Registration

Registration with the Commissioner.

Every data controller in Jamaica must register with the Office of the Information Commissioner. We prepare the paperwork and submit it for you.

Who has to register

If your organisation decides why and how personal information is collected and used, you are a data controller, and data controllers must register with the Office of the Information Commissioner. That includes sole traders, churches, schools, clinics, credit unions, shops and government bodies. There is no minimum size, and processing personal data without being registered is an offence in itself, even where nothing has gone wrong.

Why people get it wrong

Most applications that come back are not wrong out of carelessness. They are vague. "Business operations" is not a purpose. The appointment book, the sign-in sheet at the gate and the WhatsApp group are all personal data and all belong on the form. If your email or accounting sits on servers abroad, that has to be declared with the safeguards behind it. We have filled in enough of these to know where the stumbles are.

What you get

A written record of processing you can keep and reuse
Completed registration forms, checked line by line
Submission on your behalf and follow-up on queries
Your confirmation letter, filed where you can find it
A plain-language note on what to do when things change

How it works

What working with us looks like

STEP 01

Inventory

We sit with the people who actually handle the data and write down what you hold, why, and where it lives.

STEP 02

Prepare

We write your record of processing and complete the registration forms in the Commissioner's language.

STEP 03

Submit and follow up

We submit on your behalf, answer any queries and hand you the confirmation for your file.

Common questions

You asked, we answered

How long does registration take?

It depends on how quickly we can see your systems and on the Commissioner's own processing. Gathering the information is usually a few days of part-time work; the review sits with the Office after that.

What does registration cost?

There is the Commissioner's own fee, which depends on your organisation, and our fee for doing the work. You get a written quote before anything starts, with General Consumption Tax shown separately.

We registered two years ago. Is that enough?

No. Your entry has to match what you actually do today. New systems, new purposes or a new data protection officer all mean the entry changes.

What happens if we never registered?

Processing personal data without registering is an offence. The sensible move is to register now rather than wait to be found. We can start this week.

Keep reading

The Act in plain language

Who it covers, the eight standards, and the 72 hour rule.

Registration step by step

What to gather and the mistakes that send applications back.

Virtual data protection officer

Keep the calendar and the paperwork moving after registration.

Get started

Built to hold. Let's test yours.

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