In California, Tier One sex offenders may be able to get removed from the sex offender registry after 10 years. Tier Two sex offenders may be able to get removed after 20 years. Tier Three offenders are subject to lifetime registration requirements.
A “sex offender” is any person who gets convicted of a sexual crime listed under Penal Code Section 290. You are placed into different tiers based on the specific sex offense that you were convicted of. While tier-one offenses (such as indecent exposure) are the least severe in nature, tier-three offenses (such as rape) are the most severe and are for high-risk offenders.
Under the three tiers:
- As a tier one offender, you must register for 10 years (and can then petition for removal from registry);
- As a tier two offender, you must register for 20 years (and can then petition for removal from the registry); or
- As a tier three offender, you are still subject to lifetime registration.
Note that, as with sex offender registries, you can ask for removal from the California Megan’s Law website in some cases.
It is a crime under PC 290 to fail to register as a sex offender when you are legally required to do so. A violation of this law can be charged as either
- a misdemeanor, or
- a felony.
A felony conviction could lead to up to three years in state prison.
Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following faqs:
- 1. Can I apply for removal from California’s sex offender registry?
- 2. How does the new three-tiered sex registration system work?
- 3. What about exclusion from the Megan’s Law website?
- 4. Is it a crime to fail to register as a sex offender?
- Additional reading
1. Can I apply for removal from California’s sex offender registry?
The Sex Offender Registration Act states that you must register if you are convicted of certain sexual offenses in the State of California.
Senate Bill 384 is a new law that allows you to:
- petition the court, and
- ask that you no longer have to report to the California Sex Offender Registry.
The statute establishes a tier-based system regarding the registration for sexual crimes. The system has three tiers of offenses, each with its own mandated minimum registration period. These periods are for:
- 10 years for tier 1,
- 20 years for tier 2, and
- lifetime registration for tier 3.1
You can ask for removal from registries when you have completed the required minimum registration period (as determined by the tier of your offense). However, if you are subject to lifetime registration, you are not eligible to be removed from the registry.2
Before SB 384 (which went into effect on January 1, 2021), all sex offenders were required to register as such for life.
Note that State Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco authored the bill. Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law in 2017. The bill’s goal is to improve public safety of others by:
- allowing local law enforcement agencies to focus their attention on serious criminals, and
- allowing these agencies to target those criminals likely to commit a repeat offense.3
Note that California’s Clean Slate Laws (SB 731 and AB 1076) do not provide an avenue for getting off of the registry or for getting your sex crime convictions sealed.
For more information, see the California Courts self-help guide on How to ask to end sex offender registration requirement.
2. How does the new three-tiered sex registration system work?
California Senate Bill (SB) 384 creates a three-tiered sex registration system that no longer requires lifetime registration for most offenses.
Tier 1 requires registration as a sex offender for at least 10 years. This is if you were convicted of the lowest level sexual offenses.4 Some of these include:
- misdemeanor sexual battery, or
- indecent exposure.
Tier 2 requires registration for at least twenty 20 years. This is if you were convicted of mid-level sexual offenses.5 Some of these include:
- lewdness with a minor under 14, and
- non-forced sodomy with a minor under 14 years of age.
Tier 3 requires lifetime registration for convicted sex offenders. This is if you were convicted of the most serious sexual offenses in California.6 Some of these include:
- rape (in most cases),
- lewd act with a minor by force or fear,
- sex trafficking children,
- aggravated sexual assault of a child,
- child molestation,
- child pornography, and
- sex crimes against children 10 and younger.
3. What about exclusion from the Megan’s Law website?
You can try to remove your name from the Megan’s Law registration database in certain cases.7
When you are convicted of certain California sexual crimes, the law provides that you are required to register pursuant to California Penal Code 290 PC.
The California Department of Justice (DOJ) maintains and operates this sex offender database in its Tracking Program. This information is then made available to members of the public via the DOJ’s internet website named “the Megan’s Law website.”8
You can ask for removal from this site if you were convicted of:
- Penal Code 243.4a, sexual battery by restraint, or
- Penal Code 647.6, annoying or Molesting a Child.
You can also ask to get off the Megan’s Law website if:
- you committed any offense that did not involve penetration or oral copulation,
- the victim was your child, stepchild, grandchild, or sibling, and
- you have successfully completed probation for the offense.9
In order to initiate this process of removal, you must submit a Megan’s Law exclusion form to the California Department of Justice.
Note that even if you meet the above exclusion criteria, you will be denied exclusion if there is a finding that you are a “sexually violent predator.”
You can seek to be removed from the site by obtaining:
- a certificate of rehabilitation, or
- an expungement.
Note that it is a misdemeanor crime to go on or in any way access the Megan’s Law website if you are a convicted sex offender. Penalties include up to 6 months in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines.10
4. Is it a crime to fail to register as a sex offender?
Penal Code 290 PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to willfully fail to register as a sex offender with the local police stations.11
A prosecutor must prove four things in order to convict you under this statute successfully.12 These are that you:
- were previously convicted of a California sexual crime for which registration was required under Penal Code 290 PC,
- resided in California,
- knew you had a duty to register, and
- willfully failed to register or update your registration.13
If you are convicted of a sexual crime that is a misdemeanor, then failure to register is also a misdemeanor.14 The possible penalties include:
- misdemeanor (or summary probation),
- imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, and/or
- a maximum fine of $1,000.15
If you are convicted of a sexual crime that is a felony, or you have prior convictions of violating PC 290, then failure to register is a felony.16 The possible penalties include:
- felony (or formal) probation,
- imprisonment in state prison for 16 months, two years, or three years, and/or
- a maximum fine of $10,000.17
Additional resources
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Setting Their Record Straight: Granting Wrongly Branded Individuals Relief from Sex Offender Registration – Columbia Journal of Law & Social Problems.
- Sex Offender Management Policies and Evidence-Based Recommendations for Registry Reform – Current Psychiatry Reports.
- The Good Left Undone: How to Stop Sex Offender Laws from Causing Unnecessary Harm at the Expense of Effectiveness – American Journal of Criminal Law.
- Sex Offender Registries: Fear without Function? – The Journal of Law and Economics.
- Still Time to Rethink the Misguided Approach of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act – Federal Sentencing Regulations.
Legal References:
- California Senate Bill 384 SB; Megan’s Law is named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered by a known child molester. Sex offender information can be accessed through the California Attorney General site; it provides detailed information, including a physical description and aliases. See also California Megan’s Law website.
- See same.
- See same.
- See same.
- See same.
- See same.
- California Penal Code 290 PC.
- California Penal Code 290.46 PC.
- See same.
- California Welfare & Institutions Code 660. California Penal Code 290.46(i) PC.
- California Penal Code 290 PC.
- See same. See also CALCRIM No. 1170 and, People v. Garcia (2001) 25 Cal.4th 744.
- Barrows v. Municipal Court (California Supreme Court, 1970) 1 Cal. 3d 821.
- California Penal Code 290.018 PC.
- See same.
- See same.
- See same.