# GDPR Article 86 — Processing and public access to official documents - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-86-processing-and-public-access-to-official-documents - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr) › Articles 81–90 - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **GDPR**·Article `Article 86`·low·Component: **Chapter IX: Specific Situations** ## What this control requires > Ensure public authorities or bodies disclose personal data in official documents only as permitted by Union or Member State law, balancing public access with GDPR data protection rights. This control addresses Specific Situations. > > — GDPR, Article Article 86 ### In plain English Ensure public authorities or bodies disclose personal data in official documents only as permitted by Union or Member State law, balancing public access with GDPR data protection rights. In practice, this means you can prove you data situations-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters GDPR administrative fines reach the greater of €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) coordinates supervisory-authority enforcement across the EU/EEA, and DPAs publish enforcement decisions citing specific Articles. ## What an auditor looks for A DPA or privacy auditor expects: a Records of Processing Activities (RoPA) entry, a documented lawful basis, evidence the Article's data-subject right is operationalised end-to-end, a named DPO contact (where required), and Article 30 records that match what the front-end actually does. Within **Chapter IX: Specific Situations**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Article Article 86) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Policy Management **Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA. ### Operational checklist - **Data.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** situations, rights. ## Evidence to collect - **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document. - **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings. Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Processing and public access to official documents. ## Common pitfalls - Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced. ## How it maps to other frameworks Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit. - [**SOC 2 (2017 TSC) P3.2** — Consent Management for Personal Information Collection](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria/p3-2-consent-management-for-personal-information-collection) - [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.5.32** — Intellectual property rights](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-5-32-intellectual-property-rights) - [**ISO/IEC 27701:2025 A.1.3.2** — Comply with obligations](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27701-2025/a-1-3-2-comply-with-obligations) - [**India DPDP Act 2023 DS-001** — Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) - Information Rights](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/india-dpdp-act-2023/ds-001-data-subject-access-request-dsar-information-rights) - [**HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164) 164.312(a)(1)** — Access Control](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/hipaa/164-312-a-1-access-control) ## Related controls in GDPR - [**Article Article 88** — Processing in the context of employment](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-88-processing-in-the-context-of-employment) - [**Article Article 90** — Obligations of secrecy](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-90-obligations-of-secrecy) - [**Article Article 89** — Safeguards and derogations relating to processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-89-safeguards-and-derogations-relating-to-processing-for-archiving-purposes-in) - [**Article Article 1** — Subject-matter and objectives](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-1-subject-matter-and-objectives) - [**Article Article 85** — Processing and freedom of expression and information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-85-processing-and-freedom-of-expression-and-information) - [**Article Article 91** — Existing data protection rules of churches and religious associations](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr/article-91-existing-data-protection-rules-of-churches-and-religious-associations) ## References - [European Union — GDPR](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj) - Catalogue identifier: `Article Article 86` Topics: governance riskpolicy managementprivacy management ## Related compliance guidance - [GDPR compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/gdpr): Start with the full GDPR implementation guide — scope, roadmap, evidence and how the assessment runs. - [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): The security management system most EU procurement teams ask for alongside a DPA; its controls supply much of the Article 32 evidence. - [India's DPDP Act 2023: a practical compliance guide for cloud teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/india-dpdp-act-2023): If engineering or support teams sit in India, the same data flows are also subject to India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act.