18 U.S.C. § 2250
Section 2250 · Failure to register
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 728 court decisions — leading case Carr v. United States (2010)
Most recently applied in United States v. Louis Rabbitt, Jr. (July 2025)
Applied most in the Eighth Circuit Circuit (54 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 42 U.S.C. § 16913 · 42 U.S.C. § 16901 · 42 U.S.C. § 16911
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whoever—
is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act;
is a sex offender as defined for the purposes of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act by reason of a conviction under Federal law (including the Uniform Code of Military Justice), the law of the District of Columbia, Indian tribal law, or the law of any territory or possession of the United States; or
travels in interstate or foreign commerce, or enters or leaves, or resides in, Indian country; and
knowingly fails to register or update a registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act;
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
Whoever—
is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq.);
knowingly fails to provide information required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act relating to intended travel in foreign commerce; and
engages or attempts to engage in the intended travel in foreign commerce;
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
In a prosecution for a violation under subsection (a) or (b), it is an affirmative defense that—
uncontrollable circumstances prevented the individual from complying;
the individual did not contribute to the creation of such circumstances in reckless disregard of the requirement to comply; and
the individual complied as soon as such circumstances ceased to exist.
An individual described in subsection (a) or (b) who commits a crime of violence under Federal law (including the Uniform Code of Military Justice), the law of the District of Columbia, Indian tribal law, or the law of any territory or possession of the United States shall be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 30 years.
The punishment provided in paragraph (1) shall be in addition and consecutive to the punishment provided for the violation described in subsection (a) or (b).
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (2)(A), (3), and (b)(1), (2), is title I of Pub. L. 109–248, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 590, which is classified principally to subchapter I (§ 16901 et seq.) of chapter 151 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 16901 of Title 42 and Tables.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice, referred to in subsecs. (a)(2)(A) and (d)(1), is classified generally to chapter 47 (§ 801 et seq.) of Title 10, Armed Forces.
Amendments
2016—Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 114–119 added subsec. (b), redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d), respectively, and in subsecs. (c) and (d), substitued “subsection (a) or (b)” for “subsection (a)” wherever appearing.