As of 5 February 2026, Oman’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) is officially live. 

After a one-year extension from its original enforcement date, the law is no longer upcoming, or “something to plan for later.” It now applies to almost every organization operating in Oman – public sector, private companies, startups, and any business processing personal data belonging to individuals in the Sultanate. 

If you collect, store, analyze, share, or act on personal data, PDPL applies to you. 

Enforcement is overseen by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), and organizations are expected to demonstrate compliance by February 2026. 

Understanding Oman’s PDPL  

PDPL aligns Oman with global data protection standards such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). While it shares familiar principles, PDPL introduces local expectations around consent, accountability, and cross-border data transfers that many organisations in the region may not yet operationally prepared for. 

At its core, the law is built around three non-negotiable principles: 

• Accountability 
  You remain responsible for personal data, even when processing is outsourced to vendors or cloud providers. 

• Transparency 
  Individuals must clearly understand how their data is collected, used, retained, and shared. 

• Control 
  Data subjects have enforceable rights over their personal data, and organizations must be able to act on those rights quickly and consistently. 

For many organizations, this represents a shift away from informal, ad-hoc data practices toward structured data governance, documented controls, and auditable processes. 

What Organisations Are Responsible For Under PDPL 

To comply with Oman’s PDPL guidelines, organisations must address six core areas. 

1. Lawful Basis and Consent 

Personal data can only be collected for specific and legitimate purposes. 
In most cases, explicit, written consent is required. 

• Pre-ticked boxes, inactivity, or assumed consent do not qualify 

• Consent must be freely given, informed, specific, and easy to withdraw 

• Any new use case requires new consent 

2. Privacy Notices 

Organizations must clearly inform individuals about: 

• Data of the controller and the Processor. 

• Why their data is being collected (The purpose of personal data processing and the source from which it was collected) 

• How long it will be retained 

• Who it may be shared with 

• What rights they have and how to exercise them 

• Contact information of the Personal Data Protection Officer. 

This information must be written in clear, accessible language and must avoid ambiguity. 

3. Data Subject Rights 

Individuals have the right to: 

• Access their personal data 

• Request for amendment, updating, or withholding of their personal data 

• Request deletion 

• Withdraw consent 

• Object to processing 

• Transfer their data to another provider 

• Be notified of any breach or violation of their personal data and the actions that have been taken in this regard. 

4. Data Security Measures 

PDPL requires appropriate technical and organisational controls, including: 

• Access management and role-based controls 

• Encryption and secure storage 

• Regular risk assessments and audits 

• Monitoring for unauthorized access or misuse 

5. Breach Notification 

If a data breach poses a risk to individuals’ rights: 

Breach notification to Competent Department (within 72 hours) if the breach poses a risk to data subjects’ rights 

• Nature of the breach, affected data, and consequences 

• Controller’s contact details or designated focal point 

• Potential and actual effects of the breach 

• Planned corrective, technical, and organisational measures to address and mitigate impacts 

• Immediate actions already taken upon breach discovery 

• Notification to data subjects (within 72 hours) if the breach results in serious harm or high risk 

• Type and nature of the breach 

• Personal data impacted 

• Guidance or recommendations to limit or mitigate harm. 

This demands incident detection, classification, escalation, and reporting workflows. 

6. Cross-Border Data Transfers 

Personal data can only be transferred outside Oman under strict conditions 

• As a general rule, explicit consent from the data subject is required before any cross-border transfer 

• Cross-border transfers must not compromise national security or the state’s supreme interests 

• Consent is not required if the transfer: 

• Is necessary to meet an international obligation involving Oman 

• Involves fully anonymized data that cannot identify individuals 

• Organizations must ensure that foreign recipients provide an adequate level of data protection, equivalent to Omani requirements 

• Before transferring data, organizations are expected to assess risks, including: 

• The type, volume, and sensitivity of the data 

• The purpose and scope of processing and sharing 

• The duration and frequency of processing 

• The countries involved and the final data destination 

• Potential risks and impacts on individuals 

• NOTE: Authorities may request evidence of this assessment to verify compliance 

This is particularly relevant for organisations using regional or global cloud infrastructure, as personal data may be transferred, stored, or accessed outside national borders as part of standard cloud operations 

What do organisations need to do today? 

1. Understand Your Data Landscape 

You cannot protect what you do not understand. What personal data is collected? Why? Where it is stored and processed? 

2. Establish a Lawful Basis for Processing 

PDPL requires that personal data processing be tied to legitimate and lawful purposes. Organizations must clearly document the legal basis for every personal data processing activity, determine whether consent is required or already being relied upon, ensure that processing is restricted strictly to data that is necessary, and define and record the specific purposes for which the data is collected and used. 

3. Implement Core Privacy Governance Controls 

Compliance under PDPL is heavily driven by organisational accountability. Organizations should establish formal privacy and data protection policies, implement clear internal procedures for handling personal data, define roles and responsibilities such as a designated data protection function or owner, ensure ongoing staff awareness and training, and apply appropriate vendor or processor management controls. Regulators typically expect demonstrable, operational governance frameworks rather than merely well-drafted legal documents. 

4. Review Cross-Border Data Transfers 

Oman PDPL places specific conditions on transferring personal data outside the Sultanate. Organizations should assess whether personal data is transferred internationally, identify and document the legal mechanism supporting such transfers (including any consent requirements), ensure appropriate security and confidentiality safeguards are in place, and evaluate potential risk exposure arising from third-party involvement. 

5. Strengthen Security & Risk Management Measures 

PDPL compliance is closely linked to protecting personal data from misuse or breaches. Organizations must implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures, enforce robust access controls and data minimization practices, establish effective incident detection and response procedures, and maintain clear breach management workflows to ensure timely and compliant handling of security events. 

6. Prepare for Data Subject Rights 

Individuals have enforceable rights under PDPL. Organizations must have mechanisms and procedures in place to effectively handle data subject requests, including requests for access to personal data, correction or deletion of data, withdrawal of consent, and objections to processing. 

How HEMOdata Helps Organisations in Oman Comply With PDPL 

At HEMOdata, we approach PDPL from an operational point of view. The challenge is turning the current awareness around the recently enforced law into something that actually works in day-to-day operations. 

Compliance breaks down when teams can’t clearly answer simple questions: What personal data do we have? Where is it? Who owns it? Who can access it? And what happens when something goes wrong? 

That’s where we focus our work. 

PDPL Readiness and Gap Assessment  

We start by helping organisations understand their current state. This includes: 

• Identifying what personal and sensitive data exists across systems and vendors 

• Understanding how that data is collected, used, stored, and shared 

• Highlighting gaps between current practices and PDPL requirements 

• Prioritising risks based on impact 

The outcome is a clear, defensible view of where you stand today, something leadership, IT, security, and compliance teams can all align on. 

Turning PDPL Requirements Into Day-to-Day Controls 

We help organisations design and implement governance and data management processes using platforms such as Collibra / Actian, creating a structured setup where PDPL requirements are embedded into how data is managed. 

These tools allow organisations to: 

• Clearly define and document personal data assets and ownership 

• Apply consistent policies around access, usage, and retention 

• Maintain traceability across data flows and processing activities 

• Build a reliable foundation for consent, transparency, and accountability 
   

Instead of PDPL living in documents and spreadsheets, governance becomes part of the data lifecycle itself. 

For security incidents and breach response, we work with HCL to ensure organisations can detect, investigate, and respond to incidents involving personal data effectively. This includes clear escalation paths, coordinated response processes, and the evidence required to meet regulatory expectations if an incident occurs. 

Sustainable Compliance 

PDPL is not something you “complete” and move on from. 

We help organisations put the right structures in place so compliance holds up as teams, systems, and data volumes grow: 

• Clear accountability and ownership models 

• Repeatable audit and reporting processes 

• Documentation that reflects real operating practices 

• Governance that supports the business 

If you’d like a PDPL readiness assessment or a clear action roadmap, our consultants can review your current setup and help you focus on what actually matters. 

📩 Talk to us now 

We’ll continue sharing practical insights on data, governance, and compliance shaping Oman’s digital transformation, one topic at a time.