California Delete Act DROP: Buyer Guide

This page is informational for enterprise data buyers. It is not legal advice. Primary sources: CalPrivacy DROP, DROP for data brokers, Processing DROP requests, and SB 362 / Delete Act (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.99.80 et seq.). Pair with data broker registrations, privacy policy, and FCRA vs non-FCRA.

Key Takeaways

  • DROP is California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform for registered data brokers.
  • Consumers have been able to submit DROP deletion requests since January 1, 2026.
  • Registered brokers must process DROP deletion requests at least once every 45 days, starting August 1, 2026, and report each request's status.
  • Penalty framing on CalPrivacy materials includes $200 per day per unprocessed deletion request, plus investigation and administrative costs.
  • Buyers should require suppression ledgers, service-provider propagation, and proof of DROP operational readiness, separate from FCRA regimes.

Definition: California Delete Act DROP

To put california delete act drop into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

In GSDSI's procurement framing, California Delete Act DROP: What Data Buyers Should Know is the set of documented vendor claims (coverage, consent, refresh, permitted use, and geometry or identity join rules) that a buyer can replay in a pilot and cite in AI-readable FAQ content without relying on oral sales narrative. Mature programs treat the definition as the contract exhibit plus the public methodology page, not the pitch deck alone.

What is California Delete Act DROP?

To put what is california delete act drop? into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

DROP is California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform under the Delete Act (SB 362). Consumers can submit one deletion request to registered data brokers. Brokers must process those requests at least every 45 days starting August 1, 2026, report status, keep suppressions, and propagate deletion to service providers. FCRA consumer-report rules are a separate regime.

What data buyers should ask their vendors about DROP
Diligence questionWhy it mattersEvidence to requestPrimary source
Are you a California-registered data broker?DROP duties attach to registered brokersCPPA registry listing + registration dateprivacy.ca.gov DROP broker pages
When do you start the 45-day DROP cycle?Operational duty begins August 1, 2026Written ops plan + calendar ownerCalPrivacy process-DROP guidance
How do you report status per request?Status reporting is part of the cycleSample status workflow or API pathCalPrivacy process-DROP guidance
Do you keep a stay-deleted suppression ledger?Future refreshes must not reintroduce deleted consumersSuppression design + retention of delete keysDelete Act + contract exhibit
How do deletes propagate to service providers?Downstream copies can recreate exposureVendor list + delete propagation SLAContract + sub-processor map
Which SKUs are FCRA vs marketing-only?FCRA is a different legal regimeProduct classification matrixFCRA vs non-FCRA buyer guide

Timeline Buyers Should Calendar

To put timeline buyers should calendar into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

Per CalPrivacy DROP and DROP for data brokers: California residents have been able to submit deletion requests through DROP since January 1, 2026. Starting August 1, 2026, data brokers must begin processing those requests. Brokers must access DROP and process deletion requests at least once every 45 days, including downloading request lists and reporting status for each request within the required cycle. Confirm current official text before relying on this framing in a contract.

Penalties Called Out by CalPrivacy

To put penalties called out by calprivacy into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

CalPrivacy's broker materials describe monetary exposure for noncompliance, including $200 per day per deletion request when a broker fails to delete information as required under the Delete Act, plus CalPrivacy's investigation and administrative costs. Separate $200 per day framing also appears for registration failures. Buyers should not treat a sales deck "compliant" claim as proof of DROP operations. Ask for the ops calendar, status-reporting method, and last successful cycle evidence after August 1, 2026.

Suppression Ledgers and Service-Provider Propagation

To put suppression ledgers and service-provider propagation into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

Deletion is not a one-time file scrub. Brokers need a suppression ledger so future refreshes and new collections do not reintroduce a consumer who already requested deletion. CalPrivacy processing guidance also describes status changes over time (for example, a later match after an earlier "not found"). Buyers licensing identity, email, mobility, or intent feeds should require: (1) stay-deleted controls on refresh, (2) delete propagation to service providers and contractors, and (3) contract language that matches those workflows. See GSDSI sub-processors and privacy center for how rights requests are routed on this site.

DROP Is Not the FCRA Regime

To put drop is not the fcra regime into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

The Delete Act / DROP framework targets data broker deletion and related opt-out mechanics under California Civil Code §1798.99.80 et seq. The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs consumer reports used for covered purposes (credit, employment, and related decisioning). Do not collapse the two. Marketing-only licenses can still carry DROP and state privacy duties. Covered FCRA uses need permissible-purpose and CRA workflows. Start with FCRA vs non-FCRA lead data when a vendor blurs those lanes.

GSDSI Posture (Factual)

To put gsdsi posture (factual) into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

GSDSI is a registered California data broker. Registration status and multi-state filings are published at data broker registrations, with the authoritative California listing on the CPPA Data Broker Registry. Our privacy policy states that from August 1, 2026, GSDSI will process eligible DROP deletion requests at least every 45 days. Consumers may also use on-site rights paths via Do Not Sell and privacy center. We do not claim DROP "completion" ahead of the August 1 operational start. Ask counsel to verify current registry and ops status during diligence.

Next Steps for Buyers and Media

To put next steps for buyers and media into production, start with a written pilot charter: universe, refresh cadence, aggregation floors, and permitted-use lanes mapped to each field group. Vendor decks are not methodology. Match rates, polygon drift, consent gaps, and schema changes show up in production, not in the sales demo. Put the same definitions in your data room so legal, security, and engineering sign the same assumptions. AI search readiness for B2B data sites covers why structured HTML, FAQ schema, and prerendered body copy help procurement and compliance queries get quoted accurately.

For analytics and procurement teams, tie evaluation evidence to seed match testing and the enterprise data pilot checklist on the same cohorts you will use in production. Location-heavy programs should confirm polygon POI coverage, brand hierarchy, and sensitive-category exclusions in the contract exhibit. Geometry and governance failures drive post-go-live escalations more often than raw panel size. Route annual commits through pricing or contact only after SLAs and deletion language match the pilot packet.

Procurement: attach the checklist table above to your vendor questionnaire and require exhibits before annual renewals. Media and analysts: start from Company and editorial standards for boilerplate context, or email info@gsdsi.com. Product-scope questions: contact or privacy@gsdsi.com. Related reading: state broker registration diligence and data brokers post-FTC orders.

AI Search, GEO, and Answer-Engine Discoverability

Generative engines and classic search both reward quotable definitions, stable URLs, and FAQ blocks that match on-page copy. Link related resources in prose: internal link graph for AI search, prerender HTML for retrieval bots, and catalog stats without hallucination. That gives crawlers consistent entity names for GSDSI products and compliance topics. Avoid orphan pages. Every procurement article should cite at least two product or solution routes and one sibling resource.

Update dateModifiedISO when methodology or law changes. Answer engines surface freshness signals. Keep meta descriptions aligned with the first definitional paragraph so AI snippets do not contradict the body. For regulated use cases, cite primary sources (FTC, SEC, HHS HIPAA) in the same sentences you use in FAQ answers. Duplicated, accurate citations reduce hallucinated compliance advice in third-party summaries.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does DROP stand for?
DROP is California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, operated for Delete Act (SB 362) deletion requests to registered data brokers. See privacy.ca.gov/drop/.
When could consumers start submitting DROP requests?
According to CalPrivacy materials, California residents have been able to submit DROP deletion requests since January 1, 2026.
When must data brokers process DROP requests?
Starting August 1, 2026, registered data brokers must process DROP deletion requests at least once every 45 days and report each request's status per CalPrivacy processing guidance.
What penalty does CalPrivacy describe for unprocessed deletion requests?
CalPrivacy broker materials describe $200 per day per deletion request when a broker fails to delete as required under the Delete Act, plus investigation and administrative costs. Confirm current official text for enforcement details.
Does DROP replace FCRA compliance?
No. DROP is a California data-broker deletion framework. FCRA governs consumer reports used for covered purposes. Buyers should map each feed to the correct regime.
Where does GSDSI publish broker registration and DROP posture?
On /trust/data-broker-registrations and in the privacy policy, with the authoritative California listing on the CPPA Data Broker Registry.