CCPA Compliance: 2026 Guide for Businesses

If you do business online, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) isn't just another acronym; it is the benchmark for modern privacy in the United States. With the expanded standards introduced by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), CCPA compliance has evolved from a basic requirement into a comprehensive framework for how companies handle data.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is one of the most influential privacy laws in the United States, and its expanded version under the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) sets a modern standard for CCPA compliance.

Meeting CCPA compliance requirements means more than just ticking boxes, it means managing personal information responsibly, offering transparency to your consumers, and providing clear opt-out options. In order to achieve this, you need systems that can handle rights requests, update cookie controls, and govern data flows without breaking your daily operations

This comprehensive guide explains how CCPA compliance works in 2026, which obligations your business must follow, how consumer rights operate, and how tracking technologies affect compliance. Throughout this page, you will also find references to our deeper hub and spoke articles that support a full CCPA compliance content cluster. It also outlines key CCPA requirements for 2026 and beyond.

1. Understanding the California Consumer Privacy Act

1.1 What CCPA means for businesses

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a state-level privacy law that governs how you collect, use, share, and disclose personal information from California residents. It was created to give individuals ownership over their data and to force transparency into both digital and offline business practices.

For your business, CCPA compliance isn't a one-time setup, it typically involves evaluating what personal information you gather, updating your privacy notices to reflect those practices. It means configuring your tracking technologies so they don't collect data silently, documenting where data flows, and giving consumers clear ways to exercise their rights.

This includes offering opt-out mechanisms, supporting access and deletion requests, and maintaining accurate records of how data is handled across your systems, vendors, and digital tools.

This law is considered one of the most influential California privacy laws because it affects how your organization structures its data practices across digital and offline environments.

If you want to explore whether the law applies to your organization, visit our CCPA applicability hub (coming soon) for a detailed breakdown of thresholds, examples, and common misconceptions.

1.2 How CPRA amendments influence CCPA compliance

The CPRA significantly expanded businesses’ CCPA compliance obligations and introduced changes that your business needs to account for in its 2026 strategy, including:

• New consumer rights, such as the right to correction
• A dedicated category for sensitive personal information, with stricter rules
• Purpose limitation expectations
• Data minimization requirements
• Stricter contractual rules for your service providers
• A new enforcement agency

These updates strengthen the overall privacy framework and introduce new compliance expectations that your business must integrate into its program.

Understanding these additions is essential for accurate CCPA compliance planning. For a full comparison, see our CCPA vs CPRA article (coming soon).

1.3 Who is protected under CCPA

The CCPA protects the personal information of California residents, as well as data associated with households and devices. This matters because many identifiers used online, such as cookies or IP addresses, do not always tie back to a specific person but still reveal patterns linked to a family or shared device.

As a result, the law applies to a wide range of data generated through everyday interactions, including passive signals collected through websites, apps, and digital services.

These protections apply to your organization both inside and outside California if it meets certain applicability thresholds. This extraterritorial reach means that CCPA compliance may be required even if your company has no physical presence in the state.

In light of this, you should evaluate whether you interact with California users through digital channels, track device activity, or sell to California-based customers. CCPA protections cover:

• California residents

• Households residing in California

• Devices linked to California users, even if not tied to a named individual

Because these categories are broad, many organizations worldwide fall within the scope of CCPA.

2. Determining whether CCPA applies to your organization

2.1 CCPA compliance applicability thresholds

To determine whether CCPA applies to your business, review the legal thresholds that trigger compliance. A business generally falls under the law if it meets at least one of the following criteria:

• Annual revenue above 25 million dollars

• Processing data of 100,000 or more California residents, households, or devices

• Earning at least half of the revenue from selling or sharing personal information

These thresholds help identify whether an organization needs to develop and maintain a CCPA compliance program.

These criteria help determine your legal obligations under the California Privacy Law and help your organization understand its responsibilities early in the compliance process.

For full guidance, see Does CCPA apply to your business? (coming soon).

2.2 Industries commonly requiring CCPA compliance

Organizations in many sectors regularly collect or share information from California residents. These sectors typically engage in data collection practices that fall within the scope of California consumer privacy regulations.

Mobile apps and advertising or marketing platforms also fall within scope due to their use of SDKs, behavioral tracking, and device-level identifiers. These industries face specific challenges related to opt-out controls, disclosures, and tracking behavior.

Common examples include:

• Ecommerce retailers

• SaaS platforms

• Publishers and media companies

• Healthcare and wellness services

These industries often rely on tracking technologies and third-party tools, which introduce unique obligations around disclosures, opt-out controls, and user preferences.

You can find more industry-specific guidance in our CCPA by industry hub (coming soon).

2.3 Misunderstandings that lead to CCPA non-compliance

Many organizations underestimate their CCPA compliance obligations because several common misconceptions create false assumptions about when the law applies. These misunderstandings can lead to gaps in disclosures, missing opt-out controls, or overlooked tracking practices.

Common misunderstandings include:

• Believing non-California companies are exempt, even though CCPA applies based on user location, not business location

• Assuming cookies or device identifiers do not count as personal information, despite the law explicitly covering these types of signals

• Thinking selling requires monetary exchange, when CCPA also covers sharing identifiers with third parties for advertising or analytics

Clarifying these points helps your organization avoid unintentional compliance gaps.

You can explore these topics further in what counts as personal information under CCPA (coming soon).

3. What counts as personal information under CCPA

Personal information includes a wide variety of identifiers. For effective CCPA compliance, your business should understand that personal information includes:

• Names, emails, phone numbers

• IP addresses and device identifiers

• Cookie IDs and browser fingerprints

• Geolocation data

• Commercial and behavioral information

• Sensitive personal information, such as health data, biometric data, or precise location

These categories reflect both traditional identifiers and modern digital signals that businesses may collect during routine interactions.

Understanding these categories helps your organization create an accurate privacy notice and align with data transparency requirements under the law.

See our in-depth article on sensitive personal information under CPRA (coming soon).

4. Consumer rights under CCPA

A major part of CCPA compliance is giving consumers clear and accessible ways to exercise their rights. These rights shape how businesses accept requests, verify identity, adjust your internal systems, and respond within required timelines.

They also influence how data inventories, vendor relationships, and tracking technologies are managed across websites and apps.

These rights form the foundation of modern consumer privacy controls and influence how your business manages user data.

4.1 Right to know

Your customers have the right to ask exactly what personal information you collect and why you are collecting it. If they ask, you need to be ready to explain your sources, your data categories, and which third parties are receiving that data. You must maintain accurate records so your responses reflect your current practices

Learn more about how to handle a CCPA right-to-know request (coming soon).

4.2 Right to access

Consumers have a right to access their data, which means they can request a copy of their personal information in a portable and readily usable format. Your team must verify the requester’s identity, gather all relevant data, and provide it within the statutory deadline. They must also document their response for accountability and consistency.
Learn more about how to handle a CCPA access request (coming soon).

4.3 Right to delete

Consumers may request deletion of their personal information, except for data required for security, legal, or essential operational purposes. Your business must identify which data qualifies for deletion and communicate clearly about any exceptions. Deletion requests must also be passed on to service providers where applicable.
Learn more about how to handle a CCPA deletion request (coming soon).

4.3.1 New for 2026: The Delete Act (SB 362)

Beginning January 1, 2026, California will introduce a centralized system that allows consumers to submit deletion requests to all registered data brokers at once.

This new tool, called the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), gives users a single method to request the removal of their personal information across hundreds of organizations.

It expands the traditional deletion workflow by shifting part of the process to a state-operated platform rather than requiring individuals to contact each business separately.

If your business qualifies as a data broker, you must register, receive these DROP-generated requests, and honor them within the required timelines. Organizations that buy, sell, or aggregate data should evaluate whether they fall under the data broker definition and prepare internal processes ahead of the 2026 deadline. This update strengthens consumer control and adds a major operational component to CCPA compliance planning for the year ahead.

4.4 Right to opt-out of selling or sharing

This right applies whenever you share identifiers with third parties for advertising, analytics, or other cross-context purposes. When a consumer opts out, your organization must stop selling or sharing that information and honor browser-based signals such as GPC. You must also update tracking behavior throughout your systems.
Learn more about how to handle a CCPA opt-out request (coming soon).

4.5 Right to correct

Consumers may request corrections to personal information that is inaccurate or incomplete. Your business must evaluate the data, update it where appropriate, and communicate the outcome back to the consumer. This may involve coordinating changes with third-party systems that store related data.
Learn more about how to handle a CCPA correction request (coming soon).

4.6 Right to limit sensitive personal information

Consumers can restrict how you use their sensitive information, such as health data, biometric data, or precise location, limiting it to only what is necessary to provide the service they asked for. You must identify which data counts as "sensitive" and apply stricter storage and disclosure limits when a request comes in. These limits must also extend to any service providers managing that data for you.Together, these rights create a consistent framework for how consumers interact with businesses and how organizations must respond across all touchpoints.

Learn more about how to handle a CCPA limit-sensitive-information request (coming soon).

4.7 Right to non-discrimination

You cannot reduce service quality, change pricing, or deny access because a consumer exercised their privacy rights. While you may offer financial incentives, you can only do so with proper disclosures and clear consumer choice. Your business must document these practices to demonstrate compliance if questioned.
Learn more about how to handle a CCPA non-discrimination requirement (coming soon).

The consumer rights hub (coming soon) includes detailed guides for every right listed above.

5. Business obligations under CCPA

If your business is subject to CCPA compliance, you have several responsibilities that determine how you collect, use, and disclose personal information. These obligations form the operational foundation of CCPA compliance and influence how your organization handles notices, requests, tracking technologies, and vendor relationships.

A structured approach to CCPA compliance helps reduce risk, improve transparency, and support a consistent privacy experience across websites and digital systems.

Many of these CCPA compliance obligations are explored in more detail throughout the supporting hubs and spokes in this cluster.

5.1 Privacy notices and disclosures

A core part of CCPA compliance is maintaining accurate and accessible privacy notices. You must explain what personal information you collect, why you use it, and whether you sell or share it.

Notices must also describe how consumers can exercise their rights and where to find the Do Not Sell or Share option. These disclosures outline the privacy notice requirements that help consumers understand how their information is used.

For more detailed guidance, see the notice and disclosures hub (coming soon).

5.2 Data inventory and mapping

Creating a data inventory is essential for operational CCPA compliance. Your organization should document what data it collects, how this data is processed, where it is stored, and which parties receive it.

This level of visibility helps support accurate disclosures, simplifies rights request responses, and highlights areas that may need attention. A well-maintained data inventory is also a core element of effective data management practices.

5.3 Handling consumer data requests (DSRs)

Responding to consumer requests is a required element of CCPA compliance. You have to verify identity, gather information from multiple systems, and respond within the established timelines.

A clear workflow supports consistency, reduces errors, and provides a reliable experience for consumers submitting DSRs.

These workflows help streamline privacy operations and reduce manual effort across teams.

See the DSR operations hub (coming soon) for step-by-step guidance.

5.4 Recordkeeping and documentation

Accurate recordkeeping is an important CCPA compliance requirement.You need to keep records of every request you receive, how you responded, and why you denied a request (if you did). These logs are your best defense during an audit.

5.5 The Do Not Sell or Share requirement

If your business sells or shares personal information, you must offer accessible tools that allow consumers to opt-out. A compliant experience includes:

• A clearly visible Do Not Sell or Share link on your homepage

• An opt-out page or preference center

• Automatic recognition of GPC signals

• Tracking controls that adjust when an opt-out occurs

These measures can help users control how their information is shared with third parties.

5.6 Vendor and third-party management

You are responsible for the company you keep. Vendor oversight is a critical part of CCPA compliance. You need to know what your third-party tools (like analytics or chat widgets) are collecting. Review your contracts to ensure they are restricted from using your customers' data for their own purposes.

5.7 Security requirements

CCPA compliance also requires businesses to use reasonable security practices appropriate to the sensitivity and volume of the data they handle. This may include access controls, system monitoring, staff training, and retention policies. Strong security supports broader CCPA compliance efforts by reducing the likelihood of unauthorized access or misuse.

5.8 AI and risk assessments (2026 requirements)

Starting in 2026, California will introduce new requirements for businesses that use automated decision-making technologies, including artificial intelligence systems that influence significant decisions about consumers.

Your organization will need to complete Risk Assessments before deploying these tools, describing the purpose, potential impacts, safeguards in place, and the steps taken to reduce harm. These assessments will be required on an ongoing basis for activities that present a meaningful risk to consumer rights.

If you use automated tools for areas such as hiring, credit decisions, healthcare evaluation, housing, insurance, or education, you must also provide clear notices explaining how automated decision-making is used.

In certain situations, consumers must be offered a way to opt-out of automated processing entirely. These requirements represent a significant shift in privacy operations and introduce new responsibilities to the long-term CCPA compliance strategy, which will begin in 2026.

These obligations become enforceable beginning in 2026 as the California Privacy Protection Agency finalizes ADMT and Risk Assessment regulations.

6. CCPA, cookies, and tracking technologies

Cookies, pixels, SDKs, and analytics tools play a major role in CCPA compliance because many of these technologies collect identifiers that qualify as personal information. When these tools share data with advertising networks, analytics providers, or other third parties, the activity may count as selling or sharing under the law. This makes tracking technologies one of the most important areas for your business to evaluate when you build your CCPA compliance program.

Reviewing these technologies also supports compliance with broader data protection requirements across different jurisdictions.

Understanding how these tools operate helps prevent unintentional non-compliance. Many websites load scripts through tag managers, plugins, or third-party integrations, which can trigger data sharing before a user interacts with the site.

Reviewing tracking behavior, updating banner settings, and respecting browser-based signals such as Global Privacy Control (GPC) are essential steps in maintaining consistent CCPA compliance across digital properties.

This section is supported by our CCPA and online tracking hub (coming soon), which will include in-depth spokes such as:

• CCPA and cookies overview

• GPC under CCPA

• CCPA and Google Analytics

• Implementing a CCPA-compliant cookie banner

These articles explain how tracking tools work under CCPA, how to configure opt-out behavior, and how to align your analytics and advertising stack with CCPA compliance expectations.

7. A practical CCPA compliance roadmap

Building a reliable and long-term approach to CCPA compliance requires a clear sequence of actions that address both consumer rights and internal data practices.

This roadmap helps you organize your efforts, reduce any operational gaps, and create a privacy experience that remains consistent across your websites, apps, tools, and vendors.

This roadmap can serve as a foundation for building ongoing privacy management processes across your digital properties.

A practical roadmap includes:

• Map Your Data: Identify exactly what personal information you collect and where it lives.
• Audit Your Sharing: Review which advertisers, analytics tools, or vendors are receiving your data.
• Update Your Notices: Rewrite your privacy policy to reflect 2026 realities.
• Show Your Work: Publish a Notice at Collection wherever you gather data (like sign-up forms).
• Enable Opt-Outs: Make your "Do Not Sell or Share" mechanism easy to find and use.
• Set Up Workflows: Define who handles a DSAR request when it comes in and how they verify identity.
• Check Your Contracts: Ensure your vendor agreements include the required CPRA restrictions.
• Respect the Signals: Configure your cookie banner to honor GPC signals automatically.
• Keep Records: Document everything you do.

These steps give you a structured way to support CCPA compliance and keep your practices aligned with changing requirements.

For hands-on guidance, our tracking hub explores how different analytics and advertising tools behave under CCPA and how businesses can align them with user choices.

For a downloadable version of this roadmap, see the CCPA compliance checklist 2026.

8. Comparing CCPA and CPRA

People often use "CCPA" and "CPRA" interchangeably, but the distinction matters. The CPRA (California Privacy Rights Act) didn't replace the CCPA; it amended and strengthened it.

The CPRA introduced several updates that reshape how businesses approach privacy, including new consumer rights, expanded obligations, stronger enforcement authority, and additional rules for sensitive personal information.

These changes build on the original framework and influence how organizations manage data practices, respond to requests, and update their internal processes. Understanding the differences between the two laws is an important part of CCPA compliance, especially for businesses that began their programs before the CPRA amendments.

Because the CPRA modifies rights, definitions, and operational requirements, reviewing a side-by-side comparison helps clarify which areas may need updates or new workflows. These distinctions also affect long-term CCPA compliance planning as enforcement trends continue to evolve.

These distinctions underscore the ongoing evolution of California privacy laws and highlight why businesses benefit from a flexible compliance approach.

For a detailed breakdown, visit CCPA vs CPRA (coming soon).

9. CCPA by industry

Privacy isn't one-size-fits-all. A hospital faces different challenges than a fashion retailer.

Different industries use unique tools and data workflows, which means CCPA compliance looks different depending on what you sell:

• Ecommerce stores need to focus on abandoned cart trackers and loyalty programs.
• SaaS companies need to worry about user accounts and B2B data.
• Publishers need to manage complex ad-tech waterfalls.

CCPA obligations often vary based on the type of business, the data it collects, and the technologies it relies on. Understanding these variations helps your business identify risks that are specific to its operations.

Different industries face different operational challenges under the law. Our industry hub includes guides for:

• Ecommerce

• SaaS and B2B

• Publishers and media companies

• Healthcare and wellness services

• Mobile apps

• Financial services

Each guide explains how common tools, data categories, and workflows influence industry-specific obligations.

Many of these industry-specific obligations intersect with the general applicability rules explained in our CCPA applicability hub.

10. CCPA penalties and enforcement

What happens if you get it wrong?

The cost of non-compliance is real. Penalties vary depending on the type of violation and whether it was intentional, but they add up quickly and can reach:

• 2,500 dollars per unintentional violation

• 7,500 dollars per intentional violation

• 7,500 dollars for violations involving minors

The CCPA enforcement hub includes:

• CCPA penalties explained

• CPRA enforcement trends

• Private right of action guidance

• Common compliance gaps

Understanding these risks helps justify investment in CCPA compliance programs.

11. How Clym supports your CCPA compliance

Managing CCPA compliance often requires multiple moving parts: privacy notices, DSR workflows, cookie controls, consent signals, vendor oversight, and tracking visibility. Many businesses try to manage these tasks with separate tools, which creates gaps, inconsistencies, and extra work across teams.

Clym brings these operational needs together in one unified platform so organizations can manage their privacy requirements without juggling disconnected solutions.

Clym provides hosted privacy and cookie notices, automated tracker detection, preference centers, DSR workflows, and support for signals like Global Privacy Control (GPC).

When a user submits a request or updates their preferences, Clym applies those choices consistently across scripts, cookies, and integrated third-party services.

This helps reduce manual effort and keeps your digital properties aligned with CCPA expectations on an ongoing basis.

Because Clym is built for global privacy operations, the platform automatically adapts to different jurisdictions. A user visiting from California receives a CCPA-focused experience, while visitors from other states or regions receive the notices, rights, and banner behavior appropriate to their local laws.

This allows businesses to manage CCPA requirements alongside GDPR, CPRA, and other emerging state laws without rebuilding their workflows in every market.

Clym also helps centralize recordkeeping across notices, user preferences, and request logs, reducing fragmentation and keeping privacy operations easier to manage over time.

By consolidating key privacy functions into a single platform, Clym helps teams maintain accuracy, save time, and support their broader compliance goals while avoiding the complexity of using multiple, disconnected tools.

Conclusion

CCPA compliance is an ongoing operational commitment that spans data collection, consumer rights, disclosures, tracking controls, and vendor management. As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve under CPRA, businesses benefit from a structured approach that keeps privacy practices clear, consistent, and easy to maintain.

By reviewing data flows, updating notices, evaluating tracking tools, and supporting users’ choices across all touchpoints, organizations can meet their responsibilities and provide a more transparent experience for every California resident who interacts with their digital properties.