References are submitted through the Online reference service. A reference relating to an application addressed to the Central Fund shall be submitted by the end of October round of applications and a reference relating to an application addressed to a regional fund by the end of the January round of applications. The service will be open until 4:00 pm Finnish time. References can not be submitted after the service has been closed.

Either a personal Finnish bank identification or registering as a user of the service is required to submit a reference online.

The applicant will have a reference number for the application, which the referee should use. This will enable the reference to be automatically linked to the right application.

References sent by mail, fax, email, delivered to the office, or those arriving late will not be processed.

No Internet banking codes or any account information from the banking system will be transmitted to the Finnish Cultural Foundation under any circumstances. A reference cannot be submitted by using a corporate bank identification. References will be treated confidentially.