Is Your Business Registered with The Information Commissioner’s Office?
The Information commissioner is an independent body set up to uphold information rights. Data Protection Regulations require individuals and organisations that process personal data to register and pay a data protection fee to the Information Commissioner’s Office. There are some exemptions and you can work through the registration self-assessment on the Information Commissioners website to determine whether you fall into this category.
If you process personal data and you have not registered and paid the correct fee to the Information Commissioner then you are breaking the law and can be fined, the maximum penalty for this is currently set at £4,350.
The registration fee ranges from £40 to £2,900 depending on the size and type of your organisation. Fees are broken down into three different tiers based on several criteria including size of organisation, number of staff, annual turnover etc, a guide to the different tiers of data protection fee is also available on the Information Commissioner’s website.
The fee is set by Parliament and is used to fund data protection work.
The fee covers a 12-month period after which it must be renewed, the Information Commissioner will send out a reminder before the renewal fee is due.
All fee paying organisations are listed on a register on the Information Commissioner’s website.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. We cannot accept responsibility or liability for any actions you may take, or not take, based on this information.