The nomination period begins approximately one and a half years before and ends around a year before awarding the Millennium Technology Prize. Nominations from all fields of technology and across the world can be made by science academies, universities, research institutes and industrial organizations. Candidates can be either individuals or research groups, who have largely contributed to a discovery of the innovation. Self-nominations are not accepted.

The Preselection Committee constructs a short list of potential candidates to receive the prize and presents the short list to the Selection Committee.

The Selection Committee makes a proposal for the Prize Winner (or Winners) to the Board of Technology Academy Finland. The Selection Committee consists of a distinguished network of leading international and Finnish scientists and technologists. There are eight people in the Selection Committee. The Chair of the Selection Committee is always a Finn. After each selection round, at least two members of the Selection Committee are replaced. The maximum term of a member is four selection rounds, i.e. eight years