Home / Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

calendar_today Effective Date: June 15, 2026
update Last Updated: June 15, 2026
location_on 136 Echo Place, Discovery Bay, CA 94505
CA DRE License #02079242
NMLS Licensed
IBBA Member
CABB Member
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Confidential & Secure

Your privacy is our utmost priority. We handle all business valuations, transactions, and personal inquiries with institutional-grade security, absolute discretion, and legal compliance.

1. Introduction and Scope

Cortland Business Brokers ("we," "us," or "our") is a California-licensed business brokerage operating under California Department of Real Estate License #02079242. We provide business sale advisory, business valuation, and merger and acquisition intermediary services to buyers and sellers of privately held businesses across California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Idaho.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect the personal information of individuals who visit our website at cortlandbusinessbrokers.com, submit inquiries or valuation requests, register as buyers or sellers, or otherwise interact with our firm digitally or in person.

This Policy applies to all personal information we collect from:

  • Visitors to our website
  • Prospective sellers who submit valuation requests or listing inquiries
  • Prospective buyers who register for deal flow access
  • Individuals who contact us by phone, email, or web form
  • Parties who participate in active transactions managed by our firm

This Policy is intended to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2022 (CPRA), and all associated regulations effective as of January 1, 2026, enforced by the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) and the California Attorney General.

If you have questions about this Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us using the information in Section 13.

2. Personal Information We Collect

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us and information that is automatically collected when you visit our website. The categories below reflect the statutory classifications under the CCPA/CPRA.

A. Identifiers

Information that identifies you as an individual, including:

  • Full name
  • Business name and legal entity name
  • Mailing address and business address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • IP address (collected automatically via web analytics)

B. Business and Financial Information

Information you provide in connection with a business sale, valuation, or acquisition inquiry, including:

  • Annual revenue, net income, and earnings figures
  • Business operating history and ownership duration
  • Employee headcount and organizational structure
  • Equipment, asset, and inventory data
  • Customer and contract information (where voluntarily disclosed during the valuation or due diligence process)
  • Financial statements, tax returns, and profit and loss records (provided directly by sellers during active engagements)

C. Sensitive Personal Information (SPI)

Under the CPRA, the following categories of data are classified as Sensitive Personal Information and are subject to heightened handling protections:

  • Government-issued identification numbers (driver's license, passport, EIN/SSN), collected when required to verify the identity of buyers or sellers during qualification and transaction processing
  • Financial account credentials and banking information, collected during escrow processing and proof-of-funds verification
  • Private communications, including emails and messages exchanged through our website portal or direct correspondence related to active transactions

We collect Sensitive Personal Information only for the purpose of performing the specific transaction-related services you have engaged us for. We do not use SPI for behavioral profiling, cross-context targeted advertising, or secondary commercial purposes.

D. Internet and Network Activity

Information automatically collected when you visit our website, including:

  • Pages viewed and time spent on each page
  • Referring URL (the website or search result that brought you to our site)
  • Browser type, device type, and operating system
  • General geographic location derived from IP address (city or region level, not precise geolocation)

We use standard web analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) to collect this information in aggregate form for the purpose of improving website content and performance. Please see Section 6 regarding cookies and tracking technologies.

E. Communications

The content of any messages, questions, or information you submit through our website contact form, valuation request form, buyer registration form, or by direct email or phone contact.

F. Professional and Transaction-Related Information

In the context of active buyer or seller engagements, we may also collect information about your professional background, acquisition history, financing capacity, and business goals, to the extent you voluntarily provide it.

3. How We Use Your Personal Information

We use the personal information we collect only for the following purposes:

To Provide Business Brokerage Services: To respond to valuation inquiries, prepare business valuations, market confidential business listings, screen and qualify buyers, facilitate introductions between buyers and sellers, manage due diligence processes, and support transactions through closing.

To Communicate With You: To respond to your questions, confirm receipt of your inquiries, follow up on valuation requests, send information about listings that match your stated acquisition criteria (buyers), and keep you informed of the status of an active transaction.

To Protect Confidentiality and Verify Identity: To verify the identity and financial capacity of prospective buyers before releasing confidential business information, consistent with our professional obligations to seller clients and industry ethical standards.

To Comply With Legal and Regulatory Obligations: To maintain transaction records as required by California Business and Professions Code Section 10148, which mandates that licensed brokers retain copies of all transaction-related documents for a minimum of three years following the closing of a transaction. Certain records may be retained for up to six years or longer depending on the nature of the transaction.

To Improve Our Website and Services: To analyze aggregate, non-identifying website traffic data for the purpose of improving website content, navigation, and user experience.

For No Other Purposes: We do not use your personal information for targeted advertising, behavioral profiling, automated decision-making that produces legal or significant effects, or any purpose not disclosed in this Policy.

4. How We Share Your Personal Information

We treat the personal information of our clients and website visitors as strictly confidential. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties. We share personal information only in the following limited circumstances:

With Transaction Counterparties, With Your Explicit Consent: If you are a seller, we will not disclose your identity, your business name, or any identifying information to any prospective buyer without your explicit written authorization. If you are a buyer, we will not disclose your identity or financial information to sellers without your knowledge. All such disclosures are preceded by a legally binding Non-Disclosure Agreement executed by the receiving party.

With Service Providers: We may share limited personal information with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website, managing our CRM, hosting our Virtual Data Room, processing escrow transactions, or providing legal or accounting services in connection with a transaction. These providers are contractually prohibited from using your information for any purpose other than providing services to us, and they are required to maintain confidentiality.

With Professional Advisors: In connection with an active transaction, we may share information with attorneys, certified public accountants, SBA lenders, escrow officers, and other licensed professionals involved in facilitating the closing of a deal. Any such sharing is limited to information necessary for the specific professional function and is subject to those professionals' independent confidentiality obligations.

To Comply With Legal Obligations: We may disclose personal information when required to do so by law, court order, regulatory inquiry, or government subpoena. In such cases, we will disclose only the minimum information required and, where legally permissible, will notify affected individuals prior to disclosure.

In Connection With a Business Transfer: In the unlikely event that Cortland Business Brokers is acquired, merged, or transfers its assets to a successor entity, personal information held by the firm may be transferred as part of that transaction. Any successor entity will be required to honor the terms of this Privacy Policy or provide notice of any material changes.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal information for different periods depending on the nature of the information and the purpose for which it was collected:

Website Inquiries and Unengaged Leads: Personal information submitted through our website contact form, valuation request form, or buyer registration form, where no formal engagement agreement, NDA, or transaction is subsequently initiated, is retained in our active CRM for up to 24 months from the date of last contact, after which it is deleted or anonymized unless you have requested deletion earlier.

Transaction-Related Records: Personal information collected in connection with a formal engagement, including signed listing agreements, NDAs, financial statements, due diligence documents, purchase agreements, and correspondence, is retained for a minimum of three years following the date of the last transaction or last written contact related to that transaction, consistent with California Business and Professions Code Section 10148. In practice, we retain most transaction records for up to six years to protect against late-arising legal claims.

Legal Hold: In the event of pending or reasonably anticipated litigation, regulatory inquiry, or audit, we will retain relevant records for the duration of that matter and for a reasonable period thereafter, regardless of the retention schedules above.

Analytics Data: Aggregate, anonymized website analytics data does not contain personal information and is retained indefinitely for performance benchmarking purposes.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate and improve the site. We distinguish between the following types:

Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are required for basic website functions, such as form processing and navigation. They do not collect personally identifying information and cannot be disabled without affecting your ability to use the site.

Analytics Cookies: We use analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) that set cookies to collect aggregate information about how visitors use our website, pages visited, time on site, traffic source, and similar data. This information does not identify you personally and is used solely to improve website content and performance.

No Advertising Cookies: We do not use advertising pixels, retargeting cookies, or social media tracking tags on this website that would result in your personal information being shared with advertising platforms for the purpose of targeting you with ads across other websites.

Global Privacy Control (GPC): Our website is designed to detect and honor browser-level Global Privacy Control (GPC) opt-out signals. If your browser transmits a GPC signal, we will treat it as a valid opt-out from the sale or sharing of your personal information and will disable tracking technologies accordingly, consistent with California regulations effective January 1, 2026.

Managing Cookies: You can manage or disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings at any time. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect how some features of our website function.

7. Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, the CCPA/CPRA grants you the following rights with respect to your personal information. We will honor all verified requests within the timelines required by law.

The Right to Know: You have the right to request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources from which it was collected, the business purposes for which it is used, and the categories of third parties with whom it has been shared.

The Right to Delete: You have the right to request that we delete personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions. We are permitted to deny deletion requests where retention is required to comply with a legal obligation (including DRE record retention requirements), to complete a transaction you initiated, or to protect against fraud or legal claims.

The Right to Correct: You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information we hold about you.

The Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: We do not sell personal information, and we do not share personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising. However, you may submit an opt-out request at any time using the link in our footer titled "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information."

The Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: You have the right to request that we limit our use of your Sensitive Personal Information to what is necessary to perform the services you have engaged us for. We use SPI only for transaction-related services and do not use it for secondary commercial purposes. You may submit a limit request using the link in our footer titled "Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information."

The Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. Exercising these rights will not affect the quality of services we provide to you.

8. How to Submit a Privacy Rights Request

You may submit a verifiable consumer request by any of the following methods:

  • By Phone: 888-315-4353 (toll-free, during normal business hours)
  • By Email: info@cortlandbusinessbrokers.com
  • By Mail: Cortland Business Brokers, Attn: Privacy Request, 136 Echo Place, Discovery Bay, CA 94505

Verification Process

To protect your personal information, we are required to verify your identity before processing any request to Know, Delete, or Correct your information. For standard requests, we will verify your identity by confirming your name and contact information against our records. For requests involving Sensitive Personal Information or transaction-related records, we may require a signed declaration under penalty of perjury, consistent with CPPA guidance.

We will acknowledge receipt of your request within 10 business days. We will respond to your request within 45 calendar days. If we require additional time (up to an additional 45 days), we will notify you in writing with the reason for the extension.

Authorized Agent Requests

You may designate an authorized agent to submit a privacy rights request on your behalf. We will require written proof of the agent's authorization and may verify your identity directly before processing the request.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are intended exclusively for adults engaged in business transactions. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under the age of 18. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a minor, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a minor has submitted personal information to us, please contact us immediately using the information in Section 13.

10. Data Security

We maintain reasonable and appropriate physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect the personal information we collect from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These safeguards include:

  • Secure, encrypted document storage for all transaction-related records
  • Password-protected and permission-controlled Virtual Data Room access for due diligence materials
  • Restricted internal access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
  • Contractual confidentiality requirements imposed on all third-party service providers

No data transmission over the internet or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. While we take every reasonable precaution, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information. In the event of a data breach affecting California residents, we will provide notification within the timelines required by California law, including S.B. 446 (effective January 1, 2026), which requires consumer notification within 30 days of discovery and notification to the California Attorney General within 15 days.

11. Links to Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including professional directories (IBBA, CABB, BizBuySell, BizQuest) and resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information. The inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement of the linked website.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or regulatory guidance. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where required, provide additional notice. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically. Your continued use of our website following any posted update constitutes your acknowledgment of the revised Policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your California privacy rights, or want to report a concern about how your personal information has been handled, please contact us directly:

Cortland Business Brokers

Privacy Rights Requests: You may also submit requests via the following footer links on our website:

  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information

We are committed to responding to all privacy-related inquiries promptly and respectfully.