Paying a data protection fee – accommodation and food sector

If you do need to pay, the online form will ask for your sector. You can choose, but are not limited to:

Retail & Manufacture, Manufacturing, Manufacturer
Retail & Manufacture, Supplier of goods, Retail/Wholesale
General Business, Supplier of services, Other

Frequently asked questions

I have CCTV on my business premises for crime prevention reasons – do I need to pay a fee?

Yes. Images of people caught on camera is their personal data. If you record these images to prevent crime, and crime prevention is not the purpose of your business, then you need to pay.

I have a dashcam on my business vehicle – do I need to pay the fee?

If you have a dashcam that you use for work purposes on a vehicle that you use for work – even if you own the vehicle - then you will need to pay a data protection fee. Again, images of people recorded on camera – even when in their cars - will be their personal data.

I own a holiday home which I rent out privately – do I need to pay?

This would depend on what information you are processing. If you only hold booking information, such as name, address and dates of stay, you would not be required to pay the fee.

If you have CCTV for the purpose of crime prevention on or in the premises this would require your company to pay the fee.

If you use your business to promote another person's business activity, goods, or services, you will need to pay because you are advertising and marketing for others and this would require you to pay the fee.

Do I have to pay if I rent my holiday home through a vacation rental company?

The vacation rental company acts as the platform or agents for you to rent your holiday home, each vacation rental company may be different and you would need to determine your relationship with them regarding who is legally responsible for the personal data processed.

My company is a licenced club and we hold information about our members – do we need to pay?

The administration of membership records is not an exempt purpose for processing personal data and would require a fee to be paid. If you are set up as a not-for-profit organisation please take our self-assessment tool to see if you are required to pay the fee.

I offer consultancy services (this could include event catering organisations) – do I need to pay?

If you are providing a consultancy and advisory service to individuals or partnerships, this is not an exempt purpose for processing personal data and you would be required to pay the fee.

If I email promotional offers to customers – do I need to pay?

There is an exemption for processing personal information for the purpose of advertising or marketing your business activity, goods or services and promoting public relations only in connection with that business of activity, or those goods and services. This processing does not require you to pay the fee.

Do I have to pay if I have a website?

It depends on what’s on your website and what other personal data you hold.

If you use your website to promote another person's business activity, goods, or services, you will need to pay because you are advertising and marketing for others.

If you just have a website that advertises your own products or services, then you won’t need to pay because of your website. But you will need to use our self-assessment tool to see if there are any other activities you undertake that mean you do need to pay.

We are a housing association – do we need to pay?

Yes, just like other types of rental and letting agents the data you are processing; such as rental agreements and payments and maintenance requests, would require a fee to be paid.

We are a community interest company – do we need to pay?

A community interest company is unlikely to be able rely on the not-for-profit exemption and you must determine which level of fee you are required to pay.

You can complete the self-assessment to determine this.

We are a masonic entity – do we need to pay?

If you hold membership applications and minutes from meetings electronically and are the data controller then you could be required to pay the fee.

If you have CCTV for the purpose of crime prevention on or in the premises this would require you to pay the fee.

My organisation is a registered charity – do I need to pay?

This would depend on what personal data you were processing and why. A registered charity would only pay the lowest fee tier of £40. Our self-assessment tool will help you determine if you are required to pay a fee.

How do I know if my company can claim the not-for-profit exemption – we don’t make a profit?

To meet the criteria for the not-for-profit exemption the organisation must:

be established as a not-for-profit organisation, which may be stated in your constitution/articles
only process information necessary to establish or maintain membership or support
only process information necessary to provide or administer activities for people who are members of the organisation or have regular contact with it;
you only hold information about individuals whose data you need to process for this exempt purpose
the personal data you process is restricted to personal information that is necessary for this exempt purpose
only keep the information while the individual is a member or supporter or as long as necessary for member/supporter administration

The organisation would not be exempt:

if you are responsible for CCTV
if you provide additional services outside of the organisations aims/objectives that can’t be covered by the other exemptions
if you trade and share in personal data

I only hold names, addresses and contact details of my customers – do I need to pay?

If the information you are holding about people is only for the purposes of keeping your own accounts and records, such as keeping records of purchases, sales or other transactions to ensure the relevant payments, deliveries or services happen, then you are likely to be exempt from the requirement to pay.

However, this specifically excludes information processed by or obtained from credit reference agencies.

Do I have to pay because I hold client data on a computer?

You are not usually required to pay just because you hold client details on a computer, but the important point is what you do with those details. Our self-assessment tool will help you to see if any of your activities mean you need to pay.

Do I have to pay because I take card payments?

You are not required to pay just because you take card payments. However, if you do credit checks on customers via a credit reference agency, or if you process personal data for any other non-exempt reason, then you do need to pay.

My company is dormant – do I need to pay?

It depends. If your business is dormant and you are not processing personal data electronically, then you’re not required to pay the fee.

However, some businesses and professionals are required to retain some personal data after they cease trading or practicing, as required by industry guidelines. If this applies to you then you probably will need to pay.

Please visit our self-assessment tool to check.

More information

There is more information about the data protection fee on our website.

There is also lots of information for sole traders and smaller businesses on our SME web hub, to help you understand data protection and how it can help you safely make the most out of the personal data you hold.