Do I have to register in California if I move out of state?

If you are moving out of state, you must tell the local California authorities in the city or county that you are leaving; and the notification must be given in person and within 5 working days of your move.[484] After that, you don’t need to keep registering in California, so long as you do not spend much time in California (but see the previous question if you work or go to school here).[485]

However, you may need to register in your new state because the Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) requires sex offenders to register with local authorities in each location in which they reside, are employed or are going to school. The SORNA registration requirements can last for between 10 years and life, depending on the nature of the sex crime and whether you have a clean record after being released from custody.[486] It is a federal crime to live, work, or go to school in another state without complying with the SORNA requirements.[487]

  1. 484

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.013. ↑

  2. 485

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.013; see People v. Wallace (2009)176 Cal.App.4th 1088 (overturning convictions for failure to update registration where defendant may have moved out of state, but upholding conviction for failure to provide notice of move). ↑

  3. 486

    42 U.S.C. § 16901 et seq. (effective on July 27, 2006). SORNA has withstood most constitutional challenges. See e.g., United States v. Shoulder (9th Cir. 2013)738 F.3d 948 (SORNA does not violate ex post facto or due process clause, and is within the scope of Congress's authority); United States v. Elkins (9th Cir. 2012) 683 F.3d 1039 (SORNA does not violate ex post facto clause); United States v. Richardson (9th Cir. 2014) 754 F.3d 1143 (OK to delegate authority to Attorney General to determine extent of SORNA’s retroactive applicability); United States v. Cabrera-Gutierrez (9th Cir. 2013) 756 F.3d 1125 (U.S. Congress has authority under Commerce Clause to enact SORNA); but see Reynolds v. United States (2012) __ U.S. __; 132 S. Ct. 975 (sex offenders whose crimes were committed prior to SORNA can’t be punished for violations that occurred before U.S. Attorney General issued valid retroactivity rules) and United States v. Mattix (9th Cir. 2012) 694 F.3d 1082 (SORNA’s effective date for people with pre-SORNA sex offenses is August 1, 2008). ↑

  4. 487

    The criminal penalties for moving, working, or going to school out-of-state and knowingly failing to comply with SORNA are found in 18 U.S.C. § 2250. ↑