Account creation, fees, and annual registration

All data brokers who operated in 2025 and who are newly operating in 2026 must create an account in DROP.   Each business entity operating as a data broker must create its own DROP account and pay the applicable fees.

If you operated as a data broker IN 2025, you must create an account following the steps below and complete Registration in DROP (which includes payment of the registration fee) and process deletion requests as described in (Civil Code §§ 7610-7616) beginning August 1, 2026. 

If you start brokering the data of California consumers BETWEEN January 1 and August 1, 2026, you must create an account following the steps below, pay the applicable access fee, and process deletion requests as described in (Civil Code §§ 7610-7616) beginning August 1, 2026. 

If you begin operating as a data broker AFTER August 1, 2026, you must create an account by following the steps below before you commence operations. Once done, you must pay the applicable access fee and process deletion requests as described in (Civil Code §§ 7610-7616).

In order to create an account, you will be asked to provide:

• Basic information about your business, including contact information and website address(es)
• Information about whether or not you operated as a data broker in the previous year

Follow these steps to create an account in DROP:

1. Access the Data Broker portal in DROP
2. Follow the instructions to create an account.
3. Wait for approval from CalPrivacy. This should take no longer than two business days. You will be automatically notified of your approval via email.

DROP accounts are reserved exclusively for businesses operating as data brokers. The account must be associated with the data broker itself, not an agent or third-party service provider in its independent capacity. However, data brokers can allow authorized agents to access their account on their behalf and can add the agent as a primary or secondary contact. 

A business operating as a data broker should maintain only one DROP account. Requests for duplicate accounts will not be approved.

DROP does not support multiple users listed on the same account. Create your account using an email address that relevant teams can access for purposes of account creation, registration and/or deletion request processing. If you need to update your account email address, please contact us.

Any business that meets the definition of “data broker” must register with CalPrivacy annually from January 1-31 to report on its activities from the previous calendar year. See Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.80.

A data broker that fails to register by January 31 may be liable for administrative fines and costs in an administrative action or investigation brought by CalPrivacy (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.82(d)). Businesses that do not operate as data brokers in 2025 are not required to register in 2026. A business that begins operating as a data broker in 2026 is required to register for the first time in January 2027.

To complete registration in 2026, data brokers must:

1. Create an account following the steps above
2. Fill out the registration form in DROP
3. Pay the annual registration fee
4. Sign and submit the registration form

The registration fee for 2026 is $6,000 plus any associated processing fee.

CalPrivacy publishes the information submitted during the registration process in the California Data Broker Registry after the registration period ends. The Data Broker Registry is updated periodically.

Updating your registration information

Under the current regulations, you can update these data elements:

• Business name
• Email
• Website
• Public facing contact information
• Point of contact for CalPrivacy

(Civil Code § 7604(b)).  

If you would like to make changes to your account and/or registration information, please contact us.

Annual Registration Fee

The annual registration fee for data brokers completing registration in 2026 is $6,000 plus an associated third-party fee for processing electronic payments not to exceed 2.99%. The annual registration fee cannot be prorated and is nonrefundable.

Access Fee

The access fee for data brokers who begin operating in 2026 is:

Payment of all fees must be made by credit card within DROP. Contact us if you cannot pay by credit card.