Daniel's Law-style broker removal statute

What this protection actually does

Most state and federal privacy laws bind agencies. Daniel's Law-style statutes bind data brokers. That's the difference. You send a written notice citing the statute, the broker has a fixed window (usually 10 business days) to remove your info, and if they fail to comply you have a private right of action with mandatory statutory damages.

New Jersey's Daniel's Law (NJSA §47:1B-1) was the original. After the 2020 attack on Judge Esther Salas's family, NJ passed it in 2020 with $1,000-per-violation damages. The 2023 amendments made the damages mandatory, added punitive damages for willful violations, and let covered persons assign their claim to a third party. That's how Atlas Data Privacy Corp. files batched suits on behalf of thousands of officers.

13 more jurisdictions have followed. Most cover only judges. NJ, FL, NE go broader to first responders. WV's version was struck down in 2025 (Jackson v. Whitepages, N.D. W.Va.) for lacking a notice requirement.

How it works in practice

The mechanics are mostly uniform across the 14 jurisdictions:

1. Identify yourself as a covered person under the statute.
2. List the address and phone to remove.
3. Cite the state statute by section.
4. Demand removal within the statutory window (10 business days in NJ).
5. Send via email if the broker has a privacy contact. Send via certified mail to the registered agent if you want a paper trail.

If the broker complies, you're done (until they re-list you in 6 months). If they don't, you sue in state court for statutory damages plus attorney fees. NJ has produced the most case volume — 37+ consolidated civil actions in the District of New Jersey by late 2024.

State-by-state coverage

The 14 jurisdictions with active Daniel's Law-style statutes (as of April 2026):

• Federal (Daniel Anderl Act, 2022) — federal judges and immediate family only. See /laws/lieu-act.
• New Jersey (2020, expanded 2023) — broadest. See /laws/daniels-law.
• Florida (2024) — judges, LEOs, court staff, firefighters, prosecutors, public defenders, certain state agency personnel, families.
• Nebraska (2022) — judges, LEOs, Nebraska National Guard members.
• Missouri (2023) — active, former, retired judges plus prosecuting and circuit attorneys.
• Delaware (2023) — state judicial officers and families.
• Maryland (2024) — current and retired state and federal judges, magistrates, court commissioners, families.
• Georgia (2024) — state, county, municipal, federal judges plus spouses.
• Hawaii (2024) — governor, legislators, judges, election employees, appointed officials, families.
• New York (2024) — active and former judges and immediate families.
• Oklahoma (2024) — active and retired state, municipal, county, tribal, federal judges plus immediate family.
• Minnesota (2025) — active, senior, retired judges plus judicial branch employees and referees.
• Wisconsin (2025) — current and former state judges, court commissioners, families.
• West Virginia (2021) — held facially unconstitutional (Jackson v. Whitepages, N.D. W.Va. Aug. 2025). Legislature is expected to amend.

The 36 remaining states have no Daniel's Law-style statute. Some have proposed bills. Officers in those states use other levers: DPPA for DMV-sourced exposure, public-records exemptions for agency exposure, and broker opt-outs for everything else.

What it doesn't reach

Daniel's Law statutes bind in-state actors and brokers that "sell into" the state. They don't reach:

1. Brokers operating offshore with no US nexus. The statute applies but enforcement runs through US courts, which can't reach a Russian broker.
2. Federal court records (PACER). Federal law governs — Daniel's Law doesn't bind federal courts.
3. Property records at the county level. Daniel's Law doesn't require county recorders to remove address info from deed transfers. Use the state's separate property-records redaction track.

We file Daniel's Law notices on your behalf in the 14 jurisdictions where they apply, and we sweep brokers continuously in every state. If a broker re-lists you 6 months later (some do), we re-notice them.