Megan’s Law in Maryland: Registration, Residency, and Penalties

Maryland’s version of Megan’s Law requires anyone convicted of a qualifying sex offense to register with local law enforcement, submit a long list of personal information to a state database, and remain on a public online registry for 15 years, 25 years, or life depending on the offense. The law lives in the Criminal Procedure Article, Title 11, Subtitle 7 of the Maryland Code,¹ and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services runs the searchable registry that anyone can look up online.²

Who Has to Register in Maryland

Under § 11-704 of the Criminal Procedure Article, a person must register with their supervising authority if they fall into Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III.³ The requirement reaches sex offenders from other jurisdictions too — federal, military, tribal, or foreign — once they come to Maryland to live, work, attend school, or stay temporarily. Registration ends if the underlying conviction is reversed, vacated, set aside, or pardoned by the Governor.

The specific crime of conviction decides which tier applies:⁴

Tier I covers offenses such as fourth-degree sexual offense, visual surveillance with prurient intent, and a first conviction for possession of child pornography.
Tier II covers third-degree sexual offense under certain conditions, sexual solicitation of a minor, production or distribution of child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor, and forced marriage.
Tier III covers first- and second-degree rape, sexual abuse of a minor, kidnapping of a minor, continuing course of conduct with a child, incest, and attempted first- or second-degree rape.

Juveniles are handled separately. Maryland maintains a juvenile sex offender registry that only law enforcement can see. A juvenile may be placed on it if they were at least 14 at the time of the offense and were adjudicated delinquent for conduct that would be first- or second-degree rape or a serious sexual offense if committed by an adult.⁵ They verify in person every three months and come off the registry when the juvenile court’s jurisdiction ends. A juvenile can be moved to the adult registry only if the State’s Attorney or Department of Juvenile Services requests it, the person is at least 18, and a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that they pose a significant risk of a sexually violent offense or a Tier II or Tier III offense.⁶

How Long Registration Lasts and How Often You Check In

The tier dictates both the length of registration and how often the registrant must appear in person:⁷

Tier I: 15 years, in person every six months.
Tier II: 25 years, in person every six months.
Tier III: Lifetime, in person every three months.
Sexually violent predators: Lifetime, in person every three months.

Tier I registrants can cut their term from 15 to 10 years. To qualify, during the first 10 years they must avoid any new conviction carrying more than a year in prison, avoid any new sex offense conviction, complete all supervised release or probation without revocation, and finish a sex offender treatment program.

The registration clock starts the day the offender is released from custody, placed on probation, given a suspended sentence, or — for juveniles moved to the adult registry — the day the juvenile court’s jurisdiction ends. Every registrant has to submit an updated digital photograph every six months.

What a Registrant Has to Report

Registration is done in person at a local law enforcement unit, and the statement filed under § 11-706 is detailed. It must include:⁸

Full legal name, all aliases, and former names.
Every residential address and any place the registrant habitually stays.
Employer name, address, and work location.
Name and address of any school attended.
The crime of conviction, date, and court.
Every email address, login name, screen name, and chat identity.
Social Security number, date and place of birth, and identifying physical characteristics.
Copies of passport or immigration documents, driver’s license, and professional licenses.
License plate, registration, description, and storage location for every motor vehicle, boat, and aircraft.
All phone numbers.
Fingerprints and palm prints.
Complete criminal history, parole or probation status, and any outstanding warrants.

Registrants classified as sexually violent predators have to add their anticipated future residence and documentation of treatment for a mental abnormality or personality disorder.

The Sexually Violent Predator Designation

Beyond the three tiers, Maryland law allows a separate “sexually violent predator” finding that carries lifetime registration. Under § 11-703, the State’s Attorney can ask the sentencing court for this determination after a conviction for a sexually violent offense but before sentencing, with at least 30 days’ notice to the defendant before trial.⁹ The court decides based on the presentence investigation, the person’s record, defense evidence, and victim testimony if the prosecution requests it. The statute does not set a specific standard of proof for the finding.

Lifetime Sexual Offender Supervision

Some offenders face lifetime sexual offender supervision in addition to registration. Under § 11-723, the sentencing court must order a presentence investigation and, for certain sexual offenses, a risk assessment by a sexual offender treatment provider before setting the terms.¹⁰ Conditions the court may impose include:

GPS or equivalent electronic monitoring.
Proximity restrictions on living near or loitering near schools, child care centers, and other places used primarily by minors.
Employment restrictions preventing contact with minors.
Mandatory participation in a sex offender treatment program.
A prohibition on alcohol and illicit drugs.
Authorization for a parole agent to search the person’s computer for material involving sexual relations with minors.
Regular polygraph examinations.
Restrictions on contact with specific individuals.

A person under lifetime supervision can petition for discharge after serving at least five years. The petition needs a recent risk assessment and a recommendation from the offender’s sexual offender management team. The sentencing judge holds a hearing, and discharge is granted only if the court finds on the record that the person is no longer a danger. If the petition is denied, the next one has to wait at least a year.¹¹

What the Public Can See and Who Gets Notified

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services posts the name and identifying information of every registrant on an internet-accessible registry open to anyone.⁴ You can search by location, and a separate notification service through “icrimewatch” sends phone or email alerts whenever a registered offender moves within a radius you choose, from a quarter-mile up to five miles.²

The data is self-reported. The department warns it cannot guarantee accuracy, registrants may move without reporting the change, and the only way to positively identify a listed person is through fingerprint verification.

When a sex offender registers or changes address, local law enforcement must notify the county school superintendent, who then notifies school principals, along with any nonpublic schools within one mile of where the registrant lives, works, or attends school. Law enforcement may also notify child care facilities, recreation facilities, and faith-based institutions when it decides public safety requires it. Under § 11-718, the department or local police can also tell any particular person if notification is needed to protect the public from a specific registrant.¹²

The registry page carries two prominent warnings. Using the information to harass, injure, or commit crimes against a listed person can itself lead to criminal prosecution. And Maryland law enforcement will never ask a registrant for payment or gift cards to avoid arrest or to be removed from the registry — any such demand is a scam.²

Where Registrants Can Live

Maryland has no statewide residency restriction on registered sex offenders. No state law forbids them from living near schools, child care facilities, or parks. Bills to create such restrictions — a 2007 Baltimore County proposal with a 2,000-foot buffer around schools and child care facilities, and a 2021 statewide proposal with a 1,000-foot buffer around schools, child care facilities, parks, or playgrounds — did not pass.¹³

Entry is a different question. A registered sex offender who enters school property or property where a child care facility is located commits a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.⁴ Individual proximity restrictions can also be imposed as a condition of lifetime supervision in a specific case.

Penalties for Failing to Comply

Failing to register, failing to supply required information, or giving false information carries real criminal exposure under § 11-721:¹⁴

A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
A second or subsequent offense is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Violating lifetime sexual offender supervision is a separate offense. A first violation is a misdemeanor carrying up to five years and a $5,000 fine; later violations are felonies carrying up to 10 years and a $10,000 fine. Someone incarcerated for a supervision violation cannot earn diminution-of-confinement credits toward early release.⁴

Getting Off the Registry

When a registration term runs out, the Sex Offender Registry Unit removes the person from the central registry automatically.¹⁵ Early removal is possible by submitting documentation to the registry unit showing the underlying conviction has been reversed, vacated, set aside, expunged, or pardoned by the Governor. For nonresident registrants, ending the Maryland employment or school enrollment that triggered registration is also grounds for removal. If a conviction that had required lifetime registration is reversed or pardoned, the term converts to 10 years from the original start date rather than ending outright.

The Doe Rulings on Retroactive Registration

The biggest limit on Maryland’s registration law came from Doe v. Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2013. The court held that applying 2009 and 2010 amendments retroactively to offenders who were not subject to registration at the time of their original conviction violated the prohibition on ex post facto laws in Article 17 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights.¹⁶

In a 2014 follow-up, the Court of Appeals confirmed that circuit courts can order the state to remove sex offender registration information from both state and federal databases where its inclusion is unconstitutional under Doe. The state had argued that even if Maryland’s law could not reach these offenders, the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) imposed an independent duty to register. The court rejected that, holding SORNA does not preempt the field: its provisions function as conditions on federal grant funding, not as freestanding mandates that override a state constitutional violation.¹⁷ The Court of Special Appeals reached the same conclusion in Connor v. State (2015).¹⁸ Anyone whose conviction predates the registration requirement that was later applied to them should look closely at whether Doe covers their situation.

1
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Criminal Procedure Article, Title 11, Subtitle 7
2
Maryland DPSCS. Maryland Sex Offender Registry
3
Justia. MD Criminal Procedure Code § 11-704
4
Maryland Department of Legislative Services. Sexual Crimes Guide Sheet
5
Justia. MD Criminal Procedure Code § 11-704.1
6
Maryland General Assembly. Criminal Procedure § 11-704(c)
7
Maryland General Assembly. Criminal Procedure § 11-707
8
Justia. MD Criminal Procedure Code § 11-706
9
Maryland General Assembly. Criminal Procedure § 11-703
10
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Criminal Procedure § 11-723
11
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Criminal Procedure § 11-724
12
Justia. MD Criminal Procedure Code § 11-718
13
ABC News 4. Registered Sex Offenders Living Next to Maryland Schools
14
Justia. MD Criminal Procedure Code § 11-721
15
Maryland COMAR. Regulation 12.06.01.14 – Termination of Registration
16
Mitchell Hamline Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center. Doe v. Dep’t of Public Safety and Correctional Services
17
Maryland Court of Appeals. DPSCS v. Doe, Misc. No. 1, Sept. Term 2013
18
FindLaw. Connor v. State