Overdue SAR chaser

Check first

Make sure it is actually overdue.

Before sending a chaser, check when the organisation received the request, whether it reasonably asked for ID, whether it asked for clarification, and whether it notified you of a permitted extension. The point of the letter is to pin down the timeline and obtain the outstanding response.

Quote the original SAR date.
State the deadline you calculate and how you arrived at it.
Attach or forward the original request if helpful.
Do not invent a breach date if the clock was lawfully paused or had not yet started.

Editable template

Use this when the applicable deadline has passed and you still do not have a complete response.

How to edit it: replace everything in square brackets with your own details. If a bracketed paragraph does not apply, delete it before sending.

Subject: Overdue Subject Access Request: [reference]

Dear Data Protection Team,

I am following up my Subject Access Request sent on [date] and received by you on [date, if known].

My details
Name: [your name]
Account/reference: [reference]
SAR reference: [reference, if they gave one]

I calculate that the response was due by [date].

[Choose and keep only what applies:]
[No request for identity information or clarification was made.]
[You requested identity information on [date], which I provided on [date].]
[You requested clarification on [date], which I answered on [date].]
[You notified me on [date] that you were extending the response period until [date].]

As at [today’s date], I have not received [any response / the outstanding part of the response].

Please:
1. confirm the status of my SAR;
2. provide the outstanding personal data and information without further undue delay; and
3. if you disagree that the request is overdue, explain the deadline you are applying and the event you say changed or paused the time limit.

[Optional: If any part of the request has been refused or withheld, please identify the basis sufficiently for me to understand the decision where the law permits.]

Yours faithfully,
[Your name]

If something arrives

Check completeness separately from lateness.

A late disclosure can still be incomplete. If records you expected are missing, move to the missing-SAR-data template rather than repeatedly sending the overdue chaser.

Official & related guidance

Check the route that applies to your situation.

Check the linked guidance before sending. Rules, complaint stages and time limits can differ by sector.