# Certification 42(1) — GDPR — provision context

> Focused context for a single provision (42(1)), curated from overview.legal on 2026-08-22. Canonical: https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-42#par-1
> Verify against the official text (EUR-Lex / wetten.overheid.nl) before relying on it.

Part of **Certification** (GDPR, full article: https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-42).

## Provision text

### 42(1)

The Member States, the supervisory authorities, the Board and the Commission shall encourage, in particular at Union level, the establishment of data protection certification mechanisms and of data protection seals and marks, for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with this Regulation of processing operations by controllers and processors. The specific needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises shall be taken into account.


## Topics on this provision

- **Accountability** — https://overview.legal/topics/accountability
  Principle of demonstrating GDPR compliance
- **Certification** — https://overview.legal/topics/certification
  Data protection certification mechanisms
- **Supervision** — https://overview.legal/topics/toezicht
  Oversight and enforcement by supervisory authorities
- **Controllers** — https://overview.legal/topics/controllers
  Entities that determine purposes and means of processing

## Cited by (exact-provision citations)

- **Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 30 April 2025.#Inspektorat kam Visshia sadeben savet.#Requests for a preliminary ruling from the Sofiyski rayonen sad.#References for a preliminary ruling – Rule of law – Judicial independence – Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU – Effective legal protection in the fields covered by Union law – Judicial body competent to propose the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against judges, public prosecutors and investigating magistrates, with a view t** ¶35 (case-law, Court of Justice of the European Union) — https://overview.legal/posts/132143
- **Opinion 7/2024 on the draft decision of the German North Rhine Westphalia Supervisory Authority regarding the EU Cloud Service Data Protection (Auditor) certification criteria** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/125759
- **Guidelines 1/2018 on certification and identifying certification criteria in accordance with Articles 42 and 43 of the Regulation** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/38048
- **Opinion 26/2024 on the draft decision of the DE Bremen Supervisory Authority regarding the “Catalogue of Criteria for the Certification of IT-supported processing of Personal Data pursuant to art 42 GDPR (‘GDPR – information privacy standard’)” presented** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/125701
- **Opinion 19/2024 on the EuroPrise criteria of certification regarding their approval by the Board as European Data Protection Seal pursuant to Article 42.5 (GDPR)** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/125722
- **Opinion 15/2026 on the Europrivacy certification criteria regarding their approval by the Board as European Data Protection Seal to be used as tool for transfers pursuant to Articles 42 and 46 GDPR** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/125681
- **Opinion 27/2024 on the Brand Compliance criteria of certification regarding their approval by the Board as European Data Protection Seal pursuant to Article 42.5 (GDPR)** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/125702
- **Opinion 34/2025 on the draft decision of the Greek Supervisory Authority regarding C.E.C.L certification criteria** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/51416
- **Opinion 15/2025 on the draft decision of the Austrian Supervisory Authority (AT SA) regarding the certification criteria of BDO Consulting GmbH** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/51079
- **Opinion 16/2025 regarding the draft decision of the German North Rhine Westphalia Supervisory Authority regarding Trusted Site Data Privacy (TÜV IT) certification criteria** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/51080
- **Opinion 3/2025 on the draft decision of the French Supervisory Authority (FR SA) regarding the “Lexing GDPR certification criteria”** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/50756
- **Opinion 18/2024 on the draft decision of the Austrian Supervisory Authority regarding DSGVO-zt GmbH certification criteria** (guidance) — https://overview.legal/posts/125721

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Generated by overview.legal · https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-42#par-1 · 2026-08-22