According to Section 89 of the Universities Act (558/2009), a person may be granted the title of docent upon application. According to Section 52 of the University of Helsinki Regulations, the University may grant the title of docent to a person who has comprehensive knowledge of his or her own field, a capacity for independent research or artistic work as demonstrated through publication or some other manner, and good teaching skills. The docent may participate in the teaching of his or her discipline, the supervision of students and theses as well as other University activities in a way to be agreed upon on a case-by-case basis.

It is recommended that applicants discuss the application with the person responsible for the relevant discipline at the Faculty before sending the application. During this discussion, the person responsible for the discipline can make a tentative assessment of the applicant’s scholarly merits and explain the Faculty’s application procedure for the title of docent.

The University regulations require that the Faculty Council request statements on the applicant's academic qualifications from two assessors, unless, for special reasons, the Council considers such statements unnecessary. Both assessors must be from outside the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences. At the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, the Faculty Council may deem the assessor statements unnecessary if the scholarly qualifications of the applicant in the relevant field for the title of docent have already been ascertained during the application procedure for the title of professor at the University of Helsinki. The Faculty Teaching Skills Evaluation Committee will issue a statement on the applicant's teaching skills. If the Faculty Council finds that the applicant for the title fulfils the requirements for the title of docent, the Council will submit a proposal of appointment to the Chancellor.

The languages of instruction and degrees at the University of Helsinki are Finnish and Swedish. According to the guidelines provided for the faculties by the University Chancellor on 18 February 2010, the language requirements for docents are the same as those for University teaching staff. According to the section on language requirements for teaching staff at universities of the Government Decree on Universities (770/ 2009), an applicant for the title of docent must be competent in the language in which he or she will provide instruction (Finnish or Swedish). In addition, he or she must also have at least satisfactory oral and written skills in both Finnish and Swedish. Language skills will be demonstrated through application documents and, if relevant, a teaching demonstration. The language of instruction of an applicant for the title of docent will be considered to be the language of the initial application. The docent may also provide instruction in other languages.

If the applicant for the title of docent is a foreign citizen, a non-native Finnish citizen or a citizen who has not been educated in Finnish or Swedish, he or she may be exempted from the requirement on skills in Finnish and Swedish as stated in the Government Decree without a separate application. The Faculty Council will grant the exemption when preparing the proposal for granting the title of docent.