A Usable Format

The response is provided in a format the person can open and reuse with commonly available software, not as images of the personal data or a file locked against reuse.

Criterion: G4
Level: Level 2
Domain: Format and Delivery
Reflects: Article 15(3)

Intent

Data the person cannot open, search, or copy is data they have been shown rather than given. Scanned images of records are the common way this happens.

How to test it

An assessor scores the criterion against a single response:

Score 2: The response opens in commonly available software, and the person can search and copy the data.
Score 1: Part of the response is reusable and part arrives as images, or as a file that blocks copying.
Score 0: The personal data arrives as images, or in a file locked against searching and copying.

The law it reflects

This criterion reflects Article 15(3) of the UK GDPR. That mapping is a guide, not a legal test: conformance is judged against the criterion, not the article.

See G4 in context in the full standard.