Privacy Act Skip to main content Skip to "About government" Switch to basic HTML version Language selection Français Search Search Canada.ca Search Menu Main Menu Jobs and the workplace Immigration and citizenship Travel and tourism Business and industry Benefits Health Taxes Environment and natural resources National security and defence Culture, history and sport Policing, justice and emergencies Transport and infrastructure Canada and the world Money and finances Science and innovation You are here: Canada.ca Department of Justice Laws Home Legislation Consolidated Acts Privacy Act(R.S.C., 1985, c. P-21) Full Document: HTMLFull Document: Privacy Act (Accessibility Buttons available) | XMLFull Document: Privacy Act [253 KB] | PDFFull Document: Privacy Act [536 KB] Act current to 2026-06-17 and last amended on 2025-06-02. Previous Versions Notes :See coming into force provision and notes, where applicable. Shaded provisions are not in force. Help Search within this Act: Table of Contents Privacy Act1 - Short Title 2 - Purpose of Act 3 - Interpretation 3.1 - Designation 4 - Collection, Retention and Disposal of Personal Information 7 - Protection of Personal Information 10 - Personal Information Banks 11 - Personal Information Index 12 - Access to Personal Information 12 - Right of Access 13 - Requests for Access 17 - Access 18 - Exemptions 18 - Exempt Banks 19 - Responsibilities of Government 26 - Personal Information 27 - Privilege and Professional Secrecy 28 - Medical Records 29 - Complaints 31 - Investigations 36 - Review of Exempt Banks 37 - Review of Compliance with Sections 4 to 8 38 - Reports to Parliament 41 - Review by the Federal Court 53 - Office of the Privacy Commissioner 53 - Privacy Commissioner 56 - Assistant Privacy Commissioner 58 - Staff 59 - Delegation 60 - Special Studies 61 - General 68 - Offences 69 - Exclusions 71 - General SCHEDULE - Government Institutions Related Information Related Provisions Amendments Not In Force Amendments * Amendment Citation Amendment date 2024, c. 20 2025-06-02 2024, c. 33 2025-03-06 2024, c. 20 2025-01-31 2024, c. 15 2024-10-15 SOR/2024-185 2024-09-20 2024, c. 16 2024-08-19 2024, c. 15 2024-06-20 2023, c. 22 2023-09-01 2023, c. 16 2023-06-20 2022, c. 9 2022-10-01 * List of amendments since 2019-01-01 (limited to last 10 amendments) [more details] Regulations made under this Act Designating the Minister of Justice and the President of the Treasury Board as Ministers for Purposes of Certain Sections of the Act (SI/83-109) Exempt Personal Information Bank Order, No. 13 (RCMP) (SOR/90-149) Exempt Personal Information Bank Order, No. 14 (CSIS) (SOR/92-688) Exempt Personal Information Bank Order, No. 25 (RCMP) (SOR/93-272) Exempt Personal Information Bank Order, No. 5 (ND) (SOR/85-38) Privacy Act Extension Order No. 1 (SOR/83-553) Privacy Act Extension Order, No. 2 (SOR/89-206) Privacy Act Extension Order, No. 3 (SOR/2021-174) Privacy Act Heads of Government Institutions Designation Order (SI/2024-62) Privacy Regulations (SOR/83-508) Repealed regulations made under this Act Privacy Act Heads of Government Institutions Designation Order [Repealed] (SI/83-114) Page Details Date modified: 2026-08-06 Justice Laws Website Constitutional Documents Related Resources Consolidated Acts and Regulations Search Help Contact Us Department of Justice Canada Family Law Criminal Justice Funding Canada's System of Justice Laws Government of Canada All contacts Departments and agencies About government Themes and topics Jobs Immigration and citizenship Travel and tourism Business Benefits Health Taxes Environment and natural resources National security and defence Culture, history and sport Policing, justice and emergencies Transport and infrastructure Canada and the world Money and finances Science and innovation Indigenous Peoples Veterans and military Youth Manage life events Social media Mobile applications About Canada.ca Terms and conditions Privacy Top of Page