GDPR Right to Be Forgotten Request Form

GDPR Right to Be Forgotten Request Form Template

Under Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), individuals have the right to request that organisations erase their personal data under certain circumstances. This Right to Be Forgotten Request Form template provides businesses with a structured, compliant way to receive, verify and process data erasure requests from data subjects across the European Union and beyond.

Why Your Organisation Needs a GDPR Erasure Request Form

If your business collects, processes or stores personal data from individuals in the EU, you're required to provide a clear mechanism for data subjects to exercise their rights under GDPR. A well-designed erasure request form helps you:

• Demonstrate GDPR compliance by providing an accessible way for individuals to submit Article 17 requests
• Streamline your data protection workflow with structured information that helps your team process requests efficiently
• Verify identity and intent before taking irreversible action on personal data
• Document the request process for regulatory audits and accountability requirements
• Reduce manual back-and-forth by collecting all necessary information upfront

What Makes This Template GDPR-Compliant

This template has been designed with GDPR Article 17 requirements in mind, including:

• Identity verification fields to ensure requests are legitimate and protect against fraudulent erasure attempts
• Reason selection aligned with the six lawful grounds for erasure under Article 17(1)
• Data category specification so requesters can identify exactly what data they want erased
• Clear acknowledgment of what erasure means and potential exceptions (such as legal obligations to retain certain records)
• Confirmation workflow that allows your team to review requests before processing
• Response timeline acknowledgment informing requesters of the 30-day response period required by GDPR

Who Should Use This Template

This Right to Be Forgotten form is ideal for:

• SMBs and startups handling EU customer data who need a simple, compliant erasure request process
• Marketing teams managing subscriber lists and customer databases
• SaaS companies providing services to European users
• E-commerce businesses storing customer purchase history and personal information
• Healthcare and wellness providers (non-HIPAA) managing patient or client records
• Educational institutions processing student and staff data
• Professional services firms including consultancies, agencies and legal practices
• HR departments handling employee data subject requests
• Data protection officers looking for a standardised intake process

How to Use This Template in Your Organisation

Once you've created your form using this template, you can:

1. Embed it on your privacy policy page or data protection section of your website
2. Link to it from your cookie consent banner or privacy notice
3. Share it directly with individuals who make erasure requests via email or phone
4. Integrate with your helpdesk or ticketing system to route requests to the right team
5. Connect to Stepper workflows to automate verification emails, internal approvals and response tracking

Automate Your GDPR Compliance Workflow with Stepper

While this form collects erasure requests, you can use Stepper, Paperform's AI-native workflow builder, to automate what happens next:

• Send automatic acknowledgment emails confirming receipt of the request within 72 hours
• Route requests to your data protection officer or compliance team for review
• Trigger identity verification steps such as sending confirmation links or requesting additional documentation
• Set up approval workflows before data is permanently erased
• Update your CRM, database or other systems to flag records for deletion
• Track the 30-day response deadline and send reminders to your team
• Generate audit logs documenting when and how erasure requests were handled

This level of automation ensures you meet GDPR timelines consistently while reducing manual administrative work.

Key Features of This Template

• Personal information collection including name, email and account identifiers
• Identity verification section to confirm the requester is the legitimate data subject
• Reason selection dropdown covering all Article 17(1) grounds for erasure
• Data category checkboxes letting requesters specify what they want deleted (account info, communications, transaction history, etc.)
• Additional context field for requesters to provide further details
• Legal acknowledgment informing requesters of potential exceptions and what to expect
• Consent confirmation ensuring the requester understands the implications of erasure
• Professional, accessible design that reflects your brand while maintaining clarity

Extend Your Data Protection Compliance

Once you have a Right to Be Forgotten request form in place, consider building out your full GDPR compliance suite with additional Paperform templates:

• Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR) for individuals requesting copies of their data
• Data portability requests under Article 20
• Objection to processing requests under Article 21
• Consent withdrawal forms for marketing and non-essential processing
• Data breach notification forms for internal reporting

Why Paperform for GDPR Compliance

Paperform is trusted by over 500,000 teams worldwide and is SOC 2 Type II compliant, offering the security, reliability and data protection features you need:

• Data residency controls to store data in EU regions
• GDPR-aligned data processing agreements available
• Secure form submissions with SSL encryption
• Conditional logic to show/hide fields based on request type
• Integration with your existing tools via Stepper, Zapier, webhooks and native connectors
• Role-based access so only authorised team members can view sensitive requests
• Custom success pages and emails to communicate next steps clearly

This template gives you the foundation for handling GDPR Article 17 erasure requests professionally and efficiently. Whether you're a small business responding to your first data subject request or a growing organisation looking to standardise your compliance process, this form helps you meet your legal obligations while treating data subjects with respect and transparency.

Get started today and demonstrate your commitment to data privacy and GDPR compliance.