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Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as retained in UK law (UK GDPR) – Article 43 – Certification bodies

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Article 43Certification bodies

1. Without prejudice to the tasks and powers of [F1the [F2Commission]] under Articles 57 and 58, certification bodies which have an appropriate level of expertise in relation to data protection shall, after informing [F3the [F2Commission]] in order to allow it to exercise its powers pursuant to point (h) of Article 58(2) where necessary, issue and renew certification. [F4In accordance with section 17 of the 2018 Act, those certification bodies may only be] accredited by one or both of the following:
  • (a)
    [F5 the [F2Commission];]
  • (b)
    [F6the UK national accreditation body] named in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council(20) in accordance with EN-ISO/IEC 17065/2012 and with the additional requirements established by [F7the [F2Commission]].
2. Certification bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall be accredited in accordance with that paragraph only where they have:
  • (a)
    demonstrated their independence and expertise in relation to the subject-matter of the certification to the satisfaction of [F8the [F9Commission]];
  • (b)
    undertaken to respect the criteria referred to in Article 42(5) and approved by [F10the [F9Commission]] which is competent pursuant to Article 55 or 56 or by the Board pursuant to Article 63;
  • (c)
    established procedures for the issuing, periodic review and withdrawal of data protection certification, seals and marks;
  • (d)
    established procedures and structures to handle complaints about infringements of the certification or the manner in which the certification has been, or is being, implemented by the controller or processor, and to make those procedures and structures transparent to data subjects and the public; and
  • (e)
    demonstrated, to the satisfaction of [F11the [F12Commission]], that their tasks and duties do not result in a conflict of interests.
3. [X1The accreditation of certification bodies as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall take place on the basis of requirements approved by [F13the [F14Commission]].] In the case of accreditation pursuant to point (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article, those requirements shall complement those envisaged in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and the technical rules that describe the methods and procedures of the certification bodies.
4. The certification bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall be responsible for the proper assessment leading to the certification or the withdrawal of such certification without prejudice to the responsibility of the controller or processor for compliance with this Regulation. The accreditation shall be issued for a maximum period of five years and may be renewed on the same conditions provided that the certification body meets the requirements set out in this Article.
5. The certification bodies referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide [F15the [F16Commission]] with the reasons for granting or withdrawing the requested certification.
6. [X1 The requirements referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article and the criteria referred to in Article 42(5) shall be made public by [F17the [F16Commission]] in an easily accessible form. F18... ]
7. Without prejudice to Chapter VIII, [F19the [F16Commission] or the UK national accreditation body] shall revoke an accreditation of a certification body pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article where the conditions for the accreditation are not, or are no longer, met or where actions taken by a certification body infringe this Regulation.
8. F20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9. F20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amended text

This Article is shown as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18), among other instruments (see the annotations below) (commenced provisions as at 30 September 2026, ELI), as incorporated in the text in force on 30 September 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Annotations and footnotes

Textual Amendments

  1. F1 Words in Art. 43(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(2)(a)(i) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  2. F2 Word in Art. 43(1) substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 41(3)(4)(r); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)
  3. F3 Words in Art. 43(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(2)(a)(ii) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  4. F4 Words in Art. 43(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(2)(a)(iii) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  5. F5 Art. 43(1)(a) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(2)(b) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  6. F6 Words in Art. 43(1)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(2)(c)(i) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  7. F7 Words in Art. 43(1)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(2)(c)(ii) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  8. F8 Words in Art. 43(2)(a) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(3)(a) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  9. F9 Word in Art. 43(2)(a)(b) substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 41(3)(4)(r); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)
  10. F10 Words in Art. 43(2)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(3)(b) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  11. F11 Words in Art. 43(2)(e) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(3)(c) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  12. F12 Word in Art. 43(2)(e) substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 41(3)(4)(r); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)
  13. F13 Words in Art. 43(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(4) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  14. F14 Word in Art. 43(3) substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 41(3)(4)(r); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)
  15. F15 Words in Art. 43(5) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(5) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  16. F16 Word in Art. 43(5)-(7) substituted (30.9.2026) by The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/386), reg. 1(2), Sch. 3 para. 41(3)(4)(r); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)
  17. F17 Words in Art. 43(6) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(6)(a) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  18. F18 Words in Art. 43(6) 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. 37(6)(b) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  19. F19 Words in Art. 43(7) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 37(7) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
  20. F20 Art. 43(8)(9) 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. 37(8) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

Editorial Information

  1. X1 Substituted by Corrigendum to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (Official Journal of the European Union L 119 of 4 May 2016).

Footnotes

  1. (20) Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30).

https://uk-gdpr.digiphile.law/article/article-43.html

Text as at 17 September 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the UK GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as retained in UK law). It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in September 2026.

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