ODPA successful in Petty Debts (2024-02-08)

Summary

This is a notice from the Office of the Data Protection Authority (ODPA) announcing that it successfully pursued six companies through the Magistrate's Court Petty Debt process in January 2024 for non-payment of data protection registration fees, and was awarded full judgement and costs in all cases. The notice serves as a reminder of the registration and renewal obligations under Bailiwick data protection law.

• Who must register: All entities established in the Bailiwick that process personal data, including small businesses and sole traders, must register with the ODPA and renew that registration annually.
• Consequences of non-payment: Failure to register or pay fees may lead to enforcement action and, for non-payment, pursuit through the Magistrate's Court Petty Debt process.
• Fee levels (unchanged): Annual registration fee is £2,000 for organisations with 50 or more full-time equivalent staff, and £50 for all other entities.

The notice does not introduce new rules but reinforces existing statutory registration duties and signals the ODPA's willingness to use court enforcement against non-payers.

Key obligations

• All entities established in the Bailiwick that process personal data must register with the ODPA.
• Registered entities must renew their registration annually.
• Entities must pay the applicable annual registration fee (£2,000 for organisations with 50+ full-time equivalent staff, £50 for all others).

Applies to

entities that process personal data, small businesses, sole traders, organisations established in the Bailiwick

Deadlines

• annually: Registration with the ODPA must be renewed annually.