How to get off the sex offender registry in California

In California, getting removed from the sex offender registry is never automatic. Tier One sex offenders may apply for removal after 10 years, and Tier Two sex offenders may apply for removal after 20 years.

Tier Three sex offenders must remain on the registry for life unless their tier status was due to their risk assessment, not their crimes: Then they can petition for removal after 20 years.

Depending on your case, you may be eligible for removal from California Megan’s Law website even if you are still required to register. This way, at least the public cannot search for your information online.

Below our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following:

• 1. How to Get Off the Registry
• 2. The Three Tier System
• 3. Megan’s Law Website
• 4. Registration Requirements
• Additional reading

1. How to Get Off the Registry

Once you have registered as a California sex offender for 10 years as a Tier One offender or for 20 years as a Tier Two offender, you can petition the court to get off the registry on your next birthday. If you are a Tier Three offender based on your risk assessment – and not your crimes – can also petition the court after 20 years.

Before Senate Bill 384 (which went into effect on January 1, 2021), all sex offenders were required to register for life: Any petitions for removal were ignored.² Now, you have to register for life only if you were designated as a Tier Three offender based on your crimes, not your risk of reoffending.²

The Petition for Removal from the Registry

A petition for removal from California’s sex offender registry is a formal written document your attorney can write for you. Prosecutors can contest it if they believe you staying on the registry will significantly enhance community safety.

The judge has substantial discretion in deciding whether to grant your petition and considers such factors as:

• the facts and nature of your crime,
• the number of victims and their ages,
• whether you knew the victims,
• your criminal history,
• how long it has been since you reoffended,
• your completion of sex offender treatment (if any), and
• your risk score (using a standardized test like STATIC-99).

You are entitled to a hearing where you and the prosecution can advance your arguments and cross-examine witnesses. Typical evidence in these hearings include:

• declarations and affidavits,
• expert reports on your risk of reoffending, and
• police reports.

If your petition is granted, you may still have to register as a sex offender in other states.

Ineligibility for Removal from the Registry

You are not eligible to file a petition for removal from the California sex offender registry if either:

• the minimum registration requirement has not passed yet (10 years if you are Tier 1, 20 years for Tier 2, etc.);
• you are a lifetime Tier 3 registrant;
• you have pending criminal charges that may alter your Tier designation if you get convicted; or
• you are in custody, on parole, on probation, or on supervised release.

Other Ways to Get Off the Registry

There may be ways to get off the sex offender registry early, even if you are a lifetime Tier III offender. Depending on your case, you no longer should have to register in California if either:

• your case gets expunged after you finish probation,
• you get a certificate of rehabilitation, or
• you get a Governor’s pardon.³

For more information on how to get off the sex offender registry in California, see the California Courts self-help guide.

2. The Three Tier System

California Senate Bill (SB) 384 created a three-tiered sex registration system that no longer requires lifetime registration for most offenses.

Tier 1

Tier 1 requires registration as a sex offender for at least 10 years. This is if you were convicted of the lowest level (“low risk”) sexual offenses, such as:

• arranging to meet a minor for lewd purposes,
• misdemeanor child pornography,
• oral copulation with a minor 14 and older,
• misdemeanor sexual battery, or
• indecent exposure.⁴

In some cases, the court may require you to register as a sex offender even if the crime you were convicted of is not listed. Under Penal Code 290.006 PC, you will be presumptively assigned to Tier 1 unless the judge has cause to assign you to a higher tier.

Tier 2

Tier 2 requires registration for at least twenty 20 years. This is if you were convicted of mid-level (“medium risk”) sexual offenses, such as:

• lewdness with a minor under 14,
• oral copulation with a minor under 14,
• rape (in some cases), and
• non-forced sodomy with a minor under 14 years of age.⁵

Tier 3

Tier 3 requires lifetime registration for people convicted of the most serious (“high risk”) sexual offenses in California, such as:

• murder during commission of rape,
• rape by force,
• lewd act with a minor by force or fear,
• sex trafficking children,
• aggravated sexual assault of a child,
• child molestation,
• felony child pornography,
• oral copulation by force,
• child pornography, and
• sex crimes against children 10 and younger.⁶

However, certain Tier 3 registrations have to register for only 20 years. These are people who are classified as Tier 3 based on their risk of reoffending, not on which crime they were convicted of.

Juvenile Offenders

People who were placed on the registry due to a juvenile sustained petition instead of criminal court conviction have to register for five or 10 years, depending on their case.

Out-of-State Convictions

You usually have to register as a sex offender in California if you were convicted of a sex crime in:

• another state court,
• federal court, or
• military court.

You get assigned to the Tier for the equivalent crime in California. Though in the event California has no crime directly analogous to the one you were convicted for, you will presumptively placed in Tier 2 unless the court finds you pose a risk that justifies being Tier 3.

Senate Bill 145

Under the 2020 law SB 145, California judges can choose not to require you to register as a sex offender at all if:

1. the victim was at least 14, and
2. you were no more than 10 years older than the victim, and
3. you were convicted of either:
   • sodomy,
   • oral copulation of a child, or
   • penetration by a foreign object.

The judges decide whether to impose sex offender registration requirements during your sentencing. Factors they consider include:

• your age,
• your criminal history,
• your risk of reoffending.

3. Megan’s Law Website

The California Department of Justice (DOJ) makes the sex offender database available to the public via the Megan’s Law website.⁷ It reveals such information as your:

• name,
• address,
• headshot,
• physical description, and
• criminal history.

Applying for Removal from the Website

If your minimum sex offender registration period is not over, you can still ask that your information be removed from the website if you were convicted of:

1. Penal Code 243.4a, sexual battery by restraint, or
2. Penal Code 647.6, annoying or Molesting a Child.⁸

You can also ask to get off the Megan’s Law website if:

1. you committed any offense that did not involve penetration or oral copulation,
2. the victim was your child, stepchild, grandchild, or sibling, and
3. you have successfully completed probation for the offense.⁹

To apply for removal, you must submit a Megan’s Law exclusion form to the California Department of Justice. Though even if you meet the above criteria, you will be denied if there is a finding that you are a “sexually violent predator.”

You can also seek to be removed from the site by obtaining:

• a certificate of rehabilitation, or
• an expungement.

Illegal Accessing of Megan’s Law Website

It is a misdemeanor 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 $1,000.¹⁰

4. Registration Requirements

If you are a convicted sex offender in California, you have to register with local police once a year within five working days of your birthday. You also have five working days to inform authorities when:

• you enroll or are employed at an institute of higher learning,
• you change your name, or
• you move to a new county or state.

If you move, you must abide by whatever laws the new locality imposes, including restrictions on where you can live.

If you are a transient (without a permanent residence), you must register every 30 days. Meanwhile, if the court designated you as a SVP (sexually violent predator), you must register every 90 days.

There registration requirements hold no matter whether you are subject to GPS surveillance or community notification. If you are unsure of who is your local police station, search here.

When Your Registration Period Starts

Day one of your registration period starts after you are released from prison (or a treatment program or civil facility related to your conviction). If you get incarcerated again during your registration period, the clock pauses (“tolls”) and will resume after you are released.

Failure to Register

California Penal Code 290 PC makes it a crime to willfully fail to register as a sex offender.¹¹ A prosecutor must prove four things in order to convict you under this statute successfully:¹²

1. You were previously convicted of a California sexual crime for which registration was required under Penal Code 290 PC,
2. You lived in California,
3. You knew you had to register, and
4. You 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:

• summary probation,
• up to 1 year in jail and/or up to $1,000, and
• an extra year of registration.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:

• formal probation,
• 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in prison and/or up to $10,000, and
• 3 extra years of registration.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.

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