Chapter 4: How Long Do I Have to Register?

Last Updated: January 23, 2025. Report error / Make suggestion

The time a person has to register is based on the type of conviction. RCW 9A.44.140 explains the length a time a person must register. However, a person may be able to end their time on the registry early by writing a letter to law enforcement or going to court. For more information about how to end the duty to register early, please consult Part 2 of this guide.

• If you were convicted of a Class A Felony sex offense, two or more sex or kidnapping offenses, or a sex offense in an out-of-state, tribal, military, federal, or foreign court, you must register indefinitely. That means you must register until a court orders registration to end. You can ask a judge to end the duty to register at 10 years in the community without any disqualifying offenses, unless you were convicted of Rape in the First Degree, Rape in the Second Degree under the forcible compulsion prong, or Indecent Liberties Without Force after June 8, 2000, or were civilly committed as a sexually violent predator.
• If you were convicted of a Class B Felony adult sex offense, you must register for 15 years. At 15 years in the community without any disqualifying offenses, your duty to register ends. You can also petition or ask a judge to end your duty to register after 10 years in the community without a disqualifying offense.
• If you were convicted of a Class C or gross misdemeanor sex offense, you must register for 10 years. At 10 years in the community, your duty to register ends.
• If you were convicted in juvenile court of a sex offense, your duty to register ends two or three years after the last date of release from confinement, including full-time residential treatment, if any, or entry of disposition/sentencing order.
• You may never petition for removal from the sex offense registry if one of the following is true:
  • You were found to be a sexually violent predator; orYou were convicted as an adult after June 8, 2000, of any Class A felony that was committed with forcible compulsion
• Any person who may not be relieved of the duty to register may petition the court to be exempted from community notification requirements fifteen years after the later of the entry of the judgment and sentence or the last date of release from confinement for the conviction. Confinement includes full-time residential treatment. If you were convicted of a disqualifying offense since entry of your judgment and sentence or release from confinement, you must wait 15 years in the community after your disqualifying offense conviction to petition for exemption from the community notification requirement.

CAUTION: Never assume that sex offense registration ended automatically after a certain date. You can ask the sheriff’s office under RCW 9A.44.141 to have them determine if your duty to register has ended after a certain time. If you are wrong, you could be charged with a crime, like failure to register, have to wait additional time before reapplying to end your requirement to register, or have other adverse consequences.

Talk to a lawyer if you believe you no longer have to register without a court order or going before a judge. Civil Survival offers free attorney consultations each month.

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