Annual Reaffirmation
INSTRUCTIONS FOR REAFFIRMING YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE SAFE HARBOR FRAMEWORK
Safe Harbor FAQ Self-certification states, in part, that:
“The Department (or its designee) will maintain a list of all organizations that file such [self-certification] letters, thereby assuring the availability of safe harbor benefits, and will update such list on the basis of annual letters and notifications received pursuant to FAQ Dispute Resolution and Enforcement. Such self-certification letters should be provided not less than annually.” (Emphasis Added)
The Department interprets this requirement to mean that organizations may either submit a new self-certification form annually (by the anniversary date of its original self-certification) or that it may reaffirm its existing self-certification (and provide any new information that it would like reflected), by its anniversary.
Organizations can choose to meet this requirement by sending a letter or e-mail – from a company official authorized to reaffirm – that incorporates at a minimum the four reaffirmation points below:
- The information previously submitted to the Department of Commerce for purposes of self-certification is still correct and accurate;
- The officer is authorized to certify the organization's continued adherence to the safe harbor framework;
- The officer understands that misrepresentations in any information provided by the organization may be actionable under the False Statements Act, 18 U.S.C. ' 1001; and
- As a consequence of this annual self-certification, failure to adhere to the Safe Harbor framework may lead to enforcement action by the relevant enforcement authority.
This reaffirmation can be sent via e-mail to damon.greer@mail.doc.gov, or mailed to U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 2003; 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW; Washington, DC 20230.
Note that if the organization is using the EU Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) as its independent recourse mechanism, the organization must send its $50 annual fee to the U.S. council for International Business. This should be sent to "USCIB - Safe Harbor Account", c/o Mr. Paul Cronin, U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB); 1212 Avenue of the Americas; New York, NY 10036. Additional questions on submitting the DPA fee may be directed to Mr. Paul Cronin, USCIB, at 212-354-4480, or pcronin@uscib.org. The USCIB accepts credit card payments. For further information, contact the USCIB at the telephone number listed.
An organization will be provided a short grace period, but if an organization does not reaffirm by its anniversary, their “self-certification status” will change from “current” to “not current”. This “not current” status will be reflected on the list as it appears on the Safe Harbor website.
