Article 42 of the GDPR: Certification

Article 42 of the GDPR Explained

Member States, supervisory authorities, or European bodies may encourage the development of GDPR certifications. These allow for:

• Proving the compliance of specific processing activities (security, minimisation, data subjects' rights...);
• Distinguishing trusted providers (hosting providers, publishers, sub-processors...);
• Promoting transparency towards users.

The certification is issued by an accredited body for a maximum period of 3 years, renewable.

Why This Article Is Important for Your GDPR Compliance

Certification enables you to structure and enhance your compliance approach. It is a mark of professionalism for your clients, partners and users, and can be a competitive advantage, particularly in calls for tender.

How to comply with GDPR Article 42?

• Research available GDPR certifications (e.g., SecNumCloud, the French supervisory authority Label, Europrivacy…);
• Analyse their scope and requirements;
• Prepare a compliance plan aligned with the certification criteria;
• Engage an accredited body for auditing and monitoring.

Examples of Article 42 GDPR Application

• A hosting provider obtains GDPR certification for the security of its data centres;
• A SaaS platform communicates its compliance with a European data protection framework;
• A marketing service provider obtains a GDPR label to reassure its clients.

Related Resources

• Official text of the GDPR – EUR-Lex
• Practical guides from the French supervisory authority
• European data protection portal

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