Person Register

Legal Notice 439 of 2021: Establishing the Person Register for Secure Data Sharing

Legal Notice 439 of 2021, titled “Person Register and Personal Data Sharing within the Public Sector Regulations,” formally establishes the Person Register as a centralised Government repository of personal details. Its primary purpose is to enable secure sharing and re-use of personal data across the public sector, implementing the “once-only principle” so citizens are not repeatedly asked for the same information.

The Person Register becomes the authoritative source of core personal details – such as name, surname, ID number and date of birth or death – and maintain links to other official registries holding data on the same person. Ownership of the register rests with Identità, the Government authority for identity management, while its implementation and technical support are provided by MITA. The Person Register Unit within Identità’s serves as the custodian of this critical resource.

Integration Requirements for Public Sector Bodies

Under LN 439/2021, all Government ministries, departments, and entities (collectively referred to as Public Sector Bodies) that maintain official registers of personal data must integrate with or utilise the Person Register. The Person Register record is considered a primary reference for personal information, and the regulations authorise establishing data links between the central person record and various domain-specific registers (e.g. civil status, licensing, social services) for the same individual.

To ensure compliance with the data protection laws, the Legal Notice mandates strict safeguards. Access to personal data via the Person Register is restricted to authorised users and purposes, with role-based permissions ensuring that each consuming system or user only sees data needed for its function.

The regulations provide a 48-month transitional period from the commencement date for all affected public sector bodies to comply. The Legal Notice came into force on 1st February 2024. During this period, public sector bodies must develop the technical mechanisms and processes required to switch over to the Person Register for person-data queries and updates.

Technical Access and Interoperability

Government systems can consume personal data from the Person Register through standardized APIs published on MITA’s Interoperability Platform, accessible at https://data.gov.mt/person. To facilitate data synchronisation, a Data Update Notifications Service is also available. Whenever a person’s record is added or updated in the Person Register, a notification message (with event type like INSERT or UPDATE) is published to the MITA Shared Service Bus. Subscribed systems can receive these notifications, enabling an event-driven design that eliminates the need for constant polling. For example, if a citizen’s address is updated in the Person Register, integrated Government solutions can react immediately.

Access Requests and Support

Public Sector Bodies seeking access to the Person Register APIs must first obtain approval from Identità, then submit an eRFS (electronic request for service) with MITA Service Call Centre, referencing the eRFSGuide.

For further information, please contact:

MITA: [email protected]

Identità: [email protected]