If your company has received a consumer data request from a Texas resident, you need to understand what the law requires, how quickly you must respond, and what information must be redacted before you send the response. This guide covers the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA) in practical terms — what it means for your business, not just what the statute says.
These requests are formally known as Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) under European law, or consumer privacy requests under U.S. state law. Regardless of the terminology, the obligation is the same: locate the consumer's personal data, review it, redact third-party personal information, and respond within the statutory deadline.
For a comparison of all US state privacy laws, see our comprehensive comparison page. For state-specific guidance, see our guides for California, Virginia, Colorado.
The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA) (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code Ch. 541) took effect on July 1, 2024.
Applicability thresholds: Conducts business in Texas or produces products or services consumed by Texas residents, AND processes or engages in the sale of personal data. There is NO revenue threshold and NO minimum number of consumers — this makes Texas the broadest state privacy law by applicability.
Exemptions: Nonprofits, institutions of higher education, HIPAA-covered entities, GLBA-covered entities, entities subject to federal privacy laws (FCRA, FERPA, etc.). Small business exception: businesses meeting the SBA small business definition can process data without consent for certain purposes but must still honor opt-out requests.
Physical presence: No physical presence required.
Practical note: If you are unsure whether your business meets the thresholds, consult with your legal team. The penalties for non-compliance are significant, and "we didn't know the law applied to us" is not a recognized defense.
Under the TDPSA, Texas consumers have the following rights regarding their personal data:
Despite the broad applicability, consumer rights closely follow the Virginia VCDPA model. Sensitive data requires opt-in consent and includes an unusually broad definition encompassing racial/ethnic origin, religious beliefs, health data, sexual orientation, citizenship status, genetic/biometric data, children's data, and precise geolocation. Universal opt-out mechanism must be recognized.
You have 45 calendar days from receipt of the request to provide a substantive response.
Extensions: One 45-day extension if reasonably necessary, with notice.
When the clock starts: Upon receipt. Must authenticate identity.
If declining, must provide reason and appeal instructions. Appeal response: 60 days.
Critical point: The deadline runs from when you receive the request, not from when you finish verifying the consumer's identity. Do not wait to begin processing until verification is complete — start locating and reviewing the data immediately.
When you compile documents for a consumer data request response, you will inevitably find personal information belonging to other people — colleagues, clients, family members, business contacts. This third-party data must be redacted before you send the response to the requesting consumer.
Some categories of information require case-by-case assessment:
The entire point of a consumer data request is to give the individual access to their own data. Do not redact the requester's personal information. This includes their name, email, phone number, address, employment records, transaction history, and any other data that relates to them specifically.
This is what makes data request redaction different from standard document redaction. You are performing selective redaction: keeping one person's data while removing everyone else's. Automated tools that simply blank out all PII will over-redact and produce an unusable response.
Penalties: Up to $7,500 per violation.
Enforcement: Texas AG (exclusive). No private right of action.
Cure period: 30-day cure period (does not expire — permanent).
The law is new (effective July 2024). The permanent cure period and AG-only enforcement make Texas relatively moderate despite its broad applicability. No notable enforcement actions as of 2026.
Risk note: Even where a cure period exists, it typically applies only to the first violation. A pattern of non-compliance or a failure to cure within the allowed period can result in full penalties. The cost of responding correctly the first time is significantly lower than the cost of enforcement.
SafeRedact automates the most time-consuming part of responding to consumer data requests: identifying and redacting third-party personal information across thousands of documents.
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