Stop Third-Party Surprises With One-Page Vendor DPIA Intake

Create a one-page vendor DPIA intake form that captures real privacy risk, speeds reviews and keeps U.S. regulators and business owners aligned on third-party data use.

Every new vendor wants data, and every privacy, security or legal team wants to know one thing: “how risky is this
relationship?”. Long questionnaires and legal memos are useful later, but they slow down the business. A simple
one-page vendor DPIA (Data Protection Impact Assessment) intake form helps you capture the most important
facts fast, flag high-risk vendors and decide when a deeper review is needed. This guide shows how to design that
intake form for U.S. organizations dealing with third parties.

Why a vendor DPIA intake form matters in the U.S. context

Third parties sit at the center of many privacy incidents

Many modern breaches are not caused by your own systems but by vendors: cloud platforms, marketing tools, HR
software, payment processors, analytics partners. When they mishandle personal data, your organization still
faces reputational damage, contractual claims and regulatory scrutiny under U.S. privacy and security laws.

A vendor-focused DPIA or privacy risk intake helps you answer basic questions early:

• What personal data will this vendor receive, and for what purpose?
• Where is the data stored and processed (states, countries, cloud regions)?
• Which security and privacy safeguards are already in place?
• Do we need stronger contracts, assessments or technical controls?

U.S. privacy laws increasingly expect risk-based assessment

While the term “DPIA” comes from international privacy law, many U.S. state privacy laws and sector rules now
expect organizations to evaluate risk when processing personal data, especially for targeted advertising, profiling,
sensitive data or large-scale processing through vendors. Regulators look for:

• Evidence that you understand the data your vendors handle.
• Contracts that reflect privacy and security obligations.
• Reasonable steps to reduce foreseeable risks to individuals.

A one-page intake form does not replace full assessments, but it provides a consistent, documented starting point
you can use for every third party.

Core building blocks of a one-page vendor DPIA intake form

1. Basic vendor and project identification

The top of your form should capture clear identifiers so anyone revisiting it later knows exactly what was
evaluated. Include:

• Vendor legal name and trade name.
• Business owner or requester inside your organization.
• Short description of the service (e.g., “HR SaaS for performance reviews”).
• Systems or teams that will integrate with the vendor.

2. Data categories and individuals affected

The heart of any DPIA intake is understanding what data is processed and whose data it is. Use a simple,
checkbox-style list:

• Customer data, employees, contractors, website visitors, patients, students, minors, etc.
• Contact details, IDs, financial details, health information, location data, online identifiers.
• Whether the vendor receives sensitive or high-risk categories (e.g., health, biometrics, precise location).

Add a free-text field for “Other data” so business owners can flag anything unusual.

3. Purpose, legal basis and business justification

Next, the intake should ask why the data is shared at all. Key questions:

• What specific business process does the vendor support?
• Is the vendor a core service provider (e.g., payroll) or a “nice-to-have” tool?
• Is data sharing necessary and proportionate to that purpose?

While U.S. laws focus less on “legal bases” than some international regimes, the intake can still align with
concepts like contract performance, legal obligations or legitimate business needs. This helps you justify the
relationship later if regulators or customers ask for documentation.

4. Data flows, storage locations and onward transfers

A short, structured section should capture where data travels and resides:

• Does the vendor store data in the U.S. only, or also abroad?
• Will data be shared with sub-processors or other third parties?
• Are transfers encrypted in transit and at rest?

This is particularly important for vendors with operations in multiple jurisdictions or that rely heavily on
sub-contractors and cloud infrastructure.

5. Security and privacy safeguards snapshot

Without turning the form into a full audit, you can still capture essential controls:

• Does the vendor use encryption at rest and in transit?
• Are there access controls, role-based permissions and MFA?
• Does the vendor have security certifications or external assessments?
• Is there a documented incident response and breach notification process?

For consistency, consider a simple three-level rating on the form: basic / moderate / advanced, based on
answers or attached documentation.

6. Risk flags, scoring and next steps

The bottom of the one-page form should summarize the overall impression:

• Check boxes for risk flags: sensitive data, minors, large scale, profiling, cross-border transfers.
• A simple numeric or color-coded risk score (e.g., 1–3 low, 4–6 medium, 7–9 high).
• Clear next-step options: “approve with standard contract”, “requires full DPIA”, “requires security review”, “do not proceed”.

The goal is not perfect precision; it is to quickly route high-risk vendors to deeper review while allowing
low-risk ones to move forward with appropriate safeguards.

Turning the form into a practical one-page workflow

Step 1: Decide when the form is mandatory

To avoid gaps, define clear triggers for using the intake form. For example:

• Any new vendor that will access or store personal data.
• Existing vendors when scope changes (new data types, new regions, new features).
• Third parties involved in marketing, analytics or profiling activities.

Step 2: Assign responsibilities for completion and review

The business owner usually fills in the first half of the form (purpose, data, process), while privacy, security or
legal teams complete the risk and safeguards sections. Make this division explicit so people know their role.

Step 3: Integrate with procurement and contracting

A one-page intake is most effective when embedded in your procurement workflow. For example:

• Vendor cannot be onboarded in purchasing systems until the intake is completed.
• Risk score determines which contract templates and clauses apply.
• High-risk vendors require sign-off from privacy and security leads.

Step 4: Store, update and reuse assessments

Keep completed forms in a central repository, linked to vendor records. When audits, data subject requests or
incident investigations occur, you can quickly show:

• When the vendor was assessed.
• Which risks were identified and how they were mitigated.
• When the last review or update happened.

Examples and models you can adapt

Example 1: HR cloud vendor handling employee data

An HR team wants a cloud tool for performance reviews. The intake shows:

• Data subjects: employees and managers in the U.S.
• Data types: names, work emails, job titles, feedback comments.
• Sensitivity: moderate (no health or financial data, but still HR-related).
• Security snapshot: MFA, encrypted storage, recent external security certification.

Result: risk score “medium”, move forward with a data protection addendum, breach notification commitments and
annual security attestations.

Example 2: Marketing analytics vendor tracking website visitors

Marketing wants a new analytics script for the website. The intake reveals:

• Data subjects: website visitors, including users from several U.S. states.
• Data types: IP addresses, cookies, behavioral data, device information.
• Sensitivity: low to moderate, but large scale and cross-site tracking.
• Security snapshot: TLS in transit, limited documentation on data retention.

Result: risk flags for profiling and potential sale/share under state laws, requiring further DPIA and contract
terms addressing opt-out, retention and deletion.

Common mistakes with vendor DPIA intake forms

• Asking so many questions that business owners stop filling out the form honestly.
• Letting high-risk vendors bypass the intake because they are “urgent” or “strategic”.
• Collecting forms but never using them to change contracts or technical controls.
• Failing to update the assessment when the vendor adds new features or data types.
• Storing forms in scattered places so no one can find them during an incident.
• Using highly technical language that non-privacy teams cannot understand or answer.

Conclusion: one page, clear choices, better vendor control

Vendors will always be part of how you operate, but they do not have to be a blind spot. A one-page vendor DPIA
intake form gives you a fast, repeatable way to capture the essentials of third-party data use, highlight real
risks and route high-impact relationships to deeper review. Instead of chasing details only after something goes
wrong, you can set expectations early, document decisions and show regulators, partners and customers that you take
third-party privacy risk seriously.