Sex offender registration and public notification laws vary from state-to-state. Registration laws are intended to assist law enforcement officials in identifying potential suspects. Public notification laws are intended to warn the public about dangerous individuals. These laws have been in place for several years in some states (e.g., Washington), and have recently been adopted in all states after the passage of Megan's law at the federal level in 1996
Currently, at least 32 states have registration laws for juveniles under age 18, however, only 6 states have legislated separate registration laws for juveniles and adults. The 6 states that have a separate registration law for juveniles are: Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
The websites for the laws
from each state are listed in the menu box below. Those marked with
an asterisk (*) have separate laws for juveniles.