People searching for a DROP data broker login or for registration often mix three different tasks. This page splits them. It is not legal advice.
Three different jobs
Annual data broker registration. Register when you meet the definition for a given year, complete the disclosures, and pay the registration fee. CalPrivacy describes this on DROP for data brokers.
DROP account and access. Create a DROP account, await approval, and pay the access or registration fees that apply to your timing. The same page covers this under getting started.
Deletion processing cycles. Download lists, match and process, direct service providers, report status, and repeat on the published cadence. That work is on Processing DROP requests.
Logging in to register is not the same as finishing a deletion cycle.
Registration
CalPrivacy’s broker page states data brokers must register following each year in which the business meets the definition of data broker. During annual registration you fill out the form, respond to disclosure requirements, and pay the annual registration fee.
The page reviewed for this draft on November 9, 2026 listed this year’s fee as $6,000 plus a third-party processing fee for electronic payments. Re-check the live page before you budget. Fee amounts change.
Source: DROP for data brokers.
Published penalty language on that page includes $200 per day for failure to register, plus investigation and administrative costs as described there. This guide does not calculate exposure. Read the page with counsel.
DROP account login
Creating a DROP account is a gateway step. The broker page describes approval as often within about two business days. That login is for the state platform: list downloads, the sandbox, and status upload. It is not a login for Drop Ledger or other private tools.
Deletion cycles
Starting August 1, 2026, CalPrivacy’s materials say brokers must process DROP requests at least once every 45 days. With AB 883, processing moves to at least once every 30 days effective January 1, 2027.
Published broker penalty language for request processing includes $200 per day per deletion request for failures described on the broker page. Cite the statute and the agency text with counsel. This guide does not calculate exposure.
Sources: DROP for data brokers, Processing DROP requests.
A practical calendar
- Confirm the current registration dates on CalPrivacy. Do not treat an example month from an old handout as the live window.
- Have the DROP account ready before you must process.
- Run deletion cycles on the published cadence: 45 days now, 30 days from January 1, 2027, as those pages state.
- Keep vendor notification and the evidence file as separate work inside each cycle.
See also DROP’s 45-day cycle moves to 30 days in 2027.
Where Drop Ledger fits
Drop Ledger is the cycle desk: the vendors you ask, acknowledgment links, reminders on the desks that include them, and an evidence export. It does not replace registration, DROP login, list matching, or status filing.