Data protection guidance for Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers

Retention of election notices published on your website

You will need to ensure that election notices published on your website are removed at the appropriate time.  

Election notices serve specific purposes: for example, a statement of the candidates standing at an election. Once the election is over, and the opportunity to question that election has passed, the election notices have no further purpose. 

You will need to consider whether it is appropriate or necessary for election notices to remain published on your website beyond the expiry of the petition period for that election.

Once the petition deadline for that election has passed, you should either remove notices published on your website, or remove the personal data contained in these notices. 

Unless there is a reason not to, for example a legal challenge, it is essential that you securely destroy documents in accordance with your document retention policy. 

You should appropriately label documents and tag electronic files with destruction dates. You should reference these dates in your electoral registration and election plans.

You should ensure that you and your staff are familiar with and adhere to your document retention policy, and that it is up-to-date and covers every document you process.

Last updated: 22 February 2023