We have updated the comprehensive chart outlining the laws for visitors to each of the 50 US States, the District of Columbia and assorted territories. This chart is intended as a guide (applicable state laws are referenced by code number) and not to be misconstrued as legal advice. Please be sure and carefully read the notes and disclaimers on Page 1.
https://all4consolaws.org/us-sex-offender-registration-laws/
Thank you @ACSOL for this updated matrix. Very informative and helpful.
Question:
The footnote on page one, the one with the yellow highlighting, quotes 34 U.S.C. § 20913(c) which requires one to inform the jurisdiction within 3 days of a change in residence. According to the code, reside is defined as:
(13) Resides
The term “resides” means, with respect to an individual, the location of the individual’s home or other place where the individual habitually lives.
Does this or does this not require one to notify jurisdictions as one travels across the country on a road trip?
For example: I’m registered in Wisconsin. I’m about to take a 2-week road trip, staying just a few days in each state/place. Before leaving home, I will notify my state registration specialist of my intention to travel and list a general itinerary. Main purpose of this is because I’m away from home for more than 7 days and want to demonstrate my intention to not change my residence. I also do this due to some language in the SORNA Final Guidelines which mentions notifying the jurisdiction of places where one will be when away from one’s residence for periods of seven or more days.
The definition of reside in 34 U.S.C. § 20913(c) is vague (where the individual habitually lives). It is further fleshed out in the SORNA Final Guidelines as “The specific interpretation of this element of “residence”
these Guidelines adopt is that a sex offender habitually lives in the relevant sense in any place in
which the sex offender lives for at least 30 days.”
The guidelines do mention that it’s not necessary for one to actually reside somewhere for 30 days, just to intend to do so. In other words, if I go to a state with the intention of living there for 30 days I’d have to register within 3 days according to US code.
I’m not an attorney, just a guy that can read code a little. That said, my interpretation is that traveling through a state would only trigger a requirement to register if the time in the state was a) long enough to meet the state’s minimum requirement, or b) done with the intention of establishing a residence or remaining 30 days or more.
Anyone care to add some knowledge to this? Anyone have any legal advise they’ve received regarding travel and the 3-day requirement?
Thank you for this!
I had a question about this type of wording for several states: “Visitors: presence in the state for 3 calendar days triggers an obligation to register within 3 business days.”
So if I’m there for a 5 day vacation, do I need to register? I mean, I obviously “trigger” this because I’m there for more than 3 days. But do I then have another +3 days to register or leave the state? Or is it that if I know I’m going to be there for more than 3 days that I basically have to register within those first 3 days I’m there?
Also, looking at this matrix sure does make all those “Price Club” arguments look incredibly bad in retrospect. Though I’m sure law makers and judges will still argue that this isn’t technically a “burden” in the same why that they technically classify a slew of offense as “violent” despite no contact being made. I’d love to present this type of document in court.
New Hampshire looks like it might have a small loop hole?
5 business days for initial reg. and updates. §§651-B:4, B:5
Visitors: “Residence” defined as more than a total of 5 days during a one-month period. §651-B:1(XIII).
Is this a named calendar month or a 30 day period? What I mean is, can I technically do a 9 day vacation there if I start it on September 27th and leave by October 5th?
Also, a question on California’s “All must register w/in 5 working days of coming into jurisdiction”. Does this mean I can’t take a vacation in CA as a resident of CA for more than 5 days without needing to notify the local PD that I’m currently on vacation in their district? If so, I bet pretty much all CA RC’s are out of compliance on this one.
Question on reading this tag, if since I live in CA.and I go on vacation outside of CA do I have to notify anyone of my intention i have been off probation for over 10 years
This is great. Thank you for this. some things are somewhat confusing. I can see why at times even law enforcement are bewildered by these restrictions or laws.
Ok so if I go to California from my home state and I stay there for 4 days, then I don’t have to register. If I stay there for a whole week (7 days ) then I have to register.
Now, if I go to California for 4 days and then leave back to my home state, but if I return in a month which is within the calendar year for 4 more days then I have to register ? I must wait until a new calendar year to visit California again to avoid registry ? I think I understood that correctly.
Off topic but I am sure glad this Kavanaugh accuser came up. Now we will get to see exactly what should take place when someone brings these ridiculous allegations from decades ago that cannot be proving either way. This has got to stop, it’s UnAmerican, violates all due process, and destroys our innocent until proven guilty constitutional theory. These types of issues are coming to a head and will decide which way our country heads. Right now we are kiving in tbe edge of dictatorship and it is not come out of the GOP, sorry to get political but it is fact…
Would love to know if anyone has been questioned, arrested, convicted, etc. on some of the kinds of technicalities described above. These statutes are nothing BUT technicalities. It seems that if they look hard enough, they could pinch you for SOMETHING. I’m wondering if that actually has happened, and by technicality, I am referring to the fine print. We all the know the basic rules. The devil, as they say, is in the details, but as some of these comments clearly indicate, many of us are simply incapable of interpreting these details correctly because we are not attorneys. I’ve actually shared the same statute with more than one attorney, and got different interpretations.
I recently obtained employment that will eventually have me travel for work. The jobs that I will be working away from my home state will be a complete and utter, crazy whirl wind for 3 to 10 days each and I won’t have time to go somewhere to register. I’ll catch sleep when I can that’s how crazy these jobs are. This is a very high income, very stable career and they are training me. And they like me despite my past!!! What do I do??!? Help please.
On the other side of the coin is Paragraph 175, the Nazi sex code.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weWH_agBkW0
These laws just draw up the picture for me of the guy in the movies firing bullets at the feet of another and saying “dance, dance”. As registrants we read the lews in minute detail and get good at learning the steps. It’s for our survival. Maybe we are smart enough now to self organize 900,000 strong and do a line dance of our own to stomp the system down.
I think any person who is going to go to another state to do something illegal is not going to worry much about telling any criminal regime that he/she is visiting. In fact, I would think a person who is Registered and wanted to commit a crime would intentionally go somewhere he/she is not Registered.
This Registering BS just harasses law abiding people. That is all it does. That is surely it’s main intent and purpose as well.
Make them pay. Today. They aren’t Americans.
I’ve been pouring over this for weeks now and am still confused with some of the states’ requirements. Tennessee for example:
“48 hours for initial reg. and updates, but “48 hours” does not include weekends and holidays. §40-39-202(32). Visitors must register within “48 hours” of entering state. “Primary residence” established after 5 consecutive days. “Secondary residence” means any residence for 14 or more aggregate days in a calendar year, or 4 or more days in a month. “Residence” means physical presence.”
So if I visit on November 10th (Saturday), it, Sunday, and Monday (Veteran’s Day (observed)) don’t count towards the “48 hours.” Would I have to leave on Wednesday or Friday to avoid violation? I ask because “48 hours” is stated not to include weekends or holidays, but the term “days” does not specify if weekends or holidays are counted!
Purposely confusing to trigger violations or idiots writing and approving laws they don’t understand?
I am also a professional pilot, and recently required to register. I was wondering if you could provide some details relating to this conviction as this is one of my main concerns with my career.
The following information should be easily available for every US state and foreign country:
which foreign counties and provinces of a country have sex offender registries,
what crimes require registration,
what levels or tiers does the jurisdiction have for sex offenders and how is it determined which tier a person should be placed in,
for each tier how long must a person be registered,
how does a person cease being registered (length of time registered, released by a judge or something else),
does the time that a person spends on the sex offender registry in one jurisdiction count if he/she moves to another jurisdiction (for example if state A required 20 years of registration and state requires 15 years of registration and a person was already registered for 20 years in state A then moves to state B does this person have to be on the registry of state B for an additional 15 years?),
how long can a sex offender visit a jurisdiction on vacation, etc. before he/she must register,
what are the consequences if a person registered in another jurisdiction on vacation then returns to his/her home state (will the person have to fill out a yearly questioner for the visited state and will the total time that the person is registered somewhere be lengthened, etc.)?
I believe that many sex offenders do not know how to obtain this information, especially regarding another jurisdiction, creating a possible legal problem.
Another fact that should be easily available for each jurisdiction is how can a person be reclassified to a lower tier if he/she is not in the lowest tier (not permitted, permitted by a judge or something else).
I just revisited this Matrix, and for California, it says that visitors will be added to the registry and will not be removed? Is that accurate? I thought only Florida required this?
The link that you currently have under your visitor laws article does not link to the chart. If I’m missing something please advise. Thank you