End Sex Offender Regustration
As of January 1, 2021, Senate Bill 384 transitions California’s lifetime sex offender registration scheme from “lifetime registration for everyone” to a tiered system that tailors the minimum length of registration to the crime. The new system establishes three tiers of registration for adult registrants for periods of 10 years, 20 years, and life, and two tiers of registration for juvenile registrants for periods of 5 years and 10 years. The law allows the registrant to petition the superior court or juvenile court for termination of their sex offender registration requirement on or after their next birthday after July 1, 2021, following the expiration of their mandated minimum registration period. Based on criteria listed in Senate Bill 384 and input from law enforcement and the District Attorney, the court will either grant or deny the petition. If the court denies the petition, the court sets a new time period, no longer than 5 years from the denial, for the registrant to petition again.