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Data subject rights and habeas data

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

People can access, correct, delete and object. A database must correct or delete within 10 working days, and missing that opens the habeas data action. The case runs on the fast amparo track before the judge of the defendant's domicile, and the data must be flagged as disputed meanwhile.

Key facts

Time to correct or delete10 working daysLey 172-13 art. 8, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Time to deliver a report5 working daysLey 172-13 art. 12, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Time to tell recipients of a change5 working daysLey 172-13 art. 8, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Free credit reports each year4 reportsLey 172-13 art. 11, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Access, rectification, deletion and objection are independent, so one is never a step to use another.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 9, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
2. Anyone may have their data corrected, updated or, where proper, deleted. The controller must act within 10 working days of the claim or of noticing the error. It is free of charge.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 8, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
3. If data went to someone else, tell them of the change within 5 working days.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 8, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
4. Deletion does not apply if it would harm third party rights or if a contract or law requires keeping the data. During review, the database must show that the data is under dispute.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 8, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
5. Cancellation blocks the data, kept only for the State for possible liabilities during the limitation period, then deleted.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 15, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
6. A credit information company must deliver a report within 5 working days, and the same rule applies to other public or private databases.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 12, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
7. A person gets a free credit report four times a year, at least three months apart.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 11, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
8. Missing the 10 day duty lets the person bring habeas data with no more steps.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 8, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
9. The action lets a person learn of data held in public or private files and seek correction or deletion, and can arise from a commercial, labor or contractual relationship.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 17, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
10. The judge of the defendant's domicile hears it, under the amparo procedure. The database must note that the data is in dispute while the case runs.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 20 and art. 21, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
11. The judge can require the database to send the information and report on its technical support.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 22, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
12. Official databases can refuse access by court order for national security, public order or third party rights.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 26, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30
13. Denying a review or correction without basis, or refusing to change data after a favorable ruling, is a civil infraction once the process is exhausted.Ley 172-13 sobre Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal, art. 85, 2013-12-13 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Step by step

  1. Log each request with date of receipt.
  2. Verify identity and whether the claim is relevant.
  3. Answer or fix inside 10 working days, and mark the data as under review meanwhile.
  4. Tell any recipients within 5 working days of the change.
  5. If you refuse, cite the contract or legal duty that requires keeping the data.
  6. Brief litigation counsel: amparo track cases move fast.

Common traps

  • Counting: the term runs in working days from receipt, or from when you noticed the error.
  • The disputed flag is a separate duty; failing it can harm you even if the correction is later refused.
  • AML rules require keeping records for 10 years, which overrides a deletion request for those records.
  • The action can come from an employee, so HR files are in scope.
  • The amparo track gives little preparation time. See disputes/amparo-and-constitutional-review.

Sources

Related pages

Related: Dominican Republic country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X

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