Ordinary users will no longer be able to search the register by an individual's name or ID code, which previously made it easy to find a person's residence.

According to the Ministry of Justice, exceptions will be made for journalists, the public sector and other organizations that need information from the land register for official duties.

"A person's home address is part of their involable private life, and it should not be easy to find online – especially if there is potential malicious intent behind it," said Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200).

"Last year, more than four million individual searches were made in the E-Land Register by name and personal identification code," she continued. "Among these were cases where the residents of officials issuing fines were looked up, and they were unlawfully harassed."

With this amendment, the E-Land Register will remain public, but searches can only be made by property address, cadastral code or registry number.

In a final change, the amendment also included a hike in the e-land register query fee, with the fee for an individual search to rise from the current €1 to €2.

This law will enter into effect from January 15, 2025.

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