Rättskällor med officiella primärkällor

Utskrivet ·

Skip to main content
Skip to the answer

Which US state privacy laws apply to my company?

There is no general federal privacy law in the United States. Application is decided state by state, by where your customers live and by the threshold each state statute sets, not by where your company is established.

The answer differs between the federal level and the states, see the rows below.

The answer by level

  • Federal level

    There is no general federal privacy statute. Sector rules apply instead, and the FTC acts against unfair or deceptive practices under Section 5.

    15 U.S.C. § 45
  • California

    Applies to a for-profit business doing business in California that meets one of the thresholds in Civ. Code § 1798.140(d), wherever the business is established.

    Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.100 et seq.
  • Virginia

    Applies to controllers processing data on 100,000 Virginia consumers, or 25,000 where more than half of revenue comes from selling data.

    Va. Code §§ 59.1-575 to 59.1-585
  • Texas

    Texas has no numeric threshold. The act covers anyone doing business in Texas who processes personal data and is not a small business under the SBA definition.

    Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 541

Source lines

  • California applies its statute to a for-profit business doing business in the state that meets one of the thresholds in Civ. Code § 1798.140(d).
  • Virginia, Colorado and most later states use a volume threshold, commonly 100,000 residents, or 25,000 combined with revenue from selling personal data.
  • Texas removed the volume threshold and instead exempts small businesses as defined by the US Small Business Administration.

What it means for the company

Count residents per state rather than customers in total, because a single state can bring you into scope while the others do not.

Comparison across levels and states
LevelRequirementSource
Federal levelThere is no general federal privacy statute. Sector rules apply instead, and the FTC acts against unfair or deceptive practices under Section 5.15 U.S.C. § 45
CaliforniaApplies to a for-profit business doing business in California that meets one of the thresholds in Civ. Code § 1798.140(d), wherever the business is established.Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.100 et seq.
VirginiaApplies to controllers processing data on 100,000 Virginia consumers, or 25,000 where more than half of revenue comes from selling data.Va. Code §§ 59.1-575 to 59.1-585
TexasTexas has no numeric threshold. The act covers anyone doing business in Texas who processes personal data and is not a small business under the SBA definition.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 541

Threshold by state

Threshold by state
StateThreshold as writtenApplies fromSource
Virginia100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with more than half of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2023-01-01Va. Code §§ 59.1-575 to 59.1-585
Colorado100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with revenue or a discount from the sale of personal data.2023-07-01Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 6-1-1301 to 6-1-1313
Connecticut100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with more than a quarter of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2023-07-01Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-515 to 42-525
UtahAnnual revenue of 25,000,000 dollars or more, together with a consumer volume threshold.2023-12-31Utah Code §§ 13-61-101 to 13-61-404
Iowa100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with revenue from the sale of personal data.2025-01-01Iowa Code ch. 715D
Indiana100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with more than half of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2026-01-01Ind. Code § 24-15
TennesseeRevenue above 25,000,000 dollars together with a consumer volume threshold.2025-07-01Tenn. Code § 47-18-3201 et seq.
Montana50,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with revenue from the sale of personal data.2024-10-01Mont. Code § 30-14-2801 et seq.
TexasNo consumer number threshold. Applies to any entity doing business in Texas that is not a small business under the SBA definition.2024-07-01Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 541
Oregon100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with more than a quarter of annual revenue from the sale of personal data.2024-07-01Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 646A.570 to 646A.589
Delaware35,000 consumers, or 10,000 consumers with more than a fifth of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2025-01-01Del. Code tit. 6, ch. 12D
New Jersey100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers where the controller receives any benefit from the sale of personal data.2025-01-15N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.4 et seq.
New Hampshire35,000 consumers, or 10,000 consumers with more than a quarter of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2025-01-01N.H. Rev. Stat. ch. 507-H
Kentucky100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with more than half of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2026-01-01Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 367.3611 to 367.3639
NebraskaNo consumer number threshold. Applies to entities that are not small businesses under the SBA definition.2025-01-01Neb. Rev. Stat. § 87-1101 et seq.
Maryland35,000 consumers, or 10,000 consumers with more than a fifth of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2025-10-01Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-4601 et seq.
Minnesota100,000 consumers, or 25,000 consumers with more than a quarter of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2025-07-31Minn. Stat. § 325O.01 et seq.
Rhode Island35,000 customers, or 10,000 customers with more than a fifth of gross revenue from the sale of personal data.2026-01-01R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 6-48.1
FloridaGlobal gross revenue above 1,000,000,000 dollars together with one of the stated business criteria.2024-07-01Fla. Stat. § 501.701 et seq.

What it means for the individual

Your rights follow the state you live in, so the same company can owe you more in one state than in another.

Source lines

Next step

Read the threshold matrix below, mark the states where you pass, and work from those statutes rather than from a generic US policy.

All US questions

This page reports what the sources say, with the identifier and address of the publisher. It is not legal advice and does not decide an individual matter.

Next step

Three ways to put the register to work in your own practice.

Start with your task