Data Protection Q&A - Does My Business Need To Notify The ICO, And Pay A Data Protection Fee?

The Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 requires every organisation or sole trader who processes personal information to pay a Data Protection Fee to the ICO, unless they are exempt.

This briefing note will give you some guidance on how you can check whether you need to register, and if you do, how much the cost will be. The Data Protection Fee replaces the requirement to 'notify' (or register), which was in the old Data Protection Act 1998. Controllers who have a current registration (or notification) under the 1998 Act do not have to pay the new fee until that registration has expired.

Does the Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR apply to my organisation?

Yes, if you have information that can identify individuals (personal data) for any business or other non-household purpose. The law applies to any 'processing of personal data', and will catch most businesses and organisations, whatever their size.

How do I notify and register with the ICO?

You can notify the ICO by either:

Filling in an online notification form, printing it out and sending it to the ICO Completing a notification form request and posting it to the ICO Calling ICO's fees helpline (0303 123 1113) and requesting a notification form You will need to fill in details of your organisation and a general description of the processing of personal information being carried out by the data controller. It should take you around 15 minutes to complete.

How much does it cost to register with the ICO?

The data protection fee charged by the ICO depends on the size of your organisation or turnover. There are three different tiers of fees controllers are expected to pay - £40, £60 or £2,900. For most organisations, the cost will be £40 or £60. The ICO has developed a fee assessment tool. That tool will help you ascertain which fee is payable.

The tier that your organisation falls into depends on:

how many members of staff you have; your annual turnover; whether your organisation is a public authority; whether your organisation is charity; or whether your organisation is a small occupational pension scheme. Tier 1 - Micro Organisations

You have a maximum turnover of £632,000 for your financial year or no more than 10 members of staff. The fee for tier 1 is £40.

Tier 2 - Small and Medium Organisations

You have a maximum turnover of £36 million for your financial year or no more than 250 members of staff. The fee for tier 2 is £60.

Tier 3 - Large Organisations

If you...