What are collection points for consent?

A collection point is any place where you ask people for personal data: a demo form, a newsletter sign-up, a checkout page, an app screen or a cookie banner. For consent to be specific, each collection point needs its own list of purposes, shown at the moment you ask, with a record of what the person chose.

Think of it as answering three questions for every form: what are we asking for, why, and how will we prove what they chose?

Examples of collection points

• A demo request form on your website
• A newsletter sign-up box
• A sign-up or contact page
• A checkout or booking form
• An in-app prompt
• Your cookie banner

Each one collects data for different reasons, so each one gets its own set of purposes.

Why map purposes to each collection point

A demo form and a newsletter box should not ask the same thing. If every form shows the same generic tick-box, people are not choosing anything specific. Mapping purposes to each collection point means:

• Every form shows only the purposes that apply to it.
• People see the purpose in plain words, at the moment they share data.
• Your record shows exactly where each consent came from.

Five steps to set up collection points

1. List your forms and screens. Walk through your site and product and write down every place you collect data.
2. Map purposes. For each one, choose which purposes apply and in what order.
3. Choose consent or notice. Opt-in purposes get an unticked box. Purposes the person gave data for directly get a notice only. See legitimate use vs consent.
4. Show it at the point of asking. Place the choices right next to the form fields, with a link to your Purpose Registry.
5. Record every submit. Save who, which purposes, the decision, when, which notice version and which collection point.

Never break the form

A consent box should not get in the way of the form working. If someone leaves an optional box unticked, the form should still submit. If the consent script fails, the form should still submit. Consent is a choice, not a blocker.

What to record at each collection point

Detail	Why it matters
Person (for example, email)	Links choices to one person
Purpose	Consent is per purpose
Decision	Granted or not granted
Collection point	Shows where the choice was made
Notice version	Shows exactly what they saw
Time	Orders the history

Give the person a receipt, and keep withdrawals as new entries rather than edits.

Common slips

• One generic checkbox on every form.
• Forms that block submission when an optional box is unticked.
• No record of which form a consent came from.
• Purposes on the form that are missing from the notice.

How pactbase handles collection points

In pactbase, you register a form as a collection point, map its purposes and paste one snippet into your existing form. There is no form builder to rebuild.

• Each consent purpose shows an unticked checkbox, and each notice-only purpose shows the name with a link to read the notice.
• The form always submits.
• One submit creates one consent event in the Consent ledger, with a downloadable PDF receipt.
• You see a live preview and a 30-day count of consents for each collection point.
• Developers building their own forms can send decisions from custom UI code.

Collection points sit next to your cookie banner, so website and form consent live in one record.

Start free or book a demo to map your first form.

Frequently asked questions

What is a collection point?

Any form or screen where you ask people for personal data, such as a demo form, a sign-up box or a cookie banner.

Do I need a different setup for each form?

Each collection point should list its own purposes, because each form asks for different things.

What if the consent script fails?

The form should still submit. Consent tooling should never stop your form from working.

Can a cookie banner be a collection point?

Yes. It collects cookie choices. Forms and screens collect data choices. Keep both in one record.

How do people withdraw?

They open their preferences and change a choice. The change is recorded as a new entry.