Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: Sex Offender Registration

Texas sex offender registration is governed by Chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires people convicted or adjudicated for qualifying offenses to register with local law enforcement, keep their information current through in-person verification visits, and remain on the registry for either ten years or life depending on the offense. Falling out of compliance is itself a felony, charged as a state jail, third-degree, or second-degree felony based on which registration track you are on.

Who Has to Register

Article 62.001 defines a “reportable conviction or adjudication,” and the list reaches completed convictions, deferred adjudications, and juvenile adjudications of delinquent conduct, whether or not an appeal is pending.¹

Some offenses trigger registration on their own. Sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual, prohibited sexual conduct, compelling prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, sexual performance by a child, possession or promotion of child pornography, and bestiality all qualify without any further finding by the court.¹

Other offenses require an additional factual finding. Unlawful restraint, kidnapping, and aggravated kidnapping trigger registration when the judgment contains an affirmative finding of sexual motivation or when the victim or intended victim was younger than 17. Aggravated kidnapping also qualifies when the actor intended to sexually violate or abuse the victim. First-degree burglary qualifies when the entry was made with intent to commit one of the listed sex offenses. Second-degree felony solicitation of prostitution and certain human trafficking offenses are also reportable. Many offenses that do not have “sex” in the name can still land a person on the registry if the facts line up.

How Long Registration Lasts in Texas

Article 62.101 sorts registrants into two tracks: lifetime or ten years.

Lifetime

The duty runs until death for anyone with a reportable conviction or adjudication, other than a juvenile adjudication of delinquent conduct, for a sexually violent offense or for certain listed crimes including prohibited sexual conduct, specific compelling prostitution subsections, possession or promotion of child pornography, and qualifying human trafficking offenses.² Kidnapping and unlawful restraint involving a victim younger than 17 also carry a lifetime obligation, as do certain child pornography offenses charged at elevated felony levels. When a person has multiple reportable convictions, the stricter lifetime requirement controls.

Ten Years

For reportable offenses not on the lifetime list, the duty expires on the tenth anniversary of the latest of three dates: when the court dismisses the proceedings and discharges the person, when the person is released from a penal institution, or when the person completes community supervision.² For juvenile adjudications, the ten-year clock starts from the disposition date or the date the person completes the disposition, whichever is later. The “whichever is later” language means the clock does not run while a person is incarcerated or still under supervision.

In-Person Verification

Article 62.058 requires registrants to appear in person at the local law enforcement authority designated as their primary registration authority to confirm their information is still accurate, even if nothing has changed.

Most registrants report once a year. The reporting window runs from 30 days before to 30 days after the anniversary of the person’s date of birth.³

A person convicted or given deferred adjudication two or more times for a sexually violent offense verifies at least once every 90 days, measured from the date of first registration.³

At each visit, officers collect and update a large amount of personal information: name and aliases, date of birth, physical description, shoe size, social security number, driver’s license number, a current color photograph, a complete set of fingerprints, home, work, and cell numbers, residence address or a detailed description of where the person lives if there is no fixed address, employer or school information, and every online identifier the registrant uses, including email addresses and social media usernames.⁴ For certain human trafficking convictions, vehicle information including make, model, VIN, color, and plate number is collected as well.

Moving, Traveling, and Other Changes

Address changes are where many registrants get into trouble. Article 62.055 requires a two-step, in-person process. If you plan to move, you must report in person to your primary registration authority at least seven days before the intended move, giving the anticipated move date and the new address.⁵ After the move, you have seven days to report in person to the local law enforcement authority in the new municipality or county, bringing proof of identity and proof of residence.

Advance notice is required; you cannot simply notify after the fact. None of this can be handled by phone, online, or through a third party. Each visit involves signing updated forms certifying the new information.⁵ If you move out of state, you must report the intended move to your Texas registration authority before leaving. People without a physical address still have to provide a detailed description of where they reside. Changes in employment or enrollment at an institution of higher education must also be reported, under a separate provision of Chapter 62.

International travel has its own rule. Under International Megan’s Law, registrants planning to travel outside the United States must notify their local registration agency at least 21 days before departure and provide the itinerary and intended destinations.⁶ The U.S. Marshals Service may notify the destination country through the Angel Watch Center, and the registrant’s passport will carry a unique identifier indicating registry status.

What Is Public and What Is Not

The Department of Public Safety maintains a centralized database, and most of what is in it is public under Article 62.005. Members of the public can see a registrant’s name, photograph, physical description, the offense of conviction, and the assigned risk level. DPS must post and annually update photographs obtained through the driver’s license or personal identification process.⁷

Several categories are kept confidential and excluded from public view:

Social security numbers and driver’s license numbers
Home, work, and cell phone numbers
Online identifiers and employer names, addresses, and phone numbers
Any information that would identify the victim

Local law enforcement must release public information from the registry on request and may charge a fee to cover administrative costs.⁷

Penalties for Noncompliance

Article 62.102 makes it a crime to fail to comply with any Chapter 62 requirement. That reaches missing a verification visit, not reporting an address change, providing false information, and failing to register in the first place. The felony level tracks the underlying registration duty:

State jail felony, with 180 days to 2 years in a state jail, if the registration duty expires after ten years under Article 62.101(b) or (c).⁸
Third-degree felony, with 2 to 10 years in prison, for a person with a lifetime duty who verifies annually.
Second-degree felony, with 2 to 20 years in prison, for a person with a lifetime duty on the 90-day verification cycle.⁸

A prior conviction for failure to comply raises the offense to the next higher felony category. The same enhancement applies if the person used fraudulent identifying information during the violation. A second failure-to-comply charge can therefore reach first-degree felony territory.

Separate federal exposure runs alongside the state charge. Under 18 U.S.C. Section 2250, a sex offender who is required to register under SORNA and knowingly fails to register or update a registration can face up to 10 years in federal prison.⁹ If the person also commits a violent federal crime while in violation, the sentence becomes a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 30 years, served consecutively to the underlying sentence. Federal cases most often arise when a registrant crosses state lines or international borders without updating registration. Texas has not been found substantially compliant with SORNA, so for anyone registering in Texas the state’s Chapter 62 schedule controls day-to-day; the federal tier system matters mainly when a registrant moves between states or faces federal charges.

Getting Off the Registry Early

Subchapter I of Chapter 62 provides a limited path to early termination. Under Article 62.404, a registrant may file a motion for early termination with the trial court that originally sentenced them, but only after obtaining an individual risk assessment through the Council on Sex Offender Treatment, now part of the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council.¹⁰

The motion must include a written explanation of how the conviction qualifies under the list of offenses eligible for early termination, along with a certified copy of the risk assessment report. Not every offense is eligible. The Council publishes a list of qualifying offenses under Article 62.402, and people with lifetime obligations for sexually violent offenses are generally excluded. Even when a motion is properly filed, the trial court has discretion to grant or deny it based on the risk assessment and other factors.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.001 – Definitions
2
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.101 – Expiration of Duty to Register
3
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.058 – Law Enforcement Verification of Registration Information
4
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.051 – Registration General
5
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.055 – Change of Address Lack of Address
6
SMART. International Megans Law SORNA Statute in Review
7
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.005 – Central Database Public Information
8
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.102 – Failure to Comply With Registration Requirements
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2250 – Failure to Register
10
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.404 – Motion for Early Termination