Cybersecurity Policy Report, Registration Fees for Data Brokers to Rise Next Year in California, (Aug 10, 2026)

By Tony Foley

The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) at its Friday board meeting cited costs associated with the recently deployed Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) in approving a significant increase in data broker registration fees in 2027.

According to a staff memorandum presented to the board, CalPrivacy is obligated to fund costs associated with the data broker registry and the DROP system through registration and access fees. The memorandum said that agency staff continued to operate and maintain the platform to enable sustained access by consumers who submit requests and data brokers who must process them. The resulting high volume of activity requires significant operational, development, staffing, and infrastructure resources, and CalPrivacy continues to refine estimates for the technical infrastructure required, including cloud storage capacity and transaction volume, the memo indicates.

Noting that over 580 brokers registered in 2026, the board approved the memorandum’s recommendation to increase the registry fee, currently set at $6,000 per year, to $9,500 per year for 2027. The increased fee will be applied during the 2027 registration period next January. In addition, access fees paid by new data brokers that aren’t required to register in calendar year 2027 will be prorated depending on the month in which they begin to access the DROP system.

News: StateLegislation DataPrivacy