California gives residents a few protections many states don’t, from a single request to data brokers to a guaranteed local police report.
Quick answer: California doesn’t require identity protection, but it gives residents tools that pair well with it. Since August 2026, the state’s DROP platform lets you ask every registered data broker to delete your information in one request. If your identity is stolen, your local police department must take a report and give you a copy.
California’s Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, or DROP, sends a deletion request to all registered data brokers at once. Brokers have 90 days to act on it.
California law requires the police where you live or work to take an identity theft report, give you a copy, and begin an investigation.
California businesses must notify residents when their personal information is exposed in a data breach. Those notices are often the first sign your data is circulating.
| Tool | What it does | How it fits with a plan |
|---|---|---|
| DROP request | Asks registered data brokers to delete your data | Reduces exposure, while monitoring watches for misuse |
| Credit freeze | Blocks most new credit in your name | Free at each bureau, and plans can help you place it |
| Police report | Creates an official record of the theft | Restoration specialists use it to dispute fraud |
| Identity theft insurance | Reimburses covered recovery costs | Included in many full plans |
Pick your city for local details and help from an agent.
Don’t see your city? We can still help. Call and talk to one of our agents.
No. It’s optional coverage. California does give residents free tools that work alongside a plan, including credit freezes at each bureau, the DROP platform for data broker deletion requests, and the right to a local police report if your identity is stolen.
DROP, the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, was created under California’s Delete Act. It lets residents send one deletion request to every registered data broker. Brokers had to start accessing it on August 1, 2026, and have 90 days to delete a person’s records after a request.
No. California law lets you report identity theft to the police department where you live or work. That agency must take the report, give you a copy, and start an investigation, though it can refer the case to another agency if the crime happened elsewhere.
Read which information was exposed, then act on it: change affected passwords, consider a credit freeze, and watch your accounts. Many breach notices offer free credit monitoring for a set period. An identity protection plan can extend that monitoring and add restoration help.
The California Department of Insurance regulates identity theft insurance sold in the state and handles complaints about claims. Its Consumer Assistance Hotline is 1-800-927-4357. Monitoring and restoration services are usually provided by the plan’s service company, which handles those questions directly.
One of our licensed agents can walk you through what each plan monitors and how it works with California’s free tools.
