Right of access

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justify-between pb-2 mb-4 cursor-pointer print:hidden" id="multipage-nav-toggle"> <p class="text-sm text-primary justify-start">Contents</p> <div class="justify-end"> <span class="icon icon-search text-primary" id="multipage-search-button"></span> <span class="icon icon-pointer-down text-primary"></span> </div> </div> <aside class="col-span-4 md:col-span-1 hidden md:block motion-safe:transition-all motion-safe:duration-200 overflow-hidden md:overflow-auto max-h-0 md:max-h-fit mb-6 md:mb-0" id="multipage-nav"> <form id="multipage-search" class="mb-3 flex" method="get"> <label for="multipage-search-input" class="sr-only">Search this document</label> <input type="search" name="search" value="" class="w-full py-2 px-2 text-sm bg-slate-100 border-r-0" id="multipage-search-input" /> <button type="submit" title="Search" class="icon icon-search px-2 bg-slate-100 border border-solid border-l-0 border-slate-700"> </button> </form> <nav> <ul> <li> <div class="mb-2 pb-2 border-b-2 border-dotted border-neutral-200"> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid bg-neutral-100 text-neutral-600 border-theme-yellow pl-[10px]" data-id="5628"> <span>Right of access</span> </a> </div> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-is-the-right-of-access/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5805"> <span>What is the right of access?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-should-we-prepare/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5815"> <span>How should we prepare?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-do-we-recognise-a-subject-access-request-sar/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5818"> <span>How do we recognise a subject access request (SAR)?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-should-we-consider-when-responding-to-a-request/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5825"> <span>What should we consider when responding to a request?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-do-we-find-and-retrieve-the-relevant-information/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5829"> <span>How do we find and retrieve the relevant information?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-should-we-supply-information-to-the-requester/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5831"> <span>How should we supply information to the requester?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/when-can-we-refuse-to-comply-with-a-request/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5836"> <span>When can we refuse to comply with a request?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/information-about-other-individuals/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5837"> <span>What should we do if the request involves information about other individuals?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-other-exemptions-are-there/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5839"> <span>What other exemptions are there?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/are-there-any-special-cases/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5842"> <span>Are there any special cases?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/health-data/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5846"> <span>Health data</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/education-data/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5847"> <span>Education data</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/social-work-data/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5852"> <span>Social work data</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/can-the-right-of-access-be-enforced/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="5854"> <span>Can the right of access be enforced?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> <ul> <li> <div> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/can-we-force-an-individual-to-make-a-sar/" class="pt-2 pr-2 pb-2 flex justify-between text-sm border-l-4 border-solid text-link border-transparent hover:border-neutral-200 hover:bg-neutral-100 pl-[10px]" data-id="7857"> <span>Can we force an individual to make a SAR?</span> </a> </div> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </nav> </aside> <div class="col-span-4 md:col-span-3 md:pl-10"> <div class="mb-10"> <div class="umb-block-grid" data-grid-columns="12;" style="--umb-block-grid--grid-columns: 12;"> <div class="umb-block-grid__layout-container"> <div class="umb-block-grid__layout-item" data-content-element-type-alias="richTextBlock" data-content-element-type-key="d7ec1d8a-2a00-439e-95b4-9f3537f5ece4" data-element-udi="umb://element/b863d803e73f485b9e2456b148d04f53" data-col-span="12" data-row-span="1" style=" --umb-block-grid--item-column-span: 12; --umb-block-grid--item-row-span: 1; "> <div class="prose prose-sm md:prose-base prose-h2:font-serif sm:prose-h2:border-l-10 sm:prose-h2:pl-3 sm:prose-h2:-ml-3 sm:prose-h2:relative sm:prose-h2:left-[-10px] prose-h3:font-serif sm:prose-lead:border-l-10 sm:prose-lead:pl-3 sm:prose-lead:-ml-3 sm:prose-lead:relative sm:prose-lead:left-[-10px] prose-hr:my-4 prose-h2:border-theme-yellow-light prose-lead:border-theme-yellow-light prose-theme-yellow sm:ml-[10px] sm:pl-3"> <div class="rt-block rt-amber"> <p>We are currently experiencing problems with guidance downloads, which means that you may not be able to access the PDF of this guidance using the "download options" button. <a rel="noopener" data-id="8b5bf86c-36c9-403f-b917-61eadadfe4aa" href="/media2/migrated/4031029/right-of-access-1-0-20240919.pdf" target="_blank" title="Right of access">You can access a PDF version of this guidance at this link</a>.</p> </div> <p> </p> <p>This guidance discusses the right of access in detail. Read it if you have detailed questions not answered in the Guide, or if you need a deeper understanding to help you apply the right of access in practice. It is aimed at data protection officers (DPOs) and those with specific data protection responsibilities in larger organisations. <a data-id="e95cab42-7f22-42e5-8f94-a9fadab29bc0" href="/for-organisations/advice-for-small-organisations/how-to-deal-with-a-request-for-information-a-step-by-step-guide/" title="How to deal with a request for information: a step-by-step guide">Guidance tailored towards small organisations</a> can be found in our data protection advice for small organisations. This guidance does not specifically cover the right of access under Parts 3 and 4 of the Data Protection Act 2018. However, some of the guidance contains practical examples and advice which will still be relevant.</p> <p>If you haven’t yet read the ‘in brief’ page on the <a data-id="22e7c303-6bc6-40d9-b554-9e1b17d00fb2" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/right-of-access/" title="Right of access">right of access</a> in the Guide to Data Protection, you should read that first. It introduces this topic and sets out the key points you need to know, along with practical checklists to help you comply.</p> <h2>Contents</h2> <ul> <li><a data-id="08a41463-3b07-4ae1-a6e3-ad594c982401" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-is-the-right-of-access/" title="What is the right of access?">What is the right of access?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="ed828e8b-c5ef-4ca1-a7e7-90400614dbaf" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-should-we-prepare/" title="How should we prepare?">How should we prepare?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="3b15b618-6eda-4255-92b8-1a5e705a69e2" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-do-we-recognise-a-subject-access-request-sar/" title="How do we recognise a subject access request (SAR)?">How do we recognise a subject access request (SAR)?</a></li> <li><a data-id="f3d68f6a-5ff9-4752-81b3-4f1bed7ac1a9" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-should-we-consider-when-responding-to-a-request/" title="What should we consider when responding to a request?">What should we consider when responding to a request?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="6cf92984-b898-4d56-9eeb-c12b26ed2258" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-do-we-find-and-retrieve-the-relevant-information/" title="How do we find and retrieve the relevant information?">How do we find and retrieve the relevant information?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="c9425576-e5c2-483a-b8af-42c421e34f70" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/how-should-we-supply-information-to-the-requester/" title="How should we supply information to the requester?">How should we supply information to the requester?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="c0adef52-9d83-4f70-a2c2-5c9f92f644d3" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/when-can-we-refuse-to-comply-with-a-request/" title="When can we refuse to comply with a request?">When can we refuse to comply with a request?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="242cc1bf-3009-4779-a6b7-4f8b746dfa06" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/information-about-other-individuals/" title="What should we do if the request involves information about other individuals?">What should we do if the request involves information about other individuals?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="0539e71e-5268-4d0e-be0d-aae77efb205e" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-other-exemptions-are-there/" title="What other exemptions are there?">What other exemptions are there?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="5208a844-962f-4178-a745-b51d010aef70" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/are-there-any-special-cases/" title="Are there any special cases?">Are there any special cases?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="aa2376fd-7338-4115-a770-a62dbc3d9a12" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/health-data/" title="Health data">Health data</a> </li> <li><a data-id="757cca48-1e2d-4441-a578-b43f3e48a973" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/education-data/" title="Education data">Education data</a> </li> <li><a data-id="e6e6c075-5e72-4d03-b177-1eabb845ad21" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/social-work-data/" title="Social work data">Social work data</a>  </li> <li><a data-id="b5cb7d62-0ce8-4627-bd68-35d8a952d4a2" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/can-the-right-of-access-be-enforced/" title="Can the right of access be enforced?">Can the right of access be enforced?</a> </li> <li><a data-id="01f0439e-e6a1-4d23-b85e-e0d952db9312" href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/can-we-force-an-individual-to-make-a-sar/" title="Can we force an individual to make a SAR?">Can we force an individual to make a SAR?</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="print:hidden inline-flex flex-col items-start gap-5"> <a href="/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/right-of-access/what-is-the-right-of-access/" class="group text-primary"> <div class="flex items-center"> <i class="icon icon-arrow-right text-4xl"></i> <span class="pl-3 flex flex-col"> <span class="text-lg font-semibold">Next</span> <span class="text-sm underline underline-offset-4 decoration-dotted 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