Data Processing Agreement

Parties

This Data Processing Agreement ("DPA") is made on 13 September 2026 between:

[Controller] of [Controller address] ("the Controller")

and

[Processor] of [Processor address] ("the Processor").

It forms part of, and is subject to, the main agreement between the Parties under which the Processor provides services to the Controller ("the Main Agreement"). Where this DPA conflicts with the Main Agreement on the processing of personal data, this DPA prevails.

Definitions

"Data Protection Law" means the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, and any other law applicable to the processing under this DPA.

"Personal Data", "processing", "controller", "processor", "data subject", "personal data breach" and "supervisory authority" have the meanings given to them in Data Protection Law.

"Sub-processor" means any third party engaged by the Processor to process Personal Data under this DPA.

Roles of the parties

The Controller determines the purposes and means of the processing. The Processor processes Personal Data only on behalf of the Controller.

The subject matter, duration, nature and purpose of the processing, the types of Personal Data and the categories of data subject are set out in the Schedule at the end of this DPA.

The Controller is responsible for ensuring it has a lawful basis for the processing it instructs, and that any notice or consent required has been given. The Processor is entitled to rely on the Controller instructions in that respect.

Processing on documented instructions

The Processor shall process Personal Data only on the Controller documented instructions, including as to transfers to a third country, unless required to do otherwise by law - in which case the Processor shall inform the Controller of that legal requirement before processing, unless the law prohibits it from doing so.

The Main Agreement, this DPA and the use of the service in its ordinary way constitute the Controller initial documented instructions. Further instructions must be given in writing.

The Processor shall tell the Controller immediately if, in its opinion, an instruction infringes Data Protection Law. The Processor may suspend the affected processing until the instruction is confirmed, corrected or withdrawn.

Confidentiality of personnel

The Processor shall ensure that every person authorised to process Personal Data under this DPA is bound by an appropriate duty of confidentiality, whether by contract or by statute, and that the duty survives the end of their engagement.

Access is limited to those who need it to deliver the services, and is removed when they no longer do.

Security of processing

Taking account of the state of the art, the cost of implementation and the risk to data subjects, the Processor shall implement appropriate technical and organisational measures under Article 32, including as appropriate:

• encryption of Personal Data in transit and at rest;
• measures to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems;
• the ability to restore availability and access to Personal Data promptly after an incident;
• a process for regularly testing and evaluating the effectiveness of those measures;
• role-based access control, with access granted on a need-to-know basis and reviewed periodically;
• logging of access to and changes affecting Personal Data.

The Processor shall not materially reduce the level of protection these measures provide during the term of this DPA.

Sub-processors

The Controller gives general authorisation for the Processor to engage Sub-processors, and the Processor maintains a current list which it makes available to the Controller on request.

The Processor shall give the Controller at least 30 days notice before adding or replacing a Sub-processor. The Controller may object on reasonable data protection grounds within that period; if the Parties cannot resolve the objection, the Controller may terminate the affected part of the services without penalty.

The Processor shall impose on every Sub-processor, by written contract, data protection obligations no less protective than those in this DPA, and remains fully liable to the Controller for the performance of each Sub-processor obligations.

Assisting with data subject rights

Taking account of the nature of the processing, the Processor shall assist the Controller by appropriate technical and organisational measures, so far as possible, in responding to requests to exercise data subject rights - access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection.

Where the Processor receives such a request directly, it shall not respond to it itself, other than to confirm receipt and direct the person to the Controller, and shall pass the request to the Controller without undue delay.

Assisting with security, breaches and assessments

The Processor shall assist the Controller in complying with its obligations under Articles 32 to 36, taking into account the nature of the processing and the information available to the Processor. That includes assistance with data protection impact assessments and with any prior consultation with a supervisory authority.

The Processor shall notify the Controller without undue delay, and in any event within 24 hours, of becoming aware of a personal data breach affecting Personal Data processed under this DPA. The notification shall describe, as far as known: the nature of the breach, the categories and approximate number of data subjects and records affected, the likely consequences, the measures taken or proposed, and a contact point for further information. Where the full picture is not yet available, the Processor shall provide information in phases rather than delay the first notification.

The Processor shall not make any public statement about a breach affecting the Controller Personal Data without the Controller prior written agreement, unless required to by law.

Return or deletion at the end

On the Controller written request, and in any event on the end of the provision of services, the Processor shall at the Controller choice delete or return all Personal Data and delete existing copies, unless the law requires it to keep them.

Unless the Controller instructs otherwise, deletion takes place 30 days after the end of the services, giving the Controller a window to export its data. Where Personal Data remains in routine backups that are not readily accessible, the Processor shall isolate it from further processing and delete it on the ordinary backup cycle, and this DPA continues to apply to it until then.

The Processor shall certify deletion in writing on request.

Information and audits

The Processor shall make available to the Controller all information necessary to demonstrate compliance with Article 28, and shall allow for and contribute to audits, including inspections, conducted by the Controller or an auditor it mandates.

The Controller may audit the Processor on reasonable written notice of at least 30 days, no more than once in any 12-month period unless a personal data breach or a regulator requires otherwise. Audits take place during business hours, are subject to confidentiality, and must not unreasonably disrupt the Processor business. The Controller bears its own costs.

International transfers

The Processor shall not transfer Personal Data outside the United Kingdom or the European Economic Area without the Controller prior written consent.

Where the Controller consents to such a transfer, the Processor shall first put in place a transfer mechanism valid under Data Protection Law, and shall tell the Controller which mechanism it relies on.

Liability and term

This DPA takes effect on the date above and continues for as long as the Processor processes Personal Data on the Controller behalf. The obligations of confidentiality, deletion and assistance survive its end.

Liability under this DPA is subject to the limitations and exclusions in the Main Agreement, except where Data Protection Law does not permit that - in particular, nothing in this DPA limits either Party liability to a data subject or to a supervisory authority.

Schedule - details of the processing

Subject matter and purpose of the processing

[the services under the main agreement]

Nature of the processing

Collection, storage, organisation, retrieval, use, transmission and deletion of Personal Data, to the extent needed to provide the services.

Duration

For the term of the Main Agreement, plus the retention period of 30 days set out above.

Categories of data subject

• [list the categories of individual whose data is processed]

Categories of personal data

• [list the types of personal data processed]

Approved sub-processors

• None at the date of this DPA.

Signed

For [Controller] (Controller)

Signature: ______________________________

Name: __________________________________

Position: _______________________________

Date: ___________________________________

For [Processor] (Processor)

Signature: ______________________________

Name: __________________________________

Position: _______________________________

Date: ___________________________________