# Lawfulness of processing 6(1) — GDPR — provision context

> Focused context for a single provision (6(1)), curated from overview.legal on 2026-08-22. Canonical: https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-6#par-1
> Verify against the official text (EUR-Lex / wetten.overheid.nl) before relying on it.

Part of **Lawfulness of processing** (GDPR, full article: https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-6).

## Provision text

### 6(1)

Processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that at least one of the following applies:

a) the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes;
b) processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data subject is party or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract;
c) processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject;
d) processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person;
e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller;
f) processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.
- Point (f) of the first subparagraph shall not apply to processing carried out by public authorities in the performance of their tasks.

## Topics on this provision

- **Lawful Basis** — https://overview.legal/topics/lawful-basis-article-6
  This topic is essential as Article 6 GDPR provides the specific legal bases that determine whether processing is lawful, which is the core requirement of the 'L

## Cited by (exact-provision citations)

- **CJEU Bavarian Lager: Disclosing personal data in access-to-documents requests is** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/6182
- **Deutsche Wohnen SE v Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51487
- **GC and Others v CNIL** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51475
- **Digital Rights Ireland Ltd v Minister for Communications** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51474
- **VOLKER UND MARKUS SCHECKE GBR V. LAND HESSEN, EIFERT V. LAND HESSEN AND BUNDESANSTALT FUR LANDWIRTSCHAFT UND ERNAHRUNG, 9.Nov.2010 (“SCHECKE”)** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/6180
- **FTT: NMC should have neither confirmed nor denied holding struck-off nurse's personal data** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/53656
- **HvJ EU 9 januari 2025, C‑394/23 (Mousse).** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/50377
- **Meta Platforms v noyb** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51484
- **Privacy International v Secretary of State** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51481
- **Peter Nowak v Data Protection Commissioner** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51480
- **BGH: Court must grant unredacted file access in compulsory auctions under Art. 6(1)(e)** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/53110
- **Google LLC v CNIL** (case-law) — https://overview.legal/posts/51476

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Generated by overview.legal · https://overview.legal/laws/gdpr/art-6#par-1 · 2026-08-22
