How can I access my personnel file?
What would you like help with?
Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
Ask your employer for access to and a copy of your personal data. The GDPR also applies to personnel administration in the Netherlands. This concerns your data, not automatically every complete document. Keep your request and check the response and any restrictions.
On this page
1. Identify the data you need
You can ask whether your employer processes personal data about you and which data it holds. Examples include appraisals, warnings or recorded facts about employment. The right concerns your personal data; it is not unrestricted access to every internal document or colleagues’ information. Write down what you want to check.
2. Address your employer
Use your employer’s known HR or privacy contact and identify your name and employment. Email or a letter helps prove the request and receipt. Provide enough information to identify yourself, but do not routinely attach a full identity-document copy. Where there is reasonable doubt, the employer may request necessary additional identification.
3. Ask how the data is used
Alongside a copy, request purposes, categories, recipients, origin and retention periods or the criteria used. Identify relevant systems or periods where helpful. A document list without the personal data is not necessarily a complete response. Keep any information supplied private and secure rather than posting personnel documents publicly.
4. Record receipt and response time
The employer must respond without undue delay and within one month of receipt. If necessary because of complexity or the number of requests, it may extend by up to two further months, informing you of the extension and its reasons within the first month. One month is not the same as four weeks. Preserve evidence of the receipt date.
5. Check restrictions and inaccuracies
A copy must not adversely affect other people’s rights and freedoms; parts may need redaction. Ask for specific reasons if data is missing. You can request correction of inaccurate personal data and completion of incomplete information. Disagreeing with an opinion does not automatically turn it into an inaccurate fact.
6. Choose the next step
If there is no response or a refusal, request a written explanation and keep correspondence. A complaint to the Dutch Data Protection Authority or legal advice may be appropriate. Access requests do not suspend separate dismissal or court deadlines. Use our own help-request route for urgency. This preparation and draft send nothing automatically.
Draft request for access to personnel data
Complete all brackets and remove inapplicable wording. Send it yourself to the known HR or privacy contact. Do not routinely attach a complete identity-document copy. This is not a complaint or court filing.
Edit your draftWord
Your edits stay on this page and are not automatically saved or sent. Complete every placeholder.
Will I automatically receive the complete personnel file?
No. GDPR access concerns your personal data and a copy of it, not automatically every unredacted document. Ask why information is restricted and whether your own data has been provided intelligibly.
Documents to prepare
Prepare your next stepFill in and save · Word
Tick what you have checked or collected. Note what is missing and take your overview to a meeting.
Unless saved in My overview: Your entries stay only on this screen. Download before leaving; closing or reloading clears them. Do not enter identity numbers, passwords or unnecessary personal details.
What do you still need for your next step?
Item 1 / 6 · Where do you stand with this item?
Employer and HR/privacy contact
This overview follows your own answers. It does not assess your rights or guarantee that your file is complete.
Your choices stay here. Use the buttons below if you want to save or download.
View all details, notes and timeline
Your timeline and evidence
List events and contacts. Note where you keep the evidence; no upload is needed.
What goes in my timeline?
Record what happened, when, the response and where to find the letter, message or photo. Mark uncertain dates.
Is my evidence sent?
No. You only note where it is kept. No files are uploaded or sent automatically.
How do I save my timeline?
Your entries are not saved automatically. Choose Save and continue later to store this preparation, including your timeline, in My overview. Wait for confirmation and save new changes again. You can also download a Word file without an account.
Up to 20 events. Choose a different position for an event to change the order.
0 / 6 · Checked or collected
For each event, note the date, what happened and where the evidence is kept. Example: 3 October — letter received — correspondence folder.
Describe the solution you would like, such as an explanation of a deduction and repayment of the outstanding amount.
For example: which document is missing, who can provide it and what should I do first?
Record the date and its source. If unknown, note this and check promptly. This tool does not calculate or monitor deadlines.
After your conversation
These are your own notes. Confirm agreements with the other person; these notes do not prove their agreement.
This is your preparation, not a submitted request, objection or legally reviewed document. A tick records only your own progress. Check the procedure and deadline in the original letter.
Save and continue later
Clear entries
Download anything you want to keep first. Clearing cannot be undone.
- Employer and HR/privacy contact
- Name, employment and relevant period
- Requested data and explanatory information
- Request and proof of receipt
- Response, extension and missing parts
- Specific inaccuracies and separate urgent deadlines
Contact with a lawyer
You can use the chat and information without a phone number. A contact request requires a phone number, a verified email address and your wish for telephone contact. Our team assesses which partner fits your question. Data is shared only under the stated consent procedure. A partner or engagement is not guaranteed.
View the current application processSources
Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
EUR-Lex · AVG artikelen 12, 15 en 16 ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.