This privacy statement explains how we handle the protection of your personal data.

Personal data in notarial deeds

The law prescribes what personal data the notary must collect and check when a deed is made. This has the following implications for the use of your personal data:

• the notary must include certain personal data in the deed;

• the notary must always keep the signed deed with your personal details;

• once the deed is signed by the notary, it becomes an official piece of evidence. Nothing can then be changed, even if the personal details are incorrect. If changes are needed, the notary makes a new deed stating the change;

• the notary is obliged to check certain personal data in a number of registers, such as the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP), the Trade Register and the Land Registry;

• if your personal details are included in a notarial deed, this means that the other persons named in the deed can also see these details. If the deed is entered in a public register, your details are also visible to third parties;

• the notary must verify your identity on the basis of a valid identity document. The notary is one of the few allowed to make a photocopy of the original proof of identity and keep that photocopy;

• your personal data are covered by the notary's professional secrecy;

• your personal data may appear in a notarial deed or in a file for which you are not the client or in which you are not directly involved (e.g. as director of a legal entity, heir or legatee in an estate, or administrator of a Home Ownership Association). If our office uses personal data about you that we did not receive from you ourselves, this is always done in the context of an assignment given to us. The source of your data is then, for example, a public register (e.g. the Land Registry) or an estate agent in connection with a purchase agreement in which you are one of the parties.

Personal data of clients in general

If you have not (yet) commissioned a notarial deed, but you do ask us an advisory assignment or a question, we will use your personal data for:

• our administration;

• communication with you;

• being able to carry out the assignment.

For enquiries, we use the data you have provided to us yourself. For advice or other assignments, we ask you to provide some data (first name, surname, address including e-mail address, telephone number) and ask you to show your valid ID and make a photocopy of it.

Personal data of newsletter subscribers

We use personal data of newsletter subscribers only for sending the newsletter. We only send newsletters if you have filled in a form to do so yourself. We ask for this:

• first name;

• surname;

• e-mail address.

Basis for requesting data

Our office requests your personal data only for the following purposes:

• carrying out assignments for consultancy or other services;

• fulfilling statutory duties or obligations; or

• the purposes for which you have given specific consent.

We only request data necessary to perform our services.

Disclosure to third parties

We may pass on the data you provide to third parties if this is necessary for our services, for example to an estate agent in connection with a purchase agreement in which you are one of the parties.

Retention period

It is often necessary for us as notaries to keep personal data for a long time. This is due to our legal duties, such as arising from the Notary Act and the Archives Act.

Security

We protect your personal data with the following measures, among others:

• anyone who can see your data has a duty of confidentiality;

• we have a username and password policy on all our systems;

• we make backups of personal data to restore it in case of physical or technical incidents;

• we regularly test and evaluate our measures;

• our employees are informed about the importance of personal data protection.

Rights with regard to your data

In some cases, you have the right to access, rectify or delete personal data we have received from you. You can also sometimes request to transfer your data to another service provider.

If we store your personal data based on consent you have given, you have the right to withdraw this consent in certain cases (e.g. when subscribing to the newsletter).

Complaints

Do you have a complaint about the processing of your personal data? If so, please contact us. If we cannot work it out together, you can contact the Personal Data Authority, the data protection regulator.

Questions

Do you have any questions or comments following this privacy statement? If so, please feel free to contact us.