Defence Vetting Agency: Frequently Asked Questions - Privacy and Data Protection

Questions about Privacy and Data Protection

How do I request personal data that the DVA hold's on me?
The Data Protection Act (DPA) of 1998, that came into force on 1st March 2000, sets out rules for processing personal information and (with some exceptions) applies to vetting paper records as well as those held on computers.

If you have completed a vetting questionnaire in the past you may wish to exercise your rights under the DPA to see what data the Agency holds on you by submitting an identified subject access request(SAR).

Serving military personnel and MOD civil servants should submit their applications on the standard MOD SAR form to the address under Contact us.

On receipt of a properly identified SAR, the DVA will have 40 calendar days to reply. As a general rule, paper records concerning Security Checks are normally destroyed after 6 months. Developed Vetting files are normally kept until 5 years after normal retiring age, 10 years after retiring or leaving before normal retiring age, or 1 year after death.

Some data may be supplied in redacted (edited) form, or withheld, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, especially where it is supplied by third party or falls under a national security exemption.

How does the Human Rights and Data Protection Act impact on Security Vetting?
The Human Rights and Data Protection Acts have not removed the need to national security vet people to the same standards as applied before the Acts came into force.

It is made clear on the Security Application forms that it is entirely the vetting subjects' choice whether or not they wish to be security vetted and what this means in practice.

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Defence Vetting Agency: Frequently Asked Questions - Privacy and Data Protection

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