Privacy policy

This page explains what kind of personal information the Government Equalities Office (GEO) holds about you when you apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) using this service. It also explains how your personal information is protected and how you can find out about it.

What personal information we hold about you

We hold the following information about you:

  • personal details – name, email address, and telephone number
  • birth or adoption certificate details
  • medical information
  • name change documentation
  • National Insurance number

We also hold documents relating to living in your affirmed gender including your:

  • ID documentation
  • passport
  • driver’s licence
  • utility bills
  • payslips
  • bank statements
  • tax letters
  • academic statements

Purpose

We use your personal data to enable the submission of applications to the Gender Recognition team at HMCTS (HM Courts and Tribunals Service).

Legal basis of processing

Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the compliance of legal obligations. In particular:

Allowing the submission of gender recognition certificate applications to the gender recognition panel. This is outlined in the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Sensitive personal data is personal data about your:

  • racial or ethnic origin
  • political opinions
  • religious or philosophical beliefs
  • trade union membership

It also includes the processing of:

  • genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person
  • data concerning health
  • data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation

The legal basis for processing your sensitive personal data is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the compliance of legal obligations. As stated above.

How long we keep your personal data

When you begin an application, or return to an existing application you will be sent an email with a pin number.

If you do not use the pin to verify your email within 24 hours, you will need to start either the application or the log-in again and request a new pin.

After you have started your application, we will keep your personal data for 6 calendar months from the date you last signed in. If you do not sign in within 6 calendar months we will permanently delete all personal identifiable data. We will warn you 3 months, one month and one week before we delete your data.

After you have submitted your application, it is shared with the HMCTS Gender Recognition administration team.

HMCTS will use your data to process your application and put it to the Gender Recognition panel for review. See the HMCTS privacy notice (opens in a new tab) for more information about how they process and hold your information. We permanently delete your application from our online system after it has been reviewed by the Gender Recognition panel.

There is a separate privacy notice for GOV.UK Pay (opens in a new tab), the government’s online payment service. You will need to use GOV.UK Pay if you pay for your GRC application online.

Sharing your information

When you submit your application, your data will be shared with the HMCTS Gender Recognition administration team. They require a secure login to access the data. The data is not shared with any third parties or government departments, agencies or arms-length bodies.

Throughout the application process, information is shared with our email provider (GOV.UK Notify) and stored in our hosting provider (GOV.UK Platform as a Service) where this is needed to process your application. It is also shared with our hosting suppliers and third-party IT support companies for the purposes of managing the site.

There are some cases when your information can be shared for other reasons – for example, to prevent crime, respond to legal obligations or cooperate with public inquiries.

Your rights

You can ask to see and correct the personal information we hold about you. You can do this by logging into your application.

In certain circumstances, you may also object to or restrict the processing of your data by GEO by making a request to grc-requests@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

After you have submitted your application, you will no longer be able to log in to access the ‘apply for a gender recognition certificate’ service.

To ask for your data to be amended or deleted after you have submitted an application, email:

Preparation of this privacy notice

This privacy notice was first published on 28 June 2022.

We have carried out a data protection impact assessment. We will use the impact assessment to keep track of any changes to the way your personal data is processed, and will update this notice if any changes arise.

Contact Details

The data controller for your personal data is HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

The contact details for the data controller are:

The Data Protection Officer
Ministry of Justice
3rd Floor, Post Point 3.20
10 South Colonnade
Canary Wharf
London E14 4PU
DPO@justice.gov.uk

How to make a complaint

When we ask you for information, we will keep to the law. If you consider that your information has been handled incorrectly, you can contact the Information Commissioner for independent advice about data protection.

You can contact the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113
Information Commissioner’s Office website (opens in a new tab)