A child should have at least two godparents. In exceptional cases where it is impossible to find two godparents, one may be enough. For this, the parish vicar needs to give special permission. At least two godparents should be baptised and confirmed members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland. If the child has more godparents, the others may also be chosen from the membership of other churches that recognise infant baptism such as Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Methodist churches. Godparents need not be Finnish citizens. It is not possible to have official godparents that are not confessing members of a Christian church or denomination, or that belong to a church that rejects infant baptism.

When choosing godparents for your child, you may want to consider various ways in which your relatives or friends might be ready and suitable for the task. In your family, you may have a tradition of asking brothers and sisters or cousins (with or without their spouses) to be the godparents of your children. Another option is to ask close friends. It is important to consider how well the future godparents may be able to stay in touch with their godchild and support it, and how they can contribute to its Christian upbringing. If the godparents of your choice live abroad and are not able to attend the baptism, it is possible to invite them to participate online.

If you find it hard to find committed and suitable godparents, you may also ask your local parish for advice. There may be people in your parish who would love to be godparents to your child.

It is not possible to end the official relationship between the child and its godparents. Under certain circumstances it is possible, though, to call up to two more godparents at a later stage, for example at the death of the original godparents.