U.S. Sex Offender Registry Coverage by State

This is a free educational resource. The information shown here is drawn from public records and official state registries and is provided for general awareness only. A registry search is not a background check, and registry data alone should never be the sole basis for a hiring, volunteer, or safety decision.

In 2024, roughly 795,066 people were listed on U.S. sex offender registries — the most recent national figure from the annual state-by-state survey compiled by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That total has grown by about 43,000, or roughly 6%, since 2019. Texas maintains the largest registry with 75,710 registrants, nearly 10% of the national total, followed by California with about 60,600. The District of Columbia has the smallest, near 1,050. But raw totals only tell part of the story — how each state discloses that information matters far more.

No. Public disclosure depends on how each state classifies offenders. Tier-based states, which follow the federal SORNA framework, generally publish all registrants across Tiers I through III. Risk-based states often publish only moderate- and high-risk offenders — Levels 2 and 3 — and keep the lowest level visible to law enforcement only. This means a “clear” result on one state’s public site does not prove a person has no record. It may only mean their record isn’t publicly displayed in that state.

The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) links every state registry into one search, but not every state shares complete geographic data. States marked “full data” provide the coordinate-level information that lets NSOPW return complete location-based results. States marked “partial” limit what NSOPW can display, so a nationwide search may miss records that appear only on the state’s own site. The map above flags each state’s data-sharing status so you know when to check the state registry directly.

The federal Adam Walsh Act created SORNA to standardize registration nationwide, but states were free to adopt it or keep their own frameworks. SORNA-compliant states use offense-based tiers with defined registration periods. Non-compliant states use their own tier or risk models, so registration length, public visibility, and verification frequency all differ from state to state. Neither approach is inherently “better” for screening. But those differences are exactly why a single-source registry check is unreliable on its own.

A registry search confirms current registration status in one jurisdiction, on one day. It does not surface offenses in other states, convictions that never triggered registration, or pending charges. For any organization screening staff or volunteers who work with children, a registry check should be one layer — combined with multi-jurisdictional criminal searches, an SSN trace, and county-level records — not the whole picture. The legal minimum is rarely the safety minimum, and children are protected by the gap between the two.

Yes. All 50 states and the District of Columbia maintain public sex offender registries searchable online. How much information each registry displays varies, though — some show every registrant, while others publish only higher-risk offenders and restrict lower-level records to law enforcement.

Approximately 795,066 people were on U.S. sex offender registries in 2024, the most recent national count. Texas has the largest registry, at about 75,710, and the District of Columbia the smallest, at about 1,050.

No. A clear result reflects only that state’s public registry on that day. Because states differ in which offenders they publish and which data they share nationally, a person can be registered elsewhere or have a conviction that never required registration. Registry checks should be combined with broader criminal searches.

State registries are maintained by each individual state. NSOPW, the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, links them for nationwide searching — but some states share only partial data, so NSOPW results can be incomplete. Checking the specific state registry directly is often more thorough.

Update frequency varies by state and offender tier — from every 90 days for the highest-risk offenders to once a year for lower-risk registrants. This is another reason registry data should be treated as a point-in-time snapshot, not a permanent record.

About the author. Steve Durie is the founder of SecureSearch and Safeguard from Abuse®, a background screening and child-protection specialist with more than 20 years in the field. He is the author of Pillar of Protection, The Volunteer Safety Guide, and Guardians of Grace, which form the foundation of the Safeguard from Abuse abuse-prevention curriculum.

Related: Comprehensive background screening for organizations  ·  Abuse-prevention training with Safeguard from Abuse®