Glossary

Docustody compliance glossary

Quick definitions of GDPR, FCA, and document custody terms to help your team stay aligned.

Document custody

Document custody is the temporary, controlled holding of sensitive documents for a specific purpose, with guaranteed deletion after use.

The GDPR right to erasure allows individuals to request deletion of personal data when it is no longer necessary or lawful to retain.

A data retention policy defines how long an organisation keeps specific categories of data and how it will be deleted.

An audit trail is a chronological record of actions taken on a document, including uploads, views, downloads, and deletion.

A magic link is a secure, single-use URL that grants access without creating an account or password.

A deletion certificate is a record proving that a document was permanently removed at a specific time.

FCA compliance means meeting the Financial Conduct Authority requirements for handling client data, record keeping, and governance.

KYC documents are evidence used to verify a client’s identity and address as part of Know Your Customer checks.

Data minimisation is a GDPR principle that requires collecting only the data needed and retaining it for no longer than necessary.

Secure file transfer refers to moving documents using encrypted channels with controlled access and audit logs.