A total of 63 call-up selectees failed to report for conscription last year, down from 4 percent in 2024 and 6.6 percent in 2023, the Defense Resources Agency (KRA) said.

KRA Conscripts Office director Krista Juhanson told ERR that those who repeatedly skip required medical assessments without good reason can be subject to official orders and an enforcement fine.

She said fines for failing to attend a medical assessment, which are intended to encourage compliance, are currently capped at €640, with the exact amount depending on the circumstances. Next year, however, the cap will double to €1,280.

"It's important to note that paying the fine does not exempt you from having to attend the medical assessment," Juhanson said.

KRA can impose fines repeatedly, but if that proves ineffective, the agency can seek to suspend a selectee's driver's license or fishing, hunting and firearms permits.

So far this year, the KRA has sought the suspension of 57 driver's licenses. Juhanson said that in practice, these extra measures generally work.

"Once call-up selectees grasp that failing to fulfill their obligations can result in additional consequences, they usually come in for the medical assessment," she said, adding that the goal is to encourage compliance, not punitive.

More flexible medicals

The KRA official also attributed the decline in no-shows in part to a more flexible approach, including a digital pre-assessment review of health records and allowing call-up selectees to choose when and where to have their assessment done.

"That means no more having to spend all day waiting your turn outside a doctor's office," Juhanson said.

Being summoned to a medical assessment doesn't automatically result in a conscription order either, she added, as when and where a selectee will be sent for conscript service are decided only after the assessment.

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