabilitation from Kela, Kela will not reimburse you for daily trips to and from school or for on-the-job training related to the education. You can find out if school transport subsidy is available for these trips (does not apply to higher education studies).
If you live elsewhere because of your studies, Kela can reimburse you for travel costs between your place of domicile and your place of study as follows:
- travels at the beginning of the term (outward trip) and at the end of the term (return trip)
- one return trip per month
- one return trip per week if you travel to see your underage child
- weekend trips if the student dormitory is closed on weekends.
Kela can provide reimbursement for travel costs in relation to student health services. Students in higher education can use the primary healthcare services offered by the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) and get reimbursement from Kela for their trips to and from an FSHS facility.
Costs are reimbursed up to the amount that a trip from your home address to the nearest FSHS location offering the treatment needed would cost. Kela can also reimburse a student for their trips to another FSHS facility if a healthcare professional determines that the student needs the treatment available there.
Means of transport (vehicle)
Kela will reimburse you for your travel costs based on the lowest-cost means of transport available. Public transport, such as train or bus, is usually the lowest-cost option.
However, you can get reimbursement for travel costs using some other means of transport than public transport if your health so requires or if public transport options are not available.
If you use public transport to travel to a public healthcare provider (for instance a centre for social and health services or a hospital) or rehabilitation provided by Kela, you do not need to attach a separate certificate from the healthcare provider when you claim reimbursement of your travel costs (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67).
If you use public transport to travel to a private healthcare provider, you need to ask the healthcare provider to issue a certificate to you (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67). Kela will generally reimburse you for your travel costs to a private healthcare provider only if the treatment you get is reimbursable by Kela. Kela can also reimburse you for your travel costs if you see a doctor and they perform a procedure that is part of the treatment of your condition or illness, even if the procedure itself is not reimbursable by Kela. If your wellbeing services county has issued a payment voucher or service voucher to you or if you have a rehabilitation decision from Kela that covers the treatment, Kela will always reimburse you for your travel costs.
Kela will reimburse you up to the price of a single ticket for public transport. Keep all receipts. Kela may ask you to show the receipts later. If you used a multi-journey ticket, divide its price by the number of trips you have made to a healthcare provider. That way you get the price per trip. If the price per trip is more expensive than a single ticket, Kela will only reimburse you for the price of a single ticket. The copayment for a one-way trip is a maximum of EUR 25.
You can plan your trip with our route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi). It will show you the distance, the travel time and the availability of public transport.
If you use a private car (either your own or someone else’s) to make your trip, the rate of reimbursement is EUR 0.33 per kilometre. The copayment for a one-way trip is a maximum of EUR 25.
If several family members travel in the same car, you must apply for reimbursement as one single cost with your own personal data.
If you travel under 200 kilometres per one-way trip, you do not need to ask your healthcare provider to issue you a certificate (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67) on the necessity of using a private car.
If you travel in a private car for health reasons and the one-way trip is over 200 kilometres, you need to ask your healthcare provider to issue you a certificate (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67) stating that you have the right to use a private car. If you travel more than 200 kilometres in a private car because public transport is not available, state this in your application for reimbursement.
The length of the trip that Kela will reimburse is based on the route information available in our route planner (kelareitit.digitransit.fi) for the route you have stated in your application. Kela will not reimburse you for the costs of trips that are longer than this.
You can get reimbursement for a taxi ride if you have to use a taxi for health reasons or because public transport is not available.
If part of the trip can be made using public transport, you can use a taxi for the part of the trip for which public transport is not available.
You only pay a copayment (omavastuu) for the taxi ride. The copayment is a maximum of EUR 25 for a one-way trip. The copayments you pay for taxi rides count towards your maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket travel costs (vuosiomavastuu, annual out-of-pocket maximum). They will automatically count towards your annual out-of-pocket maximum after Kela has processed them. You do not have to apply to be reimbursed for them separately.
Kela will reimburse you for taxi rides only if you have booked your ride by calling the regional dispatch number. Each region has two service providers from which customers can book taxi rides reimbursed by Kela. You can choose which one you want to use. Kela will not reimburse you for taxi rides ordered from other service providers.
If you have to use a taxi because public transport is not available, tell the dispatch centre this when you book a Kela taxi.
Travel to the pharmacy by taxi
Separate trips to the pharmacy are not reimbursed.
Kela can reimburse the additional distance travelled to the nearest pharmacy if you visit the pharmacy in connection with a visit to a doctor.
As a rule, a visit to a pharmacy is reimbursed on the return journey from a visit to a doctor. An exception to this may be when a doctor has asked you to buy a medicine dispensed at a doctor's surgery. In such a situation, a visit to a pharmacy can be reimbursed on the way to the doctor’s surgery.
The waiting time in connection with visits to a pharmacy is reimbursed for a maximum of 15 minutes.
A trip chain (matkaketju) refers to situations where a customer uses at least two different means of transport to complete their trip. For example, the customer may first take a bus and then a Kela taxi they have booked by calling the regional dispatch number to arrive at their destination. For trip chains like this, Kela adds up the costs of the entire trip and deducts one copayment of EUR 25 for a one-way trip. Here copayment means the amount that the customer has to pay out-of-pocket.
Kela offers reimbursement for ambulance rides. You can get the reimbursement only if your healthcare provider confirms that riding in an ambulance was necessary in your case (Todistus matkakorvausta varten SV 67 or equivalent).
Kela may also reimburse you for trips made with other means of transport without the need for a separate assessment from your healthcare provider. For example, Kela can reimburse you for transport on water if you live in the Finnish archipelago and you must travel by water.
Do you need someone to accompany you?
Kela can grant reimbursement for trips that
- you make with a companion or family member
- the companion or family member makes on their own.
Travel costs for companions and family members are reimbursed on different grounds. You may have a person accompany you if your health so requires. Travel costs for family members are reimbursed if the doctor considers that it is necessary for the family member to participate in your care.
Kela reimburses the travel costs of companions and family members based on the lowest-cost available means of transport.
The travel costs of a companion can be reimbursed if you need someone to accompany you for health reasons. In that case, the need for a companion is stated in the certificate issued by the healthcare provider (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67) or in some other document. Usually there can only be one person accompanying you.
If the need for a companion is obvious, no professional opinion is required. This includes situations where the person who needs someone to accompany them is, for example, a child or a frail elderly person.
Kela reimburses companions for their travel costs for the part of the trip that you travelled together with the companion. For trips made by the companion alone, the reimbursement Kela will pay to the companion equals the cost of a trip from your home address to the place of care. The companion may make a trip alone, for example, if you have to stay at the place of care for treatment and the companion makes the return trip alone. Travel from the companion's home to you is not reimbursed. Kela will usually calculate the reimbursement it will pay to the companion for a trip they have made alone based on the lowest-cost means of transport available while taking into account the companion’s health and the traffic conditions. No copayment is charged for trips made by the companion alone.
Kela can reimburse a family member or other comparable person for their travel costs if the doctor treating you considers it necessary for the family member to participate in your treatment to ensure that you can be treated successfully. A family member’s participation in the treatment must always be based on a doctor’s assessment that is written down in a certificate (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67). Simple visits are not reimbursed by Kela.
If you travel together with a family member who participates in your care, one copayment is deducted for each one-way trip.
Travel costs incurred by a family member alone are reimbursed as your costs. Travel costs are reimbursed according to the least expensive means of transport considered necessary, taking into account the family member's own health and the traffic conditions. One copayment is deducted for each one-way trip.
How much of the travel costs are reimbursed?
Kela will reimburse travel costs that exceed the copayment. If your trip costs under EUR 25, you will have to pay the full price of the trip yourself. For example, if your trip costs EUR 10, your copayment will be EUR 10. This amount counts towards your maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket travel costs (vuosiomavastuu, annual out-of-pocket maximum).
Keep all receipts or other reliable documents that show how much you paid for each trip. Kela may ask you to show the receipts later.
If you use a private car, Kela will reimburse you EUR 0.33 per kilometre for the part of your travel costs that exceeds the EUR 25 copayment.
How much is the maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket travel costs?
All copayments you pay yourself for trips that are otherwise reimbursed by Kela count towards your maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket travel costs (vuosiomavastuu, matkakatto, annual out-of-pocket maximum).
All copayments of EUR 25 or less that you pay yourself for individual trips count towards the annual out-of-pocket maximum. If you pay more than EUR 300 in copayments in a calendar year, you do not have to pay anything for any trips you take during the rest of the year.
Select Omat etuudet (Your benefits) and then Lääkekatto ja matkakatto sekä muut sairaanhoitokorvausasiat (Maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket medicine and travel costs and other matters related to healthcare reimbursements). All copayments you have paid out-of-pocket for trips will count towards your annual out-of-pocket maximum as soon as Kela has finished processing them.
Kela does not send a separate notice to customers to tell them that they have reached the maximum annual limit on out-of-pocket travel costs (vuosiomavastuu, annual out-of-pocket maximum).
However, Kela keeps track of your progress towards the annual out-of-pocket maximum. After you have reached it, you will not have to pay a copayment for any more trips during the calendar year.
Kela will also tell the dispatch centre for Kela taxis that you have reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum. This means that the taxi driver will not charge anything from you for trips you take after reaching the maximum. However, you will still need a certificate proving that you have the right to use a Kela taxi.
If you are asked to pay a copayment after you have reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum, Kela will pay it back to you without you having to submit a separate claim for reimbursement.
Unlike in the rest of Finland, in the Åland Islands, customers book taxi trips directly from a taxi company. After the customer has reached the annual out-of-pocket maximum, Kela sends the customer a decision notice on reimbursement for travel costs letting them know this has happened. The customer can also print out information from the OmaKela e-service showing that they have reached their annual out-of-pocket maximum and show it to the taxi driver.
Accommodation allowance
You can get accommodation allowance if you have to stay overnight in the city or town where you get treatment or rehabilitation, for example to make sure you will be on time for the treatment or to avoid having to go back and forth between your home and the place of care.
You can also get accommodation allowance if you have to stay overnight near the hospital while waiting for your child to be born in order to reduce the risks related to childbirth. You will need to get a doctor’s assessment of your pregnancy before Kela can pay you accommodation allowance in this kind of situation.
Accommodation allowance is paid to everyone entitled to reimbursement.
For example, the allowance can be paid to both parents if the doctor considers it necessary for both parents to participate in the child’s hospital care.
When you apply to be reimbursed for accommodation costs, keep the receipt(s) for 6 months. If we need the receipt in order to process the claim, we will request it from you.
How to apply for reimbursement for travel costs and accommodation allowance
- Claim reimbursement for treatment- or rehabilitation-related travel costs and accommodation costs in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
- You can claim reimbursement for 20 trips or 20 overnight stays at a time.
- If you were accompanied by a family member or some other companion during your trip, your information (personal data) must be used when claiming reimbursement for their travel costs. Submit separate claims for trips made together with a companion or family member and for trips made by the companion or family member alone.
- Submit supporting documents in OmaKela. Take photographs of the documents you are sending if they are not in a digital format.
You will need a certificate for reimbursement of travel costs (Todistus matkakorvausta varten, SV 67) from the healthcare provider when claiming
- reimbursement for a trip to a private healthcare provider
- reimbursement for a trip made in a private car to a public healthcare provider when the trip is over 200 kilometres long.
If you need a certificate (form SV 67), you can ask your healthcare provider for it. A healthcare professional evaluates the type of means of transport required for your health and fills in the certificate.
Keep all receipts related to your trip and your certificate for an individual trip by taxi (SV 67) for 6 months. If you receive a long-term certificate (form SV 67), send it to Kela.
If we need a copy of any receipts or certificates to process your application, we will ask you to submit them. For example, you do not need to send copies of your receipts for public transport tickets with your application, but you must keep them anyway.
Go to OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application. You will also see how much you will get and when your benefit will be paid. If supporting documents are missing from your application, you will get a reminder about that in OmaKela.
In OmaKela, you can also give consent for Kela to send you messages. This will help make your application process and other contacts with Kela quicker.
Apply for reimbursement for travel costs or accommodation allowance
Submit your application and supporting documents online.
Do as follows if you cannot use OmaKela:
- Claim reimbursement on the form Reimbursement for travel expenses SV 4e (pdf).
- Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
- Fill in the form and print it out. Remember to sign the form.
- Send the form together with any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Things to remember when applying
You can also claim reimbursement for travel costs and accommodation costs in OmaKela on behalf of a child or another adult. Log in to OmaKela using your online banking credentials or a mobile ID. Select Asioi toisen henkilön puolesta (Act on behalf of another person). In OmaKela, you can check when the other person's reimbursement will be paid and how much they will get. You can also send messages and supporting documents on their behalf. You can also see how much they have accumulated towards the annual maximum limit on out-of-pocket travel costs.
Acting on behalf of another adult always requires authorisation. You do not usually need separate authorisation to act on behalf of a child, as Kela gets the information it needs directly from the Finnish Population Information System.
Apply for reimbursement within 6 months of your trip or overnight stay.