42 U.S.C. § 16913
Section 16913 · Registry requirements for sex offenders
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 364 court decisions — leading case Carr v. United States (2010)
Most recently applied in United States v. Charles Carrington (January 2025)
Applied most in the Eighth Circuit Circuit (29 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 18 U.S.C. § 2250 · 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.
A sex offender shall register, and keep the registration current, in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is an employee, and where the offender is a student. For initial registration purposes only, a sex offender shall also register in the jurisdiction in which convicted if such jurisdiction is different from the jurisdiction of residence.
The sex offender shall initially register—
(1) before completing a sentence of imprisonment with respect to the offense giving rise to the registration requirement; or
(2) not later than 3 business days after being sentenced for that offense, if the sex offender is not sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
A sex offender shall, not later than 3 business days after each change of name, residence, employment, or student status, appear in person in at least 1 jurisdiction involved pursuant to subsection (a) and inform that jurisdiction of all changes in the information required for that offender in the sex offender registry. That jurisdiction shall immediately provide that information to all other jurisdictions in which the offender is required to register.
The Attorney General shall have the authority to specify the applicability of the requirements of this subchapter to sex offenders convicted before the enactment of this chapter or its implementation in a particular jurisdiction, and to prescribe rules for the registration of any such sex offenders and for other categories of sex offenders who are unable to comply with subsection (b).
Each jurisdiction, other than a Federally recognized Indian tribe, shall provide a criminal penalty that includes a maximum term of imprisonment that is greater than 1 year for the failure of a sex offender to comply with the requirements of this subchapter.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This subchapter, referred to in subsecs. (d) and (e), was in the original “this title”, meaning title I of Pub. L. 109–248, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 590, known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. For complete classification of title I to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 16901 of this title and Tables.
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 109–248, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 587, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which was approved July 27, 2006. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 16901 of this title and Tables.