Insight
Texas Data Broker Law Now Sits in Business and Commerce Code Chapter 510
The current chapter number, substantive amendments, and registration consequences.
The Texas data broker law has a new address. Since September 1, 2025, it has been chapter 510 of the Business and Commerce Code, not chapter 509. The substance moved with it, and the same day brought two sets of amendments. A citation to chapter 509 now points to a different law.
Why the number changed
In 2023 two bills created a chapter 509 at once. House Bill 18, the SCOPE Act, added a chapter 509 on minors' use of digital services. Senate Bill 2105 added a chapter 509 on data brokers. Duplicate numbers are routine after a session, and the Legislature fixes them in its next code-update bill.
That bill was House Bill 1620 of 2025. Section 22.001(3) redesignated the data broker chapter as chapter 510, effective September 1, 2025. Each section kept its number after the decimal, so §509.005 became §510.005. Chapter 509 now belongs to the SCOPE Act alone.
What else changed that day
Two other 2025 bills amended the broker law, also effective September 1, 2025.
| Amendment | What changed |
|---|---|
| SB 2121 | Expanded the definition and revised the applicability thresholds now reflected in §§510.001(4) and .003(a), subject to exclusions |
| SB 1343 | Required the website or app notice to explain how consumers exercise Chapter 541 rights and the registration statement to link to prominently displayed instructions; current §§510.004(4), .005(b)(2-a) |
The registration-statement amendment applies to statements submitted on or after September 1, 2025. The definition now reaches a business entity that collects, processes, or transfers personal data it did not collect directly from the individual, and the chapter applies within the revenue and data-subject thresholds of §510.003(a), subject to the exclusions in §§510.002(b) and .003(b) for matters such as deidentified data, employee data, publicly available information, service providers, and financial institutions. A company that concluded in 2023 that it was not a broker should test itself again, but not every service provider receiving indirect data must register.
Registration and penalties
A broker to which the chapter applies must register with the Secretary of State and pay a $300 fee (§510.005). For violations of §§510.004 or .005, §510.008 sets a minimum based on $100 for each day of violation plus unpaid registration fees for years in which the broker failed to register, subject to a $10,000 limit against the same broker in a 12-month period. That formula does not apply to every chapter violation: a violation of the comprehensive information security program duty in §510.007 is separately a deceptive trade practice actionable under the DTPA (§510.009).
The citation risk
Old citations fail silently. A contract, privacy notice, vendor questionnaire, or registration filing that still cites chapter 509 now names the SCOPE Act. A reader who follows the citation lands in the wrong statute and may conclude a duty does not exist.
The fix is mechanical. Search policies, templates, and filings for "509" and replace each data broker reference with the matching chapter 510 section. Leave references to the SCOPE Act alone. When the history matters, cite the session law as well: SB 2105 (2023), as redesignated by HB 1620 and amended by SB 2121 and SB 1343 (2025). Preserve historical chapter numbers when describing older pleadings, while making the current citation clear.
Sources
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 510, §§510.001, .003 through .005, .007 through .009
- HB 1620, enrolled text, §22.001(3) (redesignation)
- SB 2121, enrolled text, §§1 through 4
- SB 1343, enrolled text, §§1 through 5
- Chapter 509 (SCOPE Act)
- Texas Secretary of State, Data Brokers (registration guidance)
Related
- Guide: Texas Data Brokers and Their Supply Chains
- Tracker: Texas data broker law