Code of Practice

In the autumn of 2026, the Commissioner will publish an updated Code of Practice. Once approved by Scottish Ministers, this Code will then be required to be brought into legal effect by regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under Section 13 of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act 2020 before replacing the current version.

The Commissioner has written to the full list of statutory consultees for the Code as specified in Section 10 of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act 2020 requesting their feedback on the proposed amendments to the Code of Practice. 

The updated Code will be published in the autumn and be presented to Scottish Ministers for approval under Section 12 of the Act. Once approved by Scottish Ministers, the updated Code will then require to be brought into legal effect by regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under Section 13 of the Act before replacing the current version.

Please find the schedule of proposed amendments to the Code -  schedule of proposed amendments to the Code of Practice

Please find the proposed amendments within the Code of Practice

If you would like to provide feedback please use our contact form or email contact@biometricscommissioner.scot

This public consultation closes - Friday 4 September 2026 

This Code of Practice has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner Act 2020 which provides that in furtherance of the Commissioner’s general function, the Commissioner must prepare, and may from time-to-time revise, a Code of Practice on the acquisition, retention, use and destruction of biometric data for criminal justice and police purposes in Scotland. 

This Code seeks to promote good practice, transparency, and accountability in Scotland by setting out an agreed framework of standards for professional decision-making which strikes the right balance between the needs and responsibilities of policing and our criminal justice system in terms of enforcing the law and keeping citizens safe, and the fundamental obligation to guarantee the basic human rights, privacy, and freedoms of individual members of the public.

The Code of Practice came into effect November 2022.

An easy read version of the Code can be found here.

Under Section 14 of the Scottish Biometric Commissioner Act 2020 the first statutory review of the Code of Practice has been published.