If you have a mental health problem, sometimes you, or someone who is caring for you, may want to see information held about you by an organisation.

Quick facts

• You have a legal right to access personal information held about you by an organisation. This right is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998.

• To access your personal information, you need to make a request in writing, called a subject access request.  

• Organisations have 40 calendar days to respond to your subject access request.

• If your request is refused or ignored, you should write to the organisation to remind them of their obligations. If they still don't give you what you've asked for, you should complain to the organisation.

• If you don’t receive a satisfactory response to your complaint, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Please note

• This guide only covers accessing personal information from the point of view of a person with a mental health problem.
• This guide applies to England and Wales.
• This guide contains general legal information, not legal advice. We recommend you get advice from a specialist legal adviser or solicitor who will help you with your individual situation and needs. See Useful contacts for more information.
• The legal information in this guide does not apply to children unless specifically stated.

This information was published in October 2016. We will revise it in 2018.