Belgium · Compliance
GDPR compliance in Belgium
Achieve GDPR compliance in Belgium with Sterling: 8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries, 20+ years.
- Compliance, end to end
- Enschede office team
- Effivity software included
- Academy training included
Who asks for GDPR in Belgium
Clients include
GDPR compliance in Belgium at a glance
Law of 3 December 2017 establishing the Data Protection Authority (Wet tot oprichting van de Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit) is the instrument itself: it applies to the organisations within its scope, and buyers and partners in Belgium ask for evidence that you meet it.
Belgium has two layers of data protection law to read together: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Act of 30 July 2018, which applies to processing by establishments on Belgian territory and reaches non-EU businesses that offer goods or services to people in Belgium or monitor their behaviour there. The Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit, created by the law of 3 December 2017, supervises both and takes information requests, mediation requests and complaints. No certificate proves compliance; what an inspection or complaint file examines is your records of processing, notices, processor contracts, rights handling, breach procedures and security measures. Sterling builds that evidence from its Enschede office, and where a client wants an external benchmark it can align the work with ISO/IEC 27701 certification by an accredited body. Questions specific to Belgium follow.
Who needs GDPR in Belgium, and what happens without it
These are the organisations in Belgium that most often need to show GDPR.
- Belgian companies processing personal data of customers or staffThe Act of 30 July 2018 applies to processing in the context of an establishment on Belgian territory.
- Non-EU businesses selling to people in BelgiumThe Act reaches controllers outside the EU that offer goods or services to people in Belgium or monitor their behaviour there.
- Processors such as SaaS, payroll and hosting providersCustomers need contracts and security evidence from processors.
- Organisations facing a complaint or mediation requestThe Authority's website offers information, mediation and complaint routes.
Not sure which of these applies to you?Answer a short set of questions and your readiness report arrives by e-mail.
Take the GDPR readiness checkGDPR requirements in Belgium
Strip away the vocabulary and the GDPR requires an organisation to comply in six areas covering how it uses personal data.
In Belgium these six sit alongside the local laws and regulations listed under drivers below; one system can evidence both. The detail is on the global hub: GDPR explained →
How to achieve GDPR compliance in Belgium
One team from the Enschede office carries the work from scoping to sign-off. Clients in Belgium are served from Sterling's Enschede office, on-site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise.
- Discovery call and scopeEntities, locations, regulators and target date, agreed before any proposal.
- Gap assessment against GDPR and the Belgian requirements that apply to youControls you already run for your regulators and customers are reused, not rebuilt.
- Your system built with your team in EffivityRisks, controls, evidence, incidents and reviews in one live system the auditor can see.
- Internal audit, management review and corrective actionsYour internal auditors trained by Sterling; the evidence proven before any external review.
- Reviews by regulators, customers and auditorsSterling supports the reviews your regulators, customers and auditors run.
- End to end, from one team
- Effivity ISO & GRC software
- Preferential Sterling Academy access, with complimentary awareness training for your people
- Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard
- Vulnerability assessment on ISMS engagements
The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements.Sterling does not certify. Certification decisions stay with independent bodies.
How long does GDPR compliance take in Belgium?
There is no standard duration: it depends on your scope and on how much of the system already runs. In Belgium these are the factors that set the timeline.
- Number of processing activities and systems to map
- Number of legal entities and establishments
- Processor and international-transfer review
- Staff data and monitoring arrangements
Sterling agrees a dated plan with you on the discovery call, once the scope is known.
How much does GDPR compliance cost in Belgium?
The cost has two parts: the consulting work to build and prove the system, and any external assessor’s fees, which are quoted separately. In Belgium these factors move both.
- Volume of processing activities and data subjects
- Entities in scope
- Security remediation needed
- External data protection officer arrangement
Sterling gives one customised, all-inclusive proposal after the discovery call, never before the scope is agreed.
GDPR consultants and assessors in Belgium
Two different organisations are involved. A consultant helps you build the system and prove it works; your regulators, customers and auditors then audits or assesses it and decides. Keeping the two separate is what makes the result credible to buyers and regulators.
- Check that the body’s accreditation or approval covers GDPR and your sector, and that its certificates can be verified online.
- Ask the consultant how the local requirements in Belgium are mapped into the same system, so nothing runs twice.
- Ask for client references in your sector; Sterling’s client letters are available on request.
- Agree who owns the evidence and the tool after the engagement; with Sterling the system stays yours, in Effivity.
Laws and regulations that drive GDPR in Belgium (3)
| Instrument | How it treats the standard |
|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) | The regulation itself Applied in Belgium with the Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit as the competent supervisory authority. |
| Law of 3 December 2017 establishing the Data Protection Authority (Wet tot oprichting van de Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit) | The instrument itself Article 4 makes the Authority the competent supervisory authority unless another law provides otherwise; published 10 January 2018, in force 25 May 2018. |
| Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data | The instrument itself The national act applying alongside the GDPR; it covers establishments on Belgian territory and non-EU controllers who offer goods or services to people in Belgium or monitor their behaviour there. |
Accreditation, audit language and remote audits in Belgium
Compliance, not certification: the GDPR has no general certificate. Evidence is the controller's or processor's records of processing, notices, contracts, procedures and security measures. ISO/IEC 27701 certification by an accredited body is an optional external benchmark. Edition and transition details: GDPR hub →
Audit language
The Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit works in Belgium's official languages; privacy notices should suit the audience they serve. Internal records can be kept in Dutch, French or English.
Remote and on-site
Data-mapping workshops and reviews can be on-site or remote; no external assessment is prescribed for general compliance.
GDPR in Belgium: questions clients ask
Who is the GDPR supervisory authority in Belgium?
The Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit, called the Autorité de protection des données in French. Article 4 of the law of 3 December 2017 makes it the competent supervisory authority unless another law provides otherwise, and it was published on 10 January 2018 with effect from 25 May 2018. Individuals can request information, ask for mediation or lodge a complaint through its website.
Does the GDPR apply to a non-EU company serving Belgian customers?
It can. The Belgian Act of 30 July 2018 applies where a controller or processor outside the EU processes data of people who are in Belgium and the processing relates to offering them goods or services, or to monitoring their behaviour there. Whether your activities meet that test is a legal judgement, so take advice from your counsel.
Is there a Belgian law besides the GDPR that we must follow?
Yes. The Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data sits alongside the regulation, and the 2017 law set up the supervisory authority. Both were published in the Belgian Official Journal. Read the current consolidated text, or ask your counsel, for how they apply to your sector.
Is there a GDPR certificate for Belgian companies?
No general certificate exists. You show compliance through records of processing, privacy notices, processor contracts, rights-handling and breach procedures, and security controls. Some firms add ISO/IEC 27701 certification from an accredited body as an optional benchmark, but it does not replace those records. Sterling prepares the evidence and does not certify.
More on GDPR for Belgian organisations
Other standards Belgian businesses ask Sterling for
Organisations in Belgium often combine GDPR with one of these, under one management system where the scopes allow.
Start with a free discovery call from the Enschede office
A Sterling consultant goes through your entities, your regulators and your target date with you. No proposal until the scope is agreed.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) — eur-lex.europa.eu (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
- Law of 3 December 2017 establishing the Data Protection Authority (Wet tot oprichting van de Gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit) — dataprotectionauthority.be (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
- Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data — dataprotectionauthority.be (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
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