10 days left to register or renew with the ODPA for 2023

The Office of the Data Protection Authority’s annual registration window closes at the end of the month and the ODPA is reminding organisations to renew or register by then in accordance with their legal obligation under The Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2017. 

ODPA staff are dedicated to supporting the community and reducing the potential for harms caused by the mishandling or misuse of people’s personal data, while carrying out the ODPA’s statutory responsibilities under the Law.
Organisations which fail to respect the registration window divert resources away from carrying out other activities: helping people navigate the law, providing guidance, dealing with enquiries, investigating personal data breaches and mitigating damage in the aftermath of incidents.

Emma Martins, the Bailiwick’s Data Protection Commissioner, commented:  

“After you've completed the annual exercise of reviewing and renewing your registration with us, it's a good opportunity to review your legal obligations under The Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2017 - as they are what you need to focus on 365 days a year to ensure that you are treating people's data well. Meeting these duties benefits you directly as it helps build trust and confidence with your customers, service users, staff and any other people whose data you use.”

If you are not sure if you need to register, the ODPA has set out these three criteria to make this as clear as possible:
1. You (whether you are a sole trader, organisation, business, charity, landlord, business association etc.) are established in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
2. You are working with personal data (i.e. any information that may identify individual people, such as your staff members, your clients, your business contacts, your service users, your tenants etc.) either as a ‘controller’ or a ‘processor’.
3. The activity you are performing is not part of your personal/household affairs.

Charities and non-profit organisations can register free of charge.

If you would like to find out more, please attend one of the free weekly drop-in sessions or read the detailed guidance on registration here.