At a glanceUnder India’s DPDP Act you can ask any company to correct wrong information, complete missing details, or update out-of-date records it holds about you — a misspelt name, an old address, a stale phone number. You make the request through the company’s privacy contact, and it must act on it. This right sits alongside your rights to access and to delete your data.
Educational resource only. This explains the right to correction under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and how to use it; it is not formal legal advice.
The situation
A service has your old address, a typo in your name, or a phone number you stopped using years ago — and that stale record keeps causing problems: a failed delivery, a verification that won’t go through, a document that doesn’t match your ID. You can make them fix it.
What you can fix — correct, complete, update
The right covers three things: correcting what’s wrong, completing what’s missing, and updating what’s out of date.
The DPDP Act gives you a right to correction (Section 12), and it’s broader than just fixing typos. You can ask a company to:
- Correct inaccurate or misleading personal data — a wrong name, number or ID detail.
- Complete data that’s incomplete — a missing flat number, a half-recorded address.
- Update data that’s no longer current — a changed phone number, a new address after a move.
All three are yours to request, and the company holding the data is obliged to act on a genuine correction.
Why an error is worth fixing, not ignoring
Wrong data doesn’t just sit there — it gets used, shared and acted on.
A stale or incorrect record isn’t harmless. It can be passed to partners, used to make decisions about you, or block a service you’re entitled to. An old address can send your documents to the wrong place; a wrong number can hand your OTPs and alerts to a stranger. Fixing the record at source stops the error from propagating everywhere the company sends your data.
How to request a correction, step by step
See the record first if you can, then send a clear written correction request.
- Know what’s wrong. If you’re not sure what a company holds, use your right to access first to get a summary, then pinpoint the errors.
- Find the privacy contact. Locate the company’s grievance officer / Data Protection Officer or privacy channel in its privacy notice.
- Write the request. State that you are exercising your right to correction under the DPDP Act, and list exactly what’s wrong and what it should say.
- Show the correct value. Give the accurate detail clearly (for example, “my current address is X, not Y”). Attach light proof only if the correction genuinely needs it — a correction request isn’t a document-collection exercise.
- Ask for confirmation. Request written confirmation once the record is updated, and ask them to pass the correction to anyone they’ve shared the old data with, where relevant.
- Keep a copy of the request and reply.
A ready-to-use line: “Under the DPDP Act, please correct the following personal data you hold about me: [wrong detail] should read [correct detail]. Please confirm once updated.”
If they don’t fix it
You have the same escalation path as any other right.
If the company ignores the request or refuses to correct a genuine error, use its grievance-redressal channel first. If that doesn’t resolve it, escalate to the Data Protection Board of India. Your written request and their response are the record that makes an escalation simple.
FAQ
Can I make a company update my address or phone number?
Yes. Updating out-of-date data is part of the right to correction — you can ask them to replace an old address or number with your current one.
Do I need to prove the correct information?
Only where the correction genuinely requires it. A simple update usually just needs the accurate value; you don’t have to over-document a routine fix.
Will the correction reach companies they shared my data with?
Ask them to propagate it. Where your data has been shared, you can request that the correction be passed on so the error doesn’t live on elsewhere.
What if they refuse to correct a genuine error?
Use the company’s grievance channel first, then escalate to the Data Protection Board of India if it isn’t resolved.