Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (c. 25) – Section 81 – Lawfulness of conduct authorised by this Part

Sections

Section 81Lawfulness of conduct authorised by this Part

(1) Conduct is lawful for all purposes if—

(a)
it is conduct in which any person is authorised to engage by an authorisation or required to undertake by virtue of a notice given in pursuance of an authorisation, and
(b)
the conduct is in accordance with, or in pursuance of, the authorisation or notice.

(2) A person (whether or not the person so authorised or required) is not to be subject to any civil liability in respect of conduct that—

(a)
is incidental to, or is reasonably undertaken in connection with, conduct that is lawful by virtue of subsection (1), and
(b)
is not itself conduct for which an authorisation or warrant—
- (i)
  is capable of being granted under any of the enactments mentioned in subsection (3), and
- (ii)
  might reasonably have been expected to have been sought in the case in question.

(3) The enactments referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i) are—

(a)
an enactment contained in this Act,
(b)
an enactment contained in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000,
(c)
an enactment contained in Part 3 of the Police Act 1997 (powers of the police and of customs officers), or
(d)
section 5 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (warrants for the intelligence services).

Annotations

Commencement Information

I1 S. 81 in force at 5.2.2019 by S.I. 2019/174, reg. 2(d)

https://ipa.digiphile.law/article/article-81.html

Text as at 7 October 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in October 2026.