PAIA Access to Information — the Act, section by section · free POPIA Guide ↗
PAIA / Sections / Section 71
Section 71

Notice to third parties

Part 3 · Access to Records of Private Bodies · Chapter 5 — Third Party Notification and Intervention

(1) The head of a private body considering a request for access to a record that might be a record contemplated in section 63(1), 64(1), 65 or 69(1), must take all reasonable steps to inform a third party to whom or which the record relates of the request.

(2) The head must inform a third party in terms of subsection (1)— (a) as soon as reasonably possible, but in any event within 21 days after that request is received; and (b) by the fastest means reasonably possible.

(3) When informing a third party in terms of subsection (1), the head must— (a) state that he or she is considering a request for access to a record that might be a record contemplated in section 63(1), 64(1), 65 or 69(1), as the case may be, and describe the content of the record; (b) furnish the name of the requester; (c) describe the provisions of section 63(1), 64(1), 65 or 69(1), as the case may be; (d) in any case where the head believes that the provisions of section 70 might apply, describe those provisions, specify which of the circumstances referred to in section 70(a) in the opinion of the head might apply and state the reasons why he or she is of the opinion that section 70 might apply; and (e) state that the third party may, within 21 days after the third party is informed— (i) make written or oral representations to the head why the request for access should be refused; or (ii) give written consent for the disclosure of the record to the requester.

(4) If a third party is informed orally of a request for access in terms of subsection (1), the head must give a written notice stating the matters referred to in subsection (3) to the third party.

third party notice21 daysnotificationinterventionprivate body
Beyond the text

What this means in practice

  • Before deciding a request that touches a third party's privacy, commercial or research information (ss.63(1), 64(1), 65 or 69(1)), you must take all reasonable steps to notify that third party — within 21 days, by the fastest reasonable means.
  • The notice must describe the record, name the requester, cite the relevant grounds, flag any possible public-interest override (s.70), and set out the third party's 21-day response window.
  • An oral notice must be followed up in writing.
Relevant tool

PopiGuard runs the s.71 third-party notification workflow — the 21-day clock, the required contents, and the response tracking.

See PopiGuard →