I have to register as a sex offender in California. How and when do I register?

If you are required to register as a sex offender, here are the basic steps for how to register—including important information on when you have to do it:

Gather the information and documents you need to register.

As soon as you can (perhaps a trusted loved one or advocate could even help while you are still incarcerated), you should gather all of the information and documents you will need to register. This includes:

    The address(es) of all of your current residence(s) (see STEP 3 for more information);[488]
    Proof of your residence location—such as an ID with your address, a recent rent or utility bill or receipt, or a bank or official document showing your address;[489]
    The name and address of your employer; and
    The license plate number of any car that you drive regularly.

If possible, call ahead to the city police department (or sheriff’s department if your city does not have a police department) to verify where and when you can register.

Some city police departments (or sheriff’s departments if your city has no police department) have special locations and hours when they register people. Calling ahead can help you avoid wasting time waiting around at the police station. If you cannot reach the city police by phone to verify hours and location, that is okay—just skip this step and go in person.

Within 5 days of your release from custody or on to parole or probation, you must register in person with the city police department (or the sheriff’s department if there is no city police department) in every place that you live. Bring the information and documents (see Step 1) you need with you!

You have 5 working days after you are released from custody (prison or jail) or placed on supervision (parole or probation) to register.[490] You must register in person with the police department in the city where you live, or with the sheriff’s department if you live in an unincorporated area or in a city that has no police department.[491] If you live at more than one address, and your addresses are in different cities or counties, you must register with multiple police or sheriff’s departments so that you are registered in all locations.[492]

PLEASE NOTE: The definition of “residence” here is broad and you can be “residing” at an address for registration purposes even if you are only spending the night there occasionally or staying there on a temporary basis.[493]

When you register, you will be required to provide all of your current residence addresses.[494] Your fingerprints will be taken. You must also provide the name and address of your employer, the license plate number of any car that you drive regularly, and proof of your residence location, such as an ID with your address, a recent rent or utility bill or receipt, or a bank or official document showing your address.[495]

IMPORTANT! Ask the police for proof of your registration. The police must provide you with a copy free of charge.

!

If you are a college student, employed by a college, or living on a college campus, you must also register with the campus police.[496]Update your registration every year within 5 working days of your birthday—and more often if you fall into one of the special categories listed below.**

Unless you fall into a special category listed below, you must re-register every year, within 5 business days of your birthday, with the police department in the city where you live (or with the county sheriff’s department if your city is unincorporated or has no police department).[497]

**SPECIAL CATEGORIES*** – People who Must Register More Often than Once Every Year:

In addition to registering every year within 5 working days of your birthday, you must register more often if you fall into one of the following categories . . .

    If you are homeless (called “transient” by parole and the relevant laws), you are required to register within 5 working days of release from prison or jail, at least every 30 days after that, and within 5 working days of your birthday every year.[498]
    If you have a home but then become homeless, you must update your registration within 5 working days of losing your home.[499] When you register, you will have to provide information about where you sleep, eat, work, and spend time.[500] Note that if you spend the night at a shelter, that shelter qualifies as a “residence,” and you will have to register the address of the shelter within 5 working days of going there.[501] If you then find a place to live, you must update your registration and tell the authorities your new address within 5 working days.[502]
    If you have ever been found to be a Sexually Violent Predator (SVP), you must update your registration every 90 days, and within 5 working days of your birthday every year.[503]
    If you change your name, you must notify the police or sheriff within 5 working days of your name change, and within 5 working days of your birthday every year.[504]
    If you get sent to the CDCR or a state mental hospital, officials at those institutions are supposed to inform the California Department of Justice (DOJ) of your confinement.[505] If you are incarcerated or civilly committed for 30 days or more, you must re-register within 5 days of your release.[506] NOTE: You do not need to re-register if you are incarcerated or civilly committed for less than 30 days and you then return to your last registered address (unless your normal re-registration date came up while you were incarcerated—in which case you still need to re-register).[507]

If you are on state parole, you must also provide your parole officer with proof of registration within 6 working days of your release from prison.

If you are on parole, you must also provide your parole officer with proof of registration within 6 working days of your release from prison.[508] The police must provide you with a copy of your registration form free of charge. You must notify your parole officer of any updates or changes to your registration information within 5 working days of the update or change.[509]

  1. 488

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.010. ↑

  2. 489

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.015. ↑

  3. 490

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 290(b), 290.015. ↑

  4. 491

    Cal. Penal Code § 290(b). ↑

  5. 492

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.010. ↑

  6. 493

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.011(g) (“Residence means one or more addresses at which a person regularly resides, regardless of the number of days or nights spent there, such as a shelter or structure that can be located by a street address, including, but not limited to, houses, apartment buildings, motels, hotels, homeless shelters, and recreational and other vehicles.”); see People v. Gonzales (2010) 183 Cal.App.4th 24 (upholding conviction for failing to register as a second “residence” a place where defendant visited about three times a week but did not spend the night); People v. Williams (2009) 171 Cal.App.4th 1667, 1672-1673 (“residence” need not be a place which has the potential of becoming a permanent home). ↑

  7. 494

    Cal. Penal Code Code § 290.010. ↑

  8. 495

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.015. ↑

  9. 496

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 290(b), 290.009. ↑

  10. 497

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.012(a). ↑

  11. 498

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.011(a)-(b). ↑

  12. 499

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.011(b). ↑

  13. 500

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.011(d). ↑

  14. 501

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.11(g); 15 CCR § 3652(c)(2); People v. Deluca (2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 1263 (National Guard Armory winter emergency shelter is a “residence”). ↑

  15. 502

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.011(b). ↑

  16. 503

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.012(b); Litmon v. Harris (2014) 768 F.3d 127 (90-day verification requirement for SVPs does not violate due process or equal protection). ↑

  17. 504

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.014; see People v. Vincelli (2005) 132 Cal.App.4th 646 (law requiring registration after name change not unconstitutionally vague). ↑

  18. 505

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.013(d). ↑

  19. 506

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.015(a) (referencing Cal. Penal Code § 290(b)). ↑

  20. 507

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.015(a). ↑

  21. 508

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.85(a). ↑

  22. 509

    Cal. Penal Code § 290.85. ↑