Which transfer mechanism: adequacy, clauses, or none

The destination and the two roles; the page says whether Chapter V applies at all, whether one of the 17 adequacy decisions carries the transfer, or which of the 4 modules of the standard contractual clauses does, and writes the determination with the provisions it rests on.

The determination

Choose the destination above; the mechanism follows.

The 17 adequacy decisions

As the Commission lists them, read on 12 September 2026: the country, territory or organisation, the scope where the Commission qualifies one, the instrument the decision was adopted under, and the newest act the Commission's document list shows for it.

The 6 safeguards of Article 46(2)

The appropriate safeguards referred to in paragraph 1 may be provided for, without requiring any specific authorisation from a supervisory authority, by:

1. (a)a legally binding and enforceable instrument between public authorities or bodies
2. (b)binding corporate rules in accordance with Article 47
3. (c)standard data protection clauses adopted by the Commission in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 93(2)
4. (d)standard data protection clauses adopted by a supervisory authority and approved by the Commission pursuant to the examination procedure referred to in Article 93(2)
5. (e)an approved code of conduct pursuant to Article 40 together with binding and enforceable commitments of the controller or processor in the third country to apply the appropriate safeguards, including as regards data subjects' rights; or
6. (f)an approved certification mechanism pursuant to Article 42 together with binding and enforceable commitments of the controller or processor in the third country to apply the appropriate safeguards, including as regards data subjects' rights.

The standard data protection clauses of point (c) are Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914, adopted on 4 June 2021, with 4 modules by the roles of the parties; Clause 14 is the assessment of the importer's local laws and practices, and Clause 15 the importer's duties when a public authority asks for the data.

The 7 derogations of Article 49(1)

In the absence of an adequacy decision pursuant to Article 45(3), or of appropriate safeguards pursuant to Article 46, including binding corporate rules, a transfer or a set of transfers of personal data to a third country or an international organisation shall take place only on one of the following conditions:

1. (a)the data subject has explicitly consented to the proposed transfer, after having been informed of the possible risks of such transfers for the data subject due to the absence of an adequacy decision and appropriate safeguards
2. (b)the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the controller or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken at the data subject's request
3. (c)the transfer is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract concluded in the interest of the data subject between the controller and another natural or legal person
4. (d)the transfer is necessary for important reasons of public interest
5. (e)the transfer is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
6. (f)the transfer is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of other persons, where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent
7. (g)the transfer is made from a register which according to Union or Member State law is intended to provide information to the public and which is open to consultation either by the public in general or by any person who can demonstrate a legitimate interest, but only to the extent that the conditions laid down by Union or Member State law for consultation are fulfilled in the particular case.

Where a transfer could not be based on a provision in Article 45 or 46, including the provisions on binding corporate rules, and none of the derogations for a specific situation referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph is applicable, a transfer to a third country or an international organisation may take place only if the transfer is not repetitive, concerns only a limited number of data subjects, is necessary for the purposes of compelling legitimate interests pursued by the controller which are not overridden by the interests or rights and freedoms of the data subject, and the controller has assessed all the circumstances surrounding the data transfer and has on the basis of that assessment provided suitable safeguards with regard to the protection of personal data. The controller shall inform the supervisory authority of the transfer. The controller shall, in addition to providing the information referred to in Articles 13 and 14, inform the data subject of the transfer and on the compelling legitimate interests pursued.

The adequacy decisions are read from the Commission's page on 12 September 2026 and the provisions from the Regulation, never typed on this page; the module is read from the roles by Decision (EU) 2021/914. Whether an importer is within a decision's scope is the company's own reading. This is a document, not legal advice.