California Approves Delete Act Regulations

New State Tool Will Let Californians Delete Their Personal Data with One Click

SACRAMENTO — The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) announced at last week’s Board meeting that the California Office of Administrative Law has approved regulations to further implement the Delete Act.

The new regulations, which take effect January 1, 2026, describe how Californians can submit a delete request through CalPrivacy’s new Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) and how data brokers must retrieve and process these requests.

The DROP will be a first-of-its-kind, state-hosted website where consumers can request deletion of all personal information held by multiple data brokers with a single click. California consumers will be able to submit delete requests through the DROP starting January 2026.

Starting August 1, 2026, data brokers must access the DROP at least every 45 days to retrieve and process consumer deletion requests. If a consumer’s information matches the data broker’s records, the data broker must delete all associated personal data—including inferences—unless a legal exemption applies. Data brokers must report the status of each deletion request in the DROP within 45 days of retrieving it. The regulations require data brokers to maintain a list of all deletion requests to ensure that consumer personal information remains deleted into the future.

“Adoption of these regulations is a major milestone. Californians will soon be able to delete their data from hundreds of data brokers with one simple action,” said Tom Kemp, Executive Director of CalPrivacy. “We encourage consumers to take advantage of this important tool so they can easily and effectively exercise their privacy rights.”

For more information about DROP, please visit https://privacy.ca.gov/data-brokers/

 

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The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) is committed to promoting the education and awareness of consumers' privacy rights and businesses' responsibilities under the California Consumer Privacy Act.

Individuals can visit privacy.ca.gov to access helpful and up-to-date information on how to exercise their rights and protect their personal information. In addition, CalPrivacy’s website provides important information about Board Meetings, announcements, and the rulemaking process.