DROP and Delete Act guides for data brokers

Plain-English guides to California's DROP platform and the Delete Act, written for the people who have to run it.

• How to log in to DROP and get your API key

  Where the California DROP data broker portal is, how to create an account, choose deletion lists, and generate production and sandbox API keys.

• DROP for data brokers: what you have to do every 45 days

  A practical checklist of California DROP obligations for data brokers: download, standardize and match, delete, suppress new data, notify vendors, and report status every 45 days.

• Delete Act fines: what a missed DROP request costs

  How California Delete Act fines work for data brokers: $200 per deletion request per day, $200 per day for failing to register, plus investigation costs. Includes a fine calculator.

• California data broker registration: requirements, fees and deadlines

  Who has to register as a data broker in California, what the registration asks for, 2026 and 2027 fees, the January 31 deadline, and penalties for not registering.

• Is my company a data broker under California's Delete Act?

  California's legal definition of a data broker under the Delete Act, which businesses are excluded, and questions to work through before deciding whether you need to register and use DROP.

• How DROP hashing works: standardizing records so they match

  How California DROP hashed identifiers work: the exact standardization rules in § 7613, how to hash multi-field identifiers like name + date of birth + ZIP, with example code.