A declaration of consent, also known as a consent form, is required at three stages during the preparation of a research project. On the Metro Map below, at the ‘Demonstrate compliance with the Article 5 principles’ station, you indicate that you need a consent form, at the ‘Implement the necessary technical and organisational measures’ station, you draft the consent form, and at the ‘Perform the research’ station, you apply the consent form.

On this page you can read all about what the consent form entails and how you and the researcher can benefit from it.

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Here is the minimum you need to know about the consent form:

      • In general, the processing of special categories of personal data requires the prior consent of the research participant.
      • Consent within the meaning of the GDPR must be based on consent that is freely given.
      • The research participant should receive honest, complete, and understandable information prior to participating in the research and may also withdraw consent during the research.
      • After withdrawal of consent by a research participant, the researcher no longer has a legal basis for the further processing of the data of the research participant in question.
      • The research participant must actively give explicit consent by, for example, clicking or checking a box (online or on paper) or orally expressing consent.
      • In the case of covert research, it is permitted – within certain parameters – not to inform the research participant in advance, either fully or partially, about the purpose of the research.

For a more detailed explanation of what a consent form entails and what benefits it offers, read the texts below at your leisure:


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