Opt-Out Ledger

California DROP: The Complete Guide

Quick answer: If you live in California, submit one free request through DROP at privacy.ca.gov/drop and every data broker registered with the state must delete your non-exempt personal information — but DROP does not cover every company, every kind of data, or your Google search results.

Last checked: October 25, 2026

What DROP Is

DROP stands for Delete Request and Opt-out Platform. It is a single submission system run by the California Privacy Protection Agency, known as CalPrivacy, under the Delete Act of 2023 (Senate Bill 362).

The system opened on January 1, 2026. It is free to use.

Before DROP, a Californian who wanted brokers to stop selling their information had to contact each company separately, using a different form for each one, hundreds of times. DROP replaces that first, largest step with one profile and one submission.

A data broker, in this context, is a business that collects and sells personal information about people it has no direct relationship with — people who may never have visited its website or heard its name.

DROP does not erase you from the internet. It is a legal deletion request delivered to a defined list of companies, with defined limits.

Who DROP Covers — and Who It Does Not

DROP covers data brokers that are registered with the State of California. There were 545 registered brokers at launch, and more than 600 by late 2026.

DROP also only reaches certain kinds of information. It does not cover:

People search sites can be registered brokers, so DROP can help with some listings you see when you search your own name. It does not guarantee every public profile page disappears.

Before You Start

You will need to verify that you are a California resident, through the California Identity Gateway or an existing Login.gov account.

Gather the identifiers you want brokers to match against their records. Brokers cannot delete what they cannot find, and a too-narrow profile can produce a "Record not found" result even when a broker holds you under an older email or previous address.

You can submit for a family member — a spouse, an elderly parent, or another household member who would struggle to complete the process. Have their correct details ready before you begin.

Step by Step: How to Submit a DROP Request

1. Go to the official site

Go to privacy.ca.gov/drop. Use the official California site, not a look-alike service offering to submit for a fee. DROP is free.

2. Verify California residency

Complete identity verification through the California Identity Gateway or your existing Login.gov account. This confirms you are eligible to use the system.

3. Create your profile

Enter the details brokers will use to search for you: full name (including versions you have used), date of birth, ZIP code, email addresses, and phone numbers. Add older emails and numbers if you have them — broker records often lag years behind a move or name change.

You can also add optional identifiers that help match advertising and device-based records: mobile advertising ID, connected TV ID, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). They are not required, but they can improve matching for records not tied cleanly to a name and address.

4. Review and submit

Check names, dates, and numbers carefully. A typo here can mean a broker legitimately finds no exact match.

5. Save your 8-digit DROP ID

After you submit, save the 8-digit DROP ID somewhere you control. You will use it to check the status of your request later. Do not treat submission day as deletion day — the legal processing cycle runs on its own schedule, explained below.

The Five Statuses, Explained

When you check your request, a broker's response will fall into one of five statuses:

One company may delete, another may claim an exemption, and a third may find nothing. That mixed result is normal.

Timing: Why November 2026 Matters

Starting August 1, 2026, registered brokers must check the DROP system at least every 45 days for new deletion requests. After receiving a request, a broker has up to 90 days to report its status.

Because of that schedule, the first full cycle completes in November 2026. If you submitted earlier in 2026 and still see many "Pending" responses in October, that is consistent with the statutory timing — it does not mean the system failed.

The penalty for failing to delete as required is $200 per request per day, which is part of why registered brokers take the system seriously. Enforcement is handled by the state, not by you.

Keep your DROP ID and check back after the first full cycle, rather than submitting duplicates in frustration.

If DROP Says Deleted but You Still Show Up on Google

This is the most common point of confusion, and it has a practical fix.

A broker can delete its underlying record while Google still shows the old page title, snippet, or link for a time. Or you may be seeing a different site entirely — a people search page or a copy — that DROP did not cover. Deletion at the source and removal from search are two separate jobs.

Work through them in this order:

  1. Opt out at the source site. If a people search listing is still live, remove it there first. Start with our guides to Spokeo opt-out, Whitepages opt-out, BeenVerified opt-out, FastPeopleSearch (guide in the next batch), and removing yourself from data brokers.
  2. Ask Google to remove the result. Use Google's Results About You tool for search results showing your personal contact information. See our Google Results About You guide.
  3. Wait and recheck. Search indexes update on their own schedule. Recheck after the source page is gone, and submit a fresh removal request if the result still appears.
  4. Keep the paper trail. Note your DROP submission date, the status each broker reported, and the date of each manual opt-out. If a listing returns, that record tells you whether it is a re-listing, a different broker, or an old search result.

DROP is the right first step for a California resident. It is not the last step for anyone whose information is already visible in search results.

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