Broker non-compliance complaint (state AG)

When to use this template

Use this complaint when a broker has had every reasonable chance to honor your removal request and didn't. It escalates the dispute from a private demand to a state-level enforcement matter. The AG won't always intervene immediately, but your filing becomes part of the broader pattern of complaints that drive enforcement decisions.

Three triggers for escalation:

• You've sent the broker a removal request twice with no meaningful response.
• The statutory clock under your state's law (10 business days under NJ's Daniel's Law — the state statute that lets covered officers and judges sue brokers that don't take their home address down — the federal Lieu Act window for federal judges, or your state's analogous period) has expired.
• The broker removed your listing and then re-listed you within six months. That re-listing is its own violation in most jurisdictions.

If you haven't sent at least one opt-out request letter yet, send that first. The AG complaint without a paper trail is just a complaint.

What to attach

The complaint stands or falls on your evidence. Attach all of it:

1. Copy of your original opt-out request — letter, email, or both. Dated.
2. Proof of delivery — read receipts, certified-mail return cards, email server delivery confirmations. Whatever you have.
3. Any broker response — auto-replies, partial removals, requests for additional verification, claims that they removed the listing.
4. A dated screenshot of the broker URL still showing your information — taken as recently as the day you file the complaint. The URL bar, the date stamp, and your visible information all in one frame.
5. Your follow-up demand and any response to it. Two requests with no compliance is a stronger record than one.
6. For NJ-covered persons — a copy of your Daniel's Law demand letter, the date the ten-day clock started, and the date it expired.

A weak complaint with one screenshot and a vague timeline gets shelved. A strong complaint with dated evidence at every step gets read.

Which AGs are most active

The AGs with the most visible broker enforcement records as of 2026:

• California — Active CCPA/CPRA enforcement. The California Privacy Protection Agency runs alongside the AG and accepts consumer complaints directly. See the California state guide.
• Illinois — BIPA enforcement set the template. The AG has expanded to broker-side complaints since the state's 2024 broker-registration regime. See Illinois.
• New Jersey — Active because of Daniel's Law and the volume of Atlas Data Privacy Corp filings. The AG coordinates with private litigation in many cases. See New Jersey.
• New York — The AG's privacy bureau handles both consumer complaints and broker-side enforcement. See the 50-a guide and New York.
• Texas — Texas Data Privacy and Security Act gives the AG a direct enforcement hook. See the TX ACP guide and Texas.
• Florida — Active on the agency-confidentiality side via §119.071. See the Marsy's Law guide and Florida.

If your state isn't on this list, file anyway. The complaint goes on the record even where the AG hasn't been actively enforcing. Patterns across states feed national enforcement decisions, and your filing is part of that pattern.

Set realistic expectations

Be honest with yourself about what happens after you file.

State AGs are not removal services. They don't reach into a broker's database and pull your record. They don't issue takedowns on a one-off complaint. What they do:

• Stack complaints to spot bad actors.
• Open investigations when there's enough volume.
• Negotiate settlements that force company-wide changes (often called consent decrees — a court-enforced settlement that requires the company to change its practices).
• Hand the worst cases to court or the feds.

Your single complaint may not produce a fast individual remedy. What it produces is leverage. Brokers track AG complaint volumes against their company name, and a documented filing changes how they treat your follow-up correspondence.

For the broker-side fix while the AG complaint sits in the queue, keep working the opt-out letter path and, if you're covered, the Daniel's Law demand. If your address has already been posted publicly, run the doxxed-right-now playbook for the parallel takedown work that doesn't depend on the AG. The three tracks run together.

How to send it

The point of all this isn't the filing. It's getting your address off pages your kids' schools' parents can pull up in three seconds.

Most state AGs accept complaints two ways:

• Online consumer-complaint portal — fastest. Almost every AG runs one. Upload your evidence as PDF attachments.
• Mail — if your state requires a notarized signature or hard-copy filings, follow that path. Certified mail with return receipt.

Keep your own copy of the full filing. If the broker re-violates later, the prior complaint is part of the new evidence package.

What if multiple states apply

If you live in one state but the broker is incorporated in another, file in both. A NJ resident dealing with a Florida-incorporated broker has standing to file with both AGs. The brokers' state of incorporation often produces faster traction because that AG has direct jurisdiction over the entity.

For the underlying federal regime that may also apply if you've moved across states, see the DPPA guide — driver's license and motor vehicle data has its own federal complaint path.

The complaint

Most state AGs accept this through an online consumer-complaint portal that takes PDF attachments. Use this body as the narrative section of the form, and upload your evidence as labeled exhibits. If your state requires a mailed/notarized filing, print and sign instead. Either way, keep your own copy of the full filing — the next violation builds on this record.

[YOUR FULL NAME]
[YOUR CONTACT EMAIL]
[YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE]
[DATE]

To: Office of the Attorney General — [STATE NAME]
[CONSUMER PROTECTION / PRIVACY BUREAU, OR THE DIVISION YOUR AG ROUTES
PRIVACY COMPLAINTS TO]
[AG OFFICE ADDRESS — ONLY IF FILING BY MAIL]

Re: Complaint against [BROKER COMPANY LEGAL NAME] for failure to honor
a documented removal request and continued unlawful publication of
personal information

COMPLAINANT INFORMATION
-----------------------
Full name:     [YOUR FULL NAME]
Email:         [YOUR CONTACT EMAIL]
State:         [YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE]
Status:        [BE HONEST — e.g., "active sworn law enforcement
               officer, [DEPARTMENT]"; "retired judge"; "private
               resident"; "qualifying family member of a covered person
               under [STATUTE]"]

RESPONDENT (BROKER) INFORMATION
-------------------------------
Legal name:    [BROKER COMPANY LEGAL NAME]
Website:       [BROKER WEBSITE URL]
State of incorporation: [STATE — pull from corporate filings if known]
Listing URL at issue:   [SPECIFIC URL OF THE LIVE LISTING]

STATUTE(S) IMPLICATED
---------------------
[CITE WHATEVER APPLIES — DELETE THE REST]
  - California Consumer Privacy Act, Cal. Civ. Code §1798.140
    et seq., and CPRA amendments.
  - New Jersey Daniel's Law, N.J.S.A. §47:1B-1 et seq.
  - Illinois data-broker registration regime, 815 ILCS 530.
  - Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, Tex. Bus. & Com. Code
    Ch. 541.
  - [YOUR STATE]'s consumer protection / unfair-trade-practices act.
  - [YOUR STATE]'s data-broker-specific statute, if one exists.

TIMELINE
--------
1. [DATE]: I sent a written removal request to the broker via
   [EMAIL / CERTIFIED MAIL / WEB FORM]. The request identified the
   specific URL above and demanded removal within ten business days.
   See Exhibit A.

2. [DATE]: The broker [responded with X / did not respond / partially
   removed and re-listed]. See Exhibit B.

3. [DATE]: I sent a follow-up demand reiterating the request and
   noting the prior non-compliance. See Exhibit C.

4. [DATE — FOR NJ-COVERED PERSONS]: I sent a Daniel's Law statutory
   demand letter under N.J.S.A. §47:1B-2. The ten business day clock
   ran out on [DATE]. See Exhibit E.

5. [DATE — DATE YOU FILE THIS COMPLAINT]: As of today, the listing
   remains live at the URL above. A dated screenshot is attached as
   Exhibit D.

REQUESTED ACTION
----------------
I respectfully request that the Office of the Attorney General:

  1. Open an investigation into [BROKER COMPANY LEGAL NAME]'s
     compliance with the statute(s) cited above, including its
     handling of removal requests and any pattern of re-disclosure.
  2. Direct the company to remove the listing identified above and
     to confirm removal in writing.
  3. Treat this complaint as part of any broader pattern of
     complaints against this entity for purposes of enforcement
     decisions.
  4. Where applicable, refer the matter to civil enforcement,
     consent-decree negotiation, or inter-agency coordination.

EVIDENCE ATTACHED
-----------------
  - Exhibit A: Original removal request, dated [DATE].
  - Exhibit B: Broker response (or notation of non-response).
  - Exhibit C: Follow-up demand, dated [DATE].
  - Exhibit D: Dated screenshot of live broker URL showing my
              information, dated [DATE].
  - Exhibit E: [If applicable] Daniel's Law demand letter, delivery
              proof, and ten-day-clock documentation.
  - Exhibit F: [If applicable] Documentation of re-disclosure within
              the statute's prohibition window after a prior removal.

I am available for follow-up at the email address above and will
provide additional information on request.

Sincerely,



[SIGNATURE]
[PRINTED FULL NAME]
[DATE]

If you live in one state and the broker is incorporated in another, file in both — the broker's home AG often produces faster traction because of direct jurisdiction. While the AG complaint sits in the queue, keep working the opt-out letter and, if you're NJ-covered, the Daniel's Law demand. For active doxxing, run the doxxed-right-now playbook in parallel.