Much talked about in recent times, the LGPD - Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Law No. 13,709/2018) - consists of a set of rules that establish how personal data and information must be processed, shared, collected, and stored.

The Law arrives to protect the population at a moment of intense exposure of personal data and information. To do this, it focuses on privacy and requires organizations to have more attention and protection in handling third-party information.

In this context, a point still little addressed, in general, is the applicability of the LGPD in notary and registration services, and how the law can influence the choice of a notary public or registry office by companies that need these services constantly.

In Brazil, notary and registration processes have a hybrid nature, since they are exercised in a private capacity by delegation of public power, as provided for in article 236 of the Federal Constitution, being regulated by law 8,935/94 (Notary Law).

Recognized as repositories of personal data in Brazil, notary offices also need to adapt to the LGPD.

According to information collected by ANOREG – Association of Notaries and Registrars of Brazil, in 2019, there were 13,627 notary services spread across the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities. Mandatorily, as determined by Law No. 6,015/1973, each of them must present at least one Civil Registry unit for the execution of birth, marriage, and death acts. In other words, the volume of personal data processed by Notaries in the country is expressive.

Thus, the LGPD applies to all sectors and employees of notary offices that manage personal data, such as the signature department, Civil Registry, cashier, HR, IT, and also to other outsourced workers.

Do you want to know more about the impacts caused by the LGPD on notary offices? Then, read on and follow the informative article that the CodeBlog team has prepared for you.

Adaptation is an urgency

Taking into account that the LGPD has been in force since 09/18/2020, notary offices that have not yet adopted the obligations provided for in the law must apply them immediately.

Among the main resolutions are the appointment of a data protection officer, the implementation of a privacy governance program, the preparation of an impact report, the logging of all processing operations, and the construction of an incident response plan for information security, among others.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that the National Data Protection Authority – ANPD, the National Council of Justice – CNJ, and local Corregidorias may establish some more specific rules for the public registry service in adapting extrajudicial activities to the law, as occurred in the Corregedoria of São Paulo, which through Provision 23/2020, instituted changes in the procedure for requesting certificates involving the search and provision of data, and of the CNJ, which, starting from Resolution No. 363/2021, established mandatory rules to be observed aimed at the implementation of the LGPD.

It is important to highlight that organizations that violate the LGPD are subject to consequences such as fines, warnings, or even the partial or full suspension of their activities.

Impacts of LGPD on notary offices: how to prepare

According to LGPD rules, establishments must comply with 10 principles that guide the processing of personal data. They are:

1. purpose;

2. adequacy;

3. necessity;

4. free access;

5. data quality;

6. transparency;

7. security;

8. prevention;

9. non-discrimination;

10. accountability and reporting.

In general, these principles determine that organizations comply with security measures to ensure the protection of personal data, request only information relevant to their operations, and remain transparent with customers, always clarifying their intentions when requesting and processing the collected data.

According to Article 9, "the data subject has the right to have easy access to information about the processing of their data, which must be clearly made available."

The Law also determines that access must be granted at any time and upon request. Furthermore, the owner of the information can request that their data be deleted or even altered, depending on the situation.

The importance of digitization

Considering that, among the impacts of the LGPD on notary offices, is the promotion of services to provide, store, protect, and use information in accordance with the required guidelines, digitization is essential. After all, without a system capable of centralizing and supporting all stages of the process (including running security backups), the challenge becomes highly susceptible to inconsistencies and failures.

Another fundamental action involves defining all the agents involved in the data processing, such as the controller (responsible for decision-making) and the processor (in charge of carrying out the processing of information).

Last but not least, for everything to work in the best way, and for the impacts of the LGPD on notary offices to be positive, it is important that the entire team undergoes specific and enlightening training on how the Law's measures influence their work to ensure that all established standards are met in practice.

Conclusion

We hope this information has been useful and that it has contributed to a broader view of the Law and the impacts caused by it.

To find out how to adapt your notary office to the LGPD in a secure and assertive way, get in touch with the team of specialists at CodeBit and check out all the customized solutions available to meet your demand. CLICK HERE!

In addition, keep an eye on Codeblog. Soon, we will have news here.

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