LexisNexis is one of the world’s largest databases of personal information. It is possible to have yours deleted, but it’s not a guarentee.
LexisNexis is one of the original people search databases that was groundbreaking during the 1970s in its move to make legal documents electronically available. Since then, the company has continued to grow exponentially in its scope of information.
Because of its vast amount of information and the quality of its results, LexisNexis is a favorite of professionals in government, law enforcement, law and risk management. It is a powerhouse when it comes to research.
Unlike many other people search websites, LexisNexis is a premium paid service, and premium it is. The company, according to its website, sells 150 different reports on customers.
LexisNexis has one of the world’s largest electronic databases for public records and legal records. The company’s public records database includes more than 84 billion public records from over 10,000 diverse sources, comprising public, private, regulated, emerging and derived data, according to the company.
Those records include:
- 283 million active LexIDs
- 1.5 billion bankruptcy records monitored monthly
- 77 million business contact records
- 330 million unique cell phone numbers
- 11.3 billion unique name and address combinations
- 6.6 billion motor vehicle registrations
- 6.5 billion personal property records
ICE and LexisNexis
LexisNexis is facing controversy after signing a $16.8 million contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide investigators with access to billions of personal records including credit history, bankruptcy records, license plate images and cellular subscriber information.
The ICE division that purchased the database is involved in deportations.
Steps to take to opt out of LexisNexis
Submitting a LexisNexis o0pt out isn’t complicated, but that doesn’t mean the company will comply with your request for removal, unfortunately.
Requests for deletion from restricted public records products must include documentation backing up a claim of the risk of physical harm or that you are the victim of identity theft.
Since so many of us have been a part of the latest data breaches, proving this may not actually be that hard!
Even so, the company’s policy states that in order to approve your removal request, which the company refers to as “information suppression” requests you must meet one of three criteria:
You are a victim of identity theft.
If you are a victim of identity theft, you must submit a copy of a police report documenting the identity theft or documentation that verifies the identity theft claim. Examples include a letter from your credit card company or an Identity Theft Affidavit.
You are a law enforcement officer or public official exposed to a threat of death or serious bodily harm.
If you are a law enforcement officer or public official you must submit a letter from your supervisor stating that your position exposes you to a threat of death or serious bodily harm.
You are at risk of physical harm but do not work in law enforcement.
If you are at risk of physical harm but do not work in law enforcement you must submit a copy of a court protective order, a copy of a police report or similar documentation such as a letter from a shelter administrator or a health care professional.
How to submit your LexisNexis opt out
If you meet one of these requirements, submit your LexisNexis opt out request via optout.lexisnexis.com.
There are three steps:
If you cannot submit the necessary documentation online, you can email or mail the supporting documents to:
LexisNexis Individual Requests for Information Suppression
PO Box 933
Dayton, OH 45401
Email: [email protected]
But beware, LexisNexis will not delete information from databases that are used by law enforcement, according to their privacy policy.
LexisNexis also does not delete information from databases containing information regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (except as required by law), third-party data available through real time gateways, news and legal documents.
Opting out of LexisNexis can be frustrating because you must prove that you are either at risk, a police officer or public officer or a victim of identity theft. This makes LexisNexis one of the worst people search sites!
How to opt out of other people search sites
You will need to complete a similar process for each people search website and can follow our guide on how to completely remove yourself from people search sites.
If you want to continue on your path of cleaning up your digital footprint, follow these steps on how to remove yourself from data broker sites.
To take things a step further, you can let us handle opt-outs on your behalf with Privacy Bee’s premium privacy protection.
