North Carolina — Registry Rules

• People with a reportable conviction (sex offense or certain offenses against minors) must register; see Art. 27A. Nonresident workers and students with reportable convictions must also register where they work or attend school; see G.S. 14-208.7(a1).
• Initial deadline: State residents: within 3 business days of release or arrival in a county, or immediately upon conviction if no active imprisonment; newcomers: within 3 business days of establishing residence or after 15 days’ presence in NC, whichever comes first; see G.S. 14-208.7(a).
• Verification: Standard program: semiannual (on the anniversary of initial registration and again 6 months later); see G.S. 14-208.9A(a). Aggravated/SVP/recidivist: every 90 days; see G.S. 14-208.24.
• Primary method: In person with the county sheriff (registration, changes, and verification); see G.S. 14-208.7(d) and G.S. 14-208.9A.
• ⚠️ Residence bans: do not live within 1,000 ft of a school or child-care center; Class G felony to violate; see G.S. 14-208.16.
• ⚠️ Changes must be reported in person (address within 3 business days; higher-ed status within 3 business days; online identifiers within 10 days); see G.S. 14-208.9.
• ⚠️ Moving out of NC? Notify the sheriff ≥3 business days before leaving; see G.S. 14-208.9(b).
• ⚠️ Lifetime possible for recidivists, aggravated offenses, or SVP; 90-day verification; see G.S. 14-208.23 and G.S. 14-208.24.
• ⚠️ Premises restrictions (certain offenders barred from being on or near specific locations); see G.S. 14-208.18.
• ⚠️ Failure to register/verify is a Class F felony; see G.S. 14-208.11.

Persons with reportable convictions as defined in Article 27A, including certain sex offenses and crimes against minors; nonresident workers/students with reportable convictions must register where they work/attend; see Art. 27A and G.S. 14-208.7(a1).

Duration: Standard registration lasts 30 years with the option to petition for termination after 10 years; recidivists, aggravated offenders, and sexually violent predators register for life under G.S. 14-208.7(a), G.S. 14-208.12A, and G.S. 14-208.23.

• Initial: in person per G.S. 14-208.7(a) (3 business days of release/arrival; newcomers in 3 days of establishing residence or after 15 days’ presence, whichever first).
• Address change: report in person by the 3rd business day; if moving counties, also report to new county by day 10; see G.S. 14-208.9(a).
• Leaving NC to reside elsewhere: report ≥3 business days before departure with destination address; see G.S. 14-208.9(b).
• Higher-ed status (student or employee): report changes within 3 business days; see G.S. 14-208.9(c)–(d).
• Online identifiers: report new/changed IDs within 10 days; see G.S. 14-208.9(e).

• Standard program: respond in person within 3 business days of receiving the mailed verification form twice yearly; see G.S. 14-208.9A(a)(2).
• Aggravated/SVP/recidivist: sheriff verifies every 90 days; same in-person mechanics as 14-208.9A; see G.S. 14-208.24.
• Failure to appear/verify can trigger arrest and Class F felony under G.S. 14-208.11.

Maintain registration while residing in NC; in-person processes with sheriff; public-record scope and statewide custodian described at G.S. 14-208.10 and G.S. 14-208.14–.15.

• Work/volunteer limits around minors; see G.S. 14-208.17.
• Report higher-ed student/employee status changes within 3 business days; see G.S. 14-208.9(c)–(d).
• Disclose online identifiers at registration and updates within 10 days; see G.S. 14-208.7(b)(7) and G.S. 14-208.9(e).

• Registry information is public record; DPS must provide free Internet access to the statewide registry; see G.S. 14-208.15(b).
• Search and FAQs available via the NCSBI registry portal; see NCSBI Registry and FAQ.

• Before moving out of NC, notify the sheriff ≥3 business days before departure and provide destination details; see G.S. 14-208.9(b).
• Upon moving to another state, registration there is governed by that state’s law; NC sheriff must advise; see G.S. 14-208.9(b)(2).

• Nonresident workers/students with reportable convictions must register in the NC county of work/school; see G.S. 14-208.7(a1).
• Nonresident newcomers becoming residents must register within 3 business days of establishing residence or after 15 days’ presence, whichever first; see G.S. 14-208.7(a).

Willful failures (to register, verify, report changes, etc.) are Class F felonies; aiding evasion is a Class H felony; see G.S. 14-208.11 and G.S. 14-208.11A.

• Standard program duration is 30 years; may petition after 10 years to terminate if eligible; see G.S. 14-208.7(a) and G.S. 14-208.12A.
• No termination for lifetime categories (recidivist, aggravated offense, SVP) except as provided in law; see G.S. 14-208.23.
• Out-of-state/federal convictions: right to seek judicial determination of the duty to register; see G.S. 14-208.12B and AOC form CR-259.

• Juveniles (age > 11) adjudicated for certain offenses may be ordered to register (not mandatory); filing handled by the chief court counselor; registration terminates by 18 or end of juvenile jurisdiction; see G.S. 14-208.26 and G.S. 14-208.30.

• No statewide registration fee is enacted in Article 27A (2017 H684 was a proposal only); see bill analysis H684 (2017).
• Separate online-identifier screening fee applies to entities (not registrants) under G.S. 14-208.15A(c).

• Statute: S.L. 2020-83 (H593) — 2019-2020; effective 2020-08-01. Created G.S. 14-208.12B, allowing judicial review of the requirement to register for out-of-state/federal convictions. link
• Case: Packingham v. North Carolina — U.S. Supreme Court (2017-06-19) — Struck down NC’s broad social-media ban for registrants as violating the First Amendment; does not alter core registration duties. link