Residency Restrictions by State (for persons required to register as sex offenders)
The following table was extracted from a 2018 study entitled, “Sex offender residence restrictions and sex crimes against children: A comprehensive review” by Joanne Savage and Casey Windsor.
It is a useful resource to determine which States have a Sex Offender Residency Restriction (SORR) and against who they apply.
Please note that these are STATE restrictions. Municipalities (County and City) might have harsher restrictions (as in the case of Florida).
|
STATE |
OFFENDER (2018) |
RESTRICTIONS AS OF 2018 |
|
ALABAMA |
All adult sex offenders |
2000 ft of schools, childcare facilities or resident camps |
|
ALASKA |
NONE |
|
|
ARIZONA |
Adults convicted of a dangerous crime against children, |
1000 ft of schools, child care facilities |
|
ARKANSAS |
Level 3 or 4 sex offenders |
2000 ft. of schools, public parks, youth centers, or daycare facilities. Level 4 sex offenders may not reside within 2000 ft. of a church or place of worship |
|
CALIFORNIA |
Parolees |
2000 ft of schools or parks where children regulary gather. 1/2 mile of schools, 2000 ft of parks where children regularly gather |
|
COLORADO |
NONE |
|
|
CONNECTICUT |
1000 ft of a public or private elementary or secondary, or (2) a facility where child day care services are provided | |
|
DELAWARE |
Any sexual offender |
500 ft of schools |
|
FLORIDA |
Any sexual offender with victim under 16 years old |
1000 ft. of schools, child care facilities, parks or playgrounds |
|
GEORGIA |
Registered offenders |
1000 ft. of child care facilities, churches, schools, or any area where minors congregate (explicity includes parks, recreation facilities, playgrounds, skating rinks, neighborhood centers, gymnasiums, school bus stops, public libraries, or public community swimming pools) |
|
HAWAII |
NONE |
|
|
IDAHO |
Adult criminal sex offenders |
500 ft of schools |
|
ILLINOIS |
Sex offender with child victim |
500 ft. of schools, playgrounds, child care institutions, day care centers, day care homes, or any facility providing programs or services exclusively directed toward persons under 18 years of age |
|
INDIANA |
Sex offender with child victim |
1000 ft of a school, youth program center, public park |
|
IOWA |
Adult sex offender convicted of aggravated offense against |
2000 ft. of a school or child care facility |
|
KANSAS |
NONE |
|
|
KENTUCKY |
Sex offender registrants |
1000 ft. of a school, preschool, publicity owned playground or day care facility |
|
LOUISIANA |
Sex offender |
1000 ft. of schools, child care facilities, public parks or recreational facilities 1000 ft. of schools, child care facilities, public parks or recreational facilities, group homes, residential homes, playgrounds, youth centers, public swimming pools, or free standing video arcades |
|
MAINE |
(Allows municipalities to prohibit residence by offenders up to a maximum distance of 750 ft from schools) |
|
|
MARYLAND |
NONE |
|
|
MASSACHUSETTS |
NONE |
|
|
MICHIGAN |
Registered offenders |
NONE |
|
MISSOURI |
All sex offenders |
1000 ft. of schools or child care facilities |
|
MINNESOTA |
NONE |
|
|
MISSISSIPPI |
Any person convicted of registrable sex offense, including those acquitted by reason of insanity |
3000 ft. of schools, child care facilities, children’s group homes, playgrounds, ballparks, or other recreational facilities utilized by persons under the age of eighteen |
|
MONTANA |
High-risk |
300 ft. of schools, day-care centers, playgrounds, developed or improved parks, athletic fields or facilities that primarily serve minors Judge shall impose conditions of probation, parole, etc. restricting residency in proximity to schools, preschools, day-care centers, churches, or public parks |
|
NEBRASKA |
(Allows political subdivisions to prohibit residence by “sexual predators” up to a maxiumum distance of 500 ft. from schools or child care facilities) | |
|
NEVADA |
NONE |
|
|
NEW HAMPHIRE |
(Bill to ban municipalities from adopting residence restrictions under study in the Senate) | |
|
NEW JERSEY |
NONE |
|
|
NEW MEXICO |
NONE |
|
|
NEW YORK |
Parolees |
At discretion of parole or probation department, offender may be restricted from living within 1000 ft of a school or other facility caring for children. (New proposal in state legislature 2017-2018 session would impose 1000 ft. restrictions to all sex offenders) |
|
NORTH CAROLINA |
Sex offender registrants |
1000 ft. of schools or child day-care centers |
|
NORTH DAKATA |
High risk sex offenders |
500 ft. of schools or pre-schools |
|
OHIO |
Sex offenders against child victim |
1000 ft of schools or child day-care centers |
|
OKLAHOMA |
Registered sex offenders |
2000 ft. from schools, “educational institutions.” property used by an organization whose primary purpose is working with children, playgrounds, or parks |
|
OREGON |
Parolees and probationers |
(The law provides a general prohibition to the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison supervision against allowing a sex offender to reside near locations where children are the primary occupants or users) |
|
PENNSYLVANIA |
(No state law, but numerous local laws) | |
|
RHODE ISLAND |
Those required t |
300 ft . of schools 1000 ft of schools |
|
SOUTH CAROLINA |
Sex offenders with child victim |
1000 ft. of schools, daycare centers, children’s recreational facilities, parks or public playgrounds |
|
SOUTH DAKOTA |
Those required to register as a sex offender |
500 ft from schools, public parks, public playgrounds, or public pools |
|
TENNESSEE |
Adult sex offenders, more than 3 years older than the victim, convicted of rape, forcible sodomy upon child <13, object sexual penetration on child <13 |
500 ft. of schools or child day centers |
|
TEXAS |
Sex offender probationers and parolees with child victim |
Subject ot case-by-case “Child Safety Zone” (premises where children commmonly gather, including a school, day-care facility, playground, public or private youth center, public swimming pool, or video arcade facility) (Numerous local laws-many of which repealed in recent years) |
|
UTAH |
NONE |
|
|
VERMONT |
NONE |
|
|
VIRGINA |
Adult sex offender, more than three years older than the |
500 ft. of schools, child day centers |
|
WASHINGTON |
Parolees |
Depart of Corrections authorized to reject proposed residence in close proximity to schools, child care centers, playgrounds, or other facilities where children of similar age or circumstance as a previous victim are present. For high-risk offenders DOC may restrict residence to 880 feet from facilities and grounds of a public or private school (“community protection zone”) |
|
WEST VIRGINA |
Adult sex offenders |
1000 ft of schools or child care facilities |
|
WISCONSIN |
Violent sex offenders |
1500 ft of schools, day care centers, youth centers, churches or public parks |
|
WYOMING |
Those required to register |
1000 ft. of schools |
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Adam:
I help homeless registrants in Michigan if you or any other registrant wants to relocate. Feel free to contact me at [email protected]
Thank you Detroit. I’ve sent an email. I truly appreciate any help/information you can provide.
My husband is sex offender 1 and we need place where me and him dont have cps splitting our family up. We been battling for 2 years and we our in Spokane wa. My husband had same job for 5 years and long time ago he thought a girl was 18 and she turn out.to be 14 years old. We are Christians and need a place that we can just be left alone. My husband has had phyosexual test shows he never harm our kids. Please dont judge us we just want to be a family. He on federal probation and parole and he only been in trouble once
I am a 56 yo male and was released from prison two weeks ago in Georgia for having 4 images of child pornography on my computer. The images were unintentional but they were on my computer, so I plead guilty.
I’m now out without a home, money or hope. The residency restrictions in Georgia are so severe that there is simply no place to go. No halfway houses or shelters either have room or meet the requirements. The systems solution is for me to be homeless. In fact, my PO offered to find me a tent and some toiletries.
I had to register an “address” were I was homeless and the bridge has other homeless SOs. I’m stunned that this is the solution accepted by any modern government.
At this point, I’ve lost all hope. I’m faced with: 1) Commit a crime and go back to prison 2) Run (or be non-compliant) and essentially play “Catch Me if You Can”. If caught, see number 1 or 3) Be homeless.
My ex-wife and children are more worried about me now than they were when I was in prison. I’m not one to give up, but I see no path to solution.
NY level 1 here. Level obss have zero restrictions if off probation . Moved to GA they passed a law if crime was before 2004 no housing restrictions. We wanted to move by our family in Florida but just seems impossible. Every county city town has their own restrictions. This was banned in NY . County law is illegal to go over state law . But Florida courts have ignored this for years
FAC:
Residency restriction were found unconstitutional in Michigan so there are no restrictions to living within 1,000 feet of a school.
Residency restrictions were found unconstitutional in Michigan for a reason. They do nothing to promote public safety. Just the first nail in the coffin for the registry to be found unconstitutional in Michigan.
It’s just a matter of time before we will be saying R.I.P. to Michigan’s SORA.
Updated – thank you.
I plead out to an exhibition charge in Florida in 2001. Was booked and released on OR. Never met with an attorney or public defender. Was offered probation or a short jail sentence. I took jail knowing my substance abuse history basically guaranteed violations and prison. I knew nothing about registration laws. I grabbed myself through my pants no genitals ever exposed. The registry destroyed my life. No jobs. I’ve been sent to prison four times for failure to properly register. Twice in Florida twice in NC. For being homeless. Yes. It is a crime in NC to be homeless if your an SO. I have now spent over 7 years in prison for not being able to keep an address. I’m at a loss. I think I will be homeless again come April. The pandemic saved me this far. I have no priors and no charges since. St.Augustine FL. sent me to prison twice. They hate SO in that city. Anyway now I’m 52 with no prospects. I do have a wife who is fed up with all of it. But she is hanging in there. So far. I moved to NC because the registry requirements are only for ten years in my case. But then come to find out only if Florida agrees and even then only effective in NC. Prison is not easy for this kind of crime. It was particularly brutal in Florida. I’ve thought it best to go ahead and commit some real crime like armed robbery if I become sure I will again be locked up for failure to properly register. If anyone has any suggestion on how I can find a place and job please let me know.
FAC:
Cases such as CMS’s need to be documented. Even though FAC isn’t dealing with residency restrictions at the moment, FAC should verify and document the facts of his case so they have it when this issue is addressed in court. Ideally, it would be nice to have a signed and notarized affidavit because this is admissible in court.