Register of data controllers

The Register of data controllers is a United Kingdom database under the control of the UK Information Commissioner's Office mandated by the UK Data Protection Act 1998^[1] (The Act) which records the name of the data controller^[2] and the purpose(s) for the processing of the data processed by that controller within the meaning of The Act.^[3]

Under The Act a data controller may, under some circumstances, be exempt from registration, termed notification.^[4] When not exempt,^[5] failure to notify the Information Commissioner's Office formally prior to the commencement of processing data is a strict liability offence for which a prosecution may be brought by the Information Commissioner's Office in the criminal court of the UK. Exemption from registration does not exempt a data controller from compliance with The Act.

Amendments to a data controller's notification may be made at any time, and must be made prior to commencement of a new processing purpose.

Registration carries a fee, the proceeds of which fund the UK Information Commissioner's Office directly.

Any entry may be inspected at any time at no cost to the enquirer.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ "Data Protection Act 1998". Office of Public Sector Information. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980029_en_1. Retrieved 2009-11-18. 
2. ^ "Data Protection Act 1998 - Part 1, Basic Interpretive Provisions - Section 1". Office of Public Sector Information. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/ukpga_19980029_en_2#pt1-l1g1. Retrieved 2009-11-18. "'data controller' means, subject to subsection (4), a person who (either alone or jointly or in common with other persons) determines the purposes for which and the manner in which any personal data are, or are to be, processed;" 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Register of data controllers". UK Information Commissioner's Office. http://www.ico.gov.uk/tools_and_resources/register_of_datacontrollers.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-17. "The register contains the name and address of data controllers and a description of the kind of processing they do" 
4. ^ "Notification under the Data Protection Act 1998". UK Information Commissioner's Office. http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/data_protection/notification.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-18. "Notification is a statutory requirement and every organisation that processes personal information must notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), unless they are exempt. Failure to notify is a criminal offence" 
5. ^ "Notification Handbook - Section 4, Notification Exemptions". UK Information Commissioner's Office. http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/notifications_handbook_html/4_exemptions.html. Retrieved 2009-11-18. "The Act provides an exemption from notification for some data controllers." 

External links

• The Register of data controllers, at which any entry may be inspected at no charge.