Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR) ·

Article 38 Position of the data protection officer

Art. 38 · in force: yes

Captured statutory text (L5)

Article 38 Position of the data protection officer

(1)The controller and the processor shall ensure that the data protection officer is involved, properly and in a timely manner, in all issues which relate to the protection of personal data.

(2)The controller and processor shall support the data protection officer in performing the tasks referred to in Article 39 by providing resources necessary to carry out those tasks and access to personal data and processing operations, and to maintain his or her expert knowledge.

(3)The controller and processor shall ensure that the data protection officer does not receive any instructions regarding the exercise of those tasks. He or she shall not be dismissed or penalised by the controller or the processor for performing his tasks. The data protection officer shall directly report to the highest management level of the controller or the processor.

(4)Data subjects may contact the data protection officer with regard to all issues related to processing of their personal data and to the exercise of their rights under this Regulation.

(5)The data protection officer shall be bound by secrecy or confidentiality concerning the performance of his or her tasks, in accordance with domestic law.

(6)The data protection officer may fulfil other tasks and duties. The controller or processor shall ensure that any such tasks and duties do not result in a conflict of interests.

Full captured verbatim text

(1) The controller and the processor shall ensure that the data protection officer is involved, properly and in a timely manner, in all issues which relate to the protection of personal data.

(2) The controller and processor shall support the data protection officer in performing the tasks referred to in Article 39 by providing resources necessary to carry out those tasks and access to personal data and processing operations, and to maintain his or her expert knowledge.

(3) The controller and processor shall ensure that the data protection officer does not receive any instructions regarding the exercise of those tasks. He or she shall not be dismissed or penalised by the controller or the processor for performing his tasks. The data protection officer shall directly report to the highest management level of the controller or the processor.

(4) Data subjects may contact the data protection officer with regard to all issues related to processing of their personal data and to the exercise of their rights under this Regulation.

(5) The data protection officer shall be bound by secrecy or confidentiality concerning the performance of his or her tasks, in accordance with domestic law.

(6) The data protection officer may fulfil other tasks and duties. The controller or processor shall ensure that any such tasks and duties do not result in a conflict of interests.

What this provision means

Model summary, checked against the text on the left.

Relevance to Signicat: 2/3 · detailed summary (L4) Status: not needed for a short provision · Stored artifact; current recipe verification unavailable

Controllers and processors must support the data protection officer, protect their independence, and avoid conflicts of interest.

Only the one-line summary above is stored for this provision; the text itself is the evidence.

Refers to

cross-reference internal_cite · Art. 39

Referred to by

cross-reference internal_cite · Art. 83

Part summaries

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Verification findings (147)

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Instrument tier unavailable

Change history as published

Art. 44 omitted (5.2.2026) by virtue of Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), s. 142(1), Sch. 7 para. 2(1); S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(z9)

Art. 45 omitted (5.2.2026) by virtue of Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), s. 142(1), Sch. 7 para. 3; S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(z9)

Art. 48 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 41 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 53 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 47 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 54 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 48 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 55 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 50 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 56 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 51 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 59 omitted (20.8.2025) by virtue of Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), s. 142(1), Sch. 11 para. 12; S.I. 2025/904, reg. 2(y)

Ch. 7 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 55 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1) · repeated 17×

Art. 77 omitted (19.6.2026) by virtue of Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), ss. 103(6), 142(1); S.I. 2026/82, reg. 3(a) (with reg. 7)

Art. 81 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 60 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 87 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 67 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 88 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 68 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 89 omitted (5.2.2026) by virtue of Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), ss. 86(4), 142(1); S.I. 2026/82, reg. 2(n)

Art. 90 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 70 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 91 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 71 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Ch. 10 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 72 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1) · repeated 2×

Art. 97 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 76 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 98 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 77 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Art. 99 omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 78 (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Pending effects amendments not yet applied to this text

Art. 57(3)(4) word substituted by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 Sch. 3 para. 41(3)para. 41(4)(z1)(i) · Effective date unknown · Art. 57

Art. 57(2) word substituted by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 Sch. 3 para. 41(3)para. 41(4)(z1)(ii) · Effective date unknown · Art. 57

Art. 77 heading word substituted by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 Sch. 3 para. 41(3)para. 41(4)(z3)(i) · Effective date unknown · Art. 77

Art. 77(1)(2) word substituted by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 Sch. 3 para. 41(3)para. 41(4)(z3)(ii) · Effective date unknown · Art. 77

Art. 80(2) word substituted by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 Sch. 3 para. 41(3)para. 41(4)(z6) · Effective date unknown · Art. 80

Provenance

Every claim the system makes about this text is traceable to these identifiers.

Instrument: uk:eur/2016/679
Part
Version: b0e58b6afa250bd01c5afd9c…
Content hash: sha256 dbe7d71dbe3cde73306a50cf…
Source: legislation.gov.uk/eur/2016/679