In plain terms
DROP has four status codes. Two of them are yours to choose: 3 for deleted and 2 for exempted. The other two describe the record rather than your decision. Code 5, not found, is the default answer for a work item that did not match anything you hold. Code 4, opted out, is determined by the platform and covers the case where several consumers are linked to one identifier and all of them opted out. Only 2 and 3 are judgments a broker makes.
What it means for a registered broker
The asymmetry matters. Deleting is the plain path and needs no explanation. Exempting is a claim that a law lets you keep something a consumer asked you to remove, and it is the one an agency would ask about. So the two should not feel equally easy inside your process. Make the choice per record, log who made it and when, and require a written reason for every exemption in your own record. Never let a bulk action assign either code without a person looking at what it covers.