Data protection guidance for Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers

Electoral law provides a statutory framework for the supply of the electoral register and, as ERO, you must supply the register in accordance with the relevant regulations.1 The recipient of the electoral register must only use the register for the purposes specified in those Regulations.2

As ERO you could choose to have a data sharing agreement  with an organisation relating to the supply of the register, a credit reference agency for example. However, there is no requirement for such an organisation to have an agreement with you. If you choose to have an agreement you would need to be careful that the provisions contained in it do not go beyond the requirements in the Regulations.

You should ensure that you have written data-sharing agreements in place with external organisations where you are receiving/sharing data on an ongoing basis. We have produced the following checklist you can use to help you with this.