Bailiffs

Bailiffs: destroying attachment files

14 July 2026 · 10 min read · DeSnipperaar

A bailiff processes files with a major impact on people's lives: wage attachments, evictions, writs, service of documents and enforcement. Those files contain a national ID number, income data and sometimes medical or social information. On top of that, alongside the GDPR there are separate official retention rules. This guide shows, by type of document, what you keep, what may go after the period and how to destroy it confidentially.

The quick answer: the administration you keep for seven years for the tax retention obligation. Official documents and registers have their own, often longer periods that you keep under the rules of the professional body and the bailiff legislation. The substantive attachment file you keep until the case has been settled and the period has expired, after which it is destroyed confidentially.

Two regimes: official and GDPR

At a bailiff two frameworks run together. The official task, such as issuing writs and levying attachment, has its own retention rules stemming from the bailiff legislation and the guidelines of the professional body. Alongside this the GDPR applies, which requires not keeping personal data longer than necessary. The official rules set the floor for what you must keep, the GDPR the ceiling for what you may not keep too long.

So do not treat the archive from a single period, but per type of document. An official register has a different status than a working copy or a piece of correspondence. If you make that distinction, you keep exactly what the law requires and clear out the rest on time.

Retention periods by type of document

The period differs per type of document. The overview below gives the main line. Count the tax period from the end of the financial year and the other periods from the settlement of the case.

Type of document	Starting point	Period
Administration and invoicing	Tax retention obligation	7 years
Official registers	Official retention rules	own, often longer
Writs and service documents	Official status	per professional rules
Attachment file after settlement	Until settlement and limitation	purpose-bound
Medical or social information	Special-category data	destroy finely
Working copies and correspondence	No retention obligation	clear out at once

Use this as a guideline, not a substitute for the official rules. When in doubt, consult the guidelines of the professional body or your legal adviser. The tax side is in the 7-year tax retention obligation.

Why attachment files are extra sensitive

An attachment file is among the most far-reaching there is. It concerns wage attachment, bank attachment, eviction or enforcement, and thereby directly touches someone's livelihood. The file contains a national ID number, income and employer data and sometimes the reason behind the problems, which can be medical or social in nature. A data breach with such a file hits a vulnerable person extra hard.

So keep the sensitive parts recognisably separate and destroy them at a fine level as soon as that is allowed. That way you avoid the whole file inheriting the longest period of its most sensitive document, and you do justice to the impact this data has.

Collection and the chain around it

Much bailiff work begins earlier in the chain, at a debt collection agency, and touches on debt counselling. The same person can appear in several files, each with its own controller. Match your retention periods to your own role and refer for the other links to the relevant party. How those sides handle their files is in debt collection agencies: destroying debtor data and debt counselling and administration: destroying client files.

How to handle it in 6 steps

1. Split the file into administration, official documents, attachment file and special data.
2. Keep official registers under their own retention rules.
3. Assess per attachment file whether the case has been settled and the period expired.
4. Treat medical and social data separately and at a fine destruction level.
5. Collect what may go in sealed containers, not in the paper bin.
6. Have it destroyed confidentially with a certificate and record it in your register.

Destroy confidentially with a certificate

Bailiff files are destroyed confidentially at a fine level, because they contain a national ID number, income data and sometimes special data. The paper and the data carriers travel sealed and stay that way until destruction, so the chain is closed. In a system migration or when clearing out old servers, the digital carriers belong with it too.

Afterwards you receive a certificate of destruction with the date, quantity and level. That certificate is your proof towards the GDPR that you acted carefully. Record the destruction in your record of processing. We collect within 20 km of Amsterdam with no call-out charge, work nationwide through pooled collection rounds and charge a fixed price per box or roll container. Drop-off on site is not possible; it works by appointment through collection.

Common mistakes

• Keeping all documents on a single period. Official documents and working copies have different rules.
• Ignoring official retention rules. Writs and registers have their own periods.
• Treating attachment files as ordinary paper. They contain a national ID number and often special data.
• Throwing away unshredded. An attachment file on the street is a serious data breach affecting a vulnerable person.
• Keeping no proof. Without a certificate you cannot demonstrate the destruction.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a bailiff keep an attachment file?

The administration falls under the seven-year tax retention obligation. Official documents and registers have their own, often longer periods. The substantive attachment file you keep until the case has been settled and the period has expired.

Do different periods apply to official documents?

Yes. Official acts such as writs, service documents and the register have their own retention rules that can differ from ordinary periods. Follow the rules of the professional body and the bailiff legislation.

Why are attachment files extra sensitive?

An attachment file concerns wage attachment, eviction or enforcement and contains a national ID number, income data and sometimes medical or social information. That makes it one of the most sensitive files, requiring a fine destruction level.

How do I destroy bailiff files in line with the GDPR?

Confidentially and at a fine level, with a certificate of destruction. Paper and data carriers travel sealed and the destruction is recorded in the record of processing.

Conclusion

A bailiff works with files that reach deep into people's lives, and with two regimes at once. Keep official documents under their own retention rules, keep the administration seven years and assess per attachment file whether the case has been settled. The sensitive parts, with a national ID number and sometimes medical or social data, you have destroyed confidentially at a fine level, with a certificate as proof. That way you meet the official rules and the GDPR at the same time.

Read also: debt collection agencies: destroying debtor data, call centres: destroying recordings and customer data, debt counselling and administration: destroying client files and the GDPR retention periods cheatsheet.

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Have bailiff files collected? Request a quote via desnipperaar.nl. Within a few minutes you have a fixed price, including a certificate as proof.