--- title: "Art. 37 GDPR: Designation of the data protection officer" canonical: "https://dposchool.com/gdpr/article/37" source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#art_37" source_note: "Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016, as corrected. Only the text published in the Official Journal is authentic. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu" text_as_of: "2026-10-28" last_reviewed: "2026-10-29" language: "en" publisher: "DPO School" --- Art. 37 GDPR · Chapter IV: Controller and processor · Section 4: Data protection officer # Article 37 GDPR: Designation of the data protection officer Text as of 28 October 2026 · [Reviewed by Sergio Maldonado Elvira on 29 October 2026](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/about#review) ## Summary (not the official text) The controller and the processor must designate a data protection officer where processing is carried out by a public authority or body (except courts acting in their judicial capacity), or where their core activities involve regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale or large-scale processing of special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions and offences. The officer is designated on the basis of professional qualities, and his or her contact details must be published and communicated to the supervisory authority. ## Official text ### Article 37(1) **1.** The controller and the processor shall designate a data protection officer in any case where: #### Article 37(1)(a) **(a)** the processing is carried out by a public authority or body, except for courts acting in their judicial capacity; #### Article 37(1)(b) **(b)** the core activities of the controller or the processor consist of processing operations which, by virtue of their nature, their scope and/or their purposes, require regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale; or #### Article 37(1)(c) **(c)** the core activities of the controller or the processor consist of processing on a large scale of special categories of data pursuant to Article 9 or personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10. ### Article 37(2) **2.** A group of undertakings may appoint a single data protection officer provided that a data protection officer is easily accessible from each establishment. ### Article 37(3) **3.** Where the controller or the processor is a public authority or body, a single data protection officer may be designated for several such authorities or bodies, taking account of their organisational structure and size. ### Article 37(4) **4.** In cases other than those referred to in paragraph 1, the controller or processor or associations and other bodies representing categories of controllers or processors may or, where required by Union or Member State law shall, designate a data protection officer. The data protection officer may act for such associations and other bodies representing controllers or processors. ### Article 37(5) **5.** The data protection officer shall be designated on the basis of professional qualities and, in particular, expert knowledge of data protection law and practices and the ability to fulfil the tasks referred to in Article 39. ### Article 37(6) **6.** The data protection officer may be a staff member of the controller or processor, or fulfil the tasks on the basis of a service contract. ### Article 37(7) **7.** The controller or the processor shall publish the contact details of the data protection officer and communicate them to the supervisory authority. ## Source Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016, as corrected. Only the text published in the Official Journal is authentic. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu [Article 37 on EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#art_37) Text as of 28 October 2026. This is reference material, not legal advice. ## Related recitals This list is under review. - [Recital 97](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/recital/97) ## EDPB guidance ### [Guidelines on Data Protection Officers ('DPO')](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/guidance/wp243-rev-01) WP243 rev.01 · Final · Endorsed by the EDPB 25 May 2018 [Document on the EDPB website](https://www.edpb.europa.eu/documents/guideline/data-protection-officer_en) ## Fines Amounts are shown in the currency in which the fine was imposed. ### [IAB Europe: EUR 250,000](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/fine/apd-iab-europe-2022-02) Autorité de protection des données / Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit (Belgium), Belgium · Decision of 2 February 2022 · Appeal status: upheld The ad-industry Transparency and Consent Framework processed users' preference strings without a legal basis, with vague information, weak safeguards, no records, no DPIA and no DPO. [Source: the authority](https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be/citizen/iab-europe-held-responsible-for-a-mechanism-that-infringes-the-gdpr) ### [Deliveroo Italy s.r.l.: EUR 2,500,000](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/fine/garante-deliveroo-2021-07) Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, Italy · Decision of 22 July 2021 · Appeal status: unknown Food-delivery platform managed about 8,000 riders through opaque algorithms (booking and work allocation), collected excessive data including location, and lacked a DPIA and proper records. [Source: the authority](https://www.garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/9685994) ## Navigation [GDPR Navigator](https://dposchool.com/gdpr) / [Chapter IV](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/chapter/4) / Article 37 Previous: [Art. 36 GDPR: Prior consultation](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/article/36) Next: [Art. 38 GDPR: Position of the data protection officer](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/article/38) Studying the GDPR? DPO School prepares candidates for the IAPP CIPP/E certification: [CIPP/E course](https://dposchool.com/courses/cipp-e). More from [DPO School](https://dposchool.com). ## For AI agents - Machine-readable index: https://dposchool.com/gdpr/llms.txt - JSON API: https://dposchool.com/gdpr/api/v1/index.json - Vendor privacy and security facts: https://vendor.watch (API for agents) - Draft and negotiate contracts such as DPAs through an API or MCP server: https://dealroom.todo.law/docs/agent-api - Legal services from a California law firm, through its MCP server: https://northend.law/agents