Paying a data protection fee - utilities sector
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
Mining and Quarrying
Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply
Water supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation activities
If you do need to pay, the online form will ask for your sector. You can choose, but are not limited, to:
- Membership Association, Club, Club/Society (Charitable)
- Membership Association, Club, Membership Club (Commercial)
- Retail & Manufacture, Supplier of Goods, Retail/Wholesale
- Retail & Manufacture, Manufacturing, Manufacturer
- Retail and Manufacture, Supplier of goods, Mail Order Trader
- Retail and Manufacture, Supplier of goods, E-Commerce
- Land and Property Services, Property Management, Property Management
- Charitable and Voluntary, Local Charity, Charity (Local)
- General Business, Business Advice and Consultancy, Consultant
- General Business, Market Research, Market Research/Research Organisation
- 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.
My society/club/association holds 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.
If you have CCTV for the purpose of crime prevention on or in the premises this would require your company to pay the fee.
I hold events, such as cattle fairs and auction events - do I need to pay?
Yes, if you hold details of attendees, competitor information, exhibitor information, advertising for other business services then you would be required to pay a fee.
If you are set up as a not-for-profit you may be able to rely on this exemption.
My company carries out research within the areas of agriculture, mining, waste management, and the environment etc – do I need to pay?
If you are processing personal data and you are determining the information that is collected and the manner which it is processed, such as opinions of individuals, you are required to pay a data protection fee.
If your processing does not contain any information about a living individual, there is no requirement 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 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 activity, or those goods and services. This processing does not require you 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.
We advertise our sponsors services on our website – do we need to pay?
If your sponsors are sole traders or partnerships, then there would be a requirement to pay the fee. This is advertising and marketing for others and a non-exempt purpose for processing personal data.
If you are set up as a not-for-profit you may be able to rely on this exemption. However, if you have CCTV for crime prevention purposes you would be required to pay.
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.
I do credit checks on my clients – do I need to pay?
Yes. When performing a credit check via a credit reference agency you will need 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.
Do I have to pay because I hold customer data on a computer?
You are not usually required to pay just because you hold client details on 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.
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
- 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
We are a community interest company – do we need to pay?
Community interest companies are 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 tool to determine this.
I only process personal information for personal, family or household affairs – do I need to pay?
This will only apply to you if you are not running a business (renting out a property is like running a small business).
Individuals are exempt from paying a fee if the only information they process is for personal, family or household affairs that have no connection to any commercial or professional activity.
‘Personal, family or household affairs’ includes recreational activities and the capturing of images that contain personal data, even if they captured in a public space.
Examples include holding a personal address list; social networking and online activity, including blogging (as long as this is done in a purely personal capacity and you do not use the blog to endorse or promote businesses, services, or products); using CCTV to monitor property, even if capturing images beyond the boundaries of your property; and personal information held in connection with a hobby, even if this involves capturing personal data images in a public space.
I am already registered – why have I received a letter?
If you are registered as a sole trader or your registration does not include your companies house number this could be the reason why you have received our letter. Please let us know.
I have a limited company but I’m a sole trader – who needs to be registered?
This depends on who the data controller is, and which entity has the relationship with the client. You will need to determine who is the legal person responsible for the personal data held.
If your limited company is set up for the sole purpose of processing your own accounts through, then this would not require a fee.
I’m unsure if I am data controller or a data processor – how do I determine this?
It is essential for organisations involved in the processing of personal data to be able to determine whether they are acting as a data controller or as a data processor in respect of the processing. This is particularly important in situations such as a data breach where it will be necessary to determine which organisation has data protection responsibility.
You may find the following guidance useful:
To determine whether you are a data controller you need to ascertain which organisation decides:
- to collect the personal data in the first place and the legal basis for doing so;
- which items of personal data to collect, i.e. the content of the data;
- the purpose or purposes the data are to be used for;
- which individuals to collect data about;
- whether to disclose the data, and if so, who to;
- whether subject access and other individuals’ rights apply i.e. the application of exemptions; and
- how long to retain the data or whether to make non-routine amendments to the data.
We can only provide guidance and advice, ultimately it is the Data Controllers decision as to whether a registration is needed.
I’m an individual who offers consultancy services – do I need to pay?
Providing consultancy and advisory services to individuals and partnerships is not an exempt purpose of processing personal data and you would be required to pay a fee.
I have received a letter for one of my companies, however, I have a group of companies. Can I do a group registration?
It isn’t possible to have a group entry on the public register of data protection fee payers. Each individual company, if it is a data controller and a separate legal entity e.g. has a separate companies house number, would be required to pay a data protection fee unless an exemption applies.
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.