SB 384 in California: Sex Offender Tiers and Petition to End

California’s sex offender registration tiers are the three categories the state uses to decide how long a person must stay on the registry: 10 years, 20 years, or life. The system took effect on January 1, 2021 under Senate Bill 384, which replaced the old rule that treated nearly every registrable conviction as lifetime.¹ The change is retroactive, so people who were already registered became eligible to petition for removal once their minimum period ran.²

How Tiers Are Assigned

The California Department of Justice assigns a tier to every registered person in the state. Three things drive the placement: the specific conviction offense, whether that offense counts as a “serious” or “violent” felony under California sentencing law, and the person’s score on a standardized risk assessment.³ When the DOJ cannot immediately make the call, it can place a registrant in a temporary “tier to be determined” category for up to 24 months while it gathers records.²

The risk score comes from the Static Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders, or SARATSO. It looks at static factors like criminal history along with dynamic factors like substance use and self-regulation.⁴ A score of “well above average risk” pushes a person into Tier 3 automatically, even when the underlying conviction would land in a lower tier.³

To find out which tier you’re in, request your tier notification letter from the local law enforcement agency where you register. If you believe the assignment is wrong under the statute, the DOJ recommends consulting a public defender’s office or private attorney about challenging it.¹

Tier 1: Ten-Year Registration

Tier 1 covers the least serious registrable offenses. It applies to anyone convicted of a registrable misdemeanor, or a registrable felony that is not a serious or violent felony under California law.³ Misdemeanor indecent exposure is a common example.

The 10-year clock starts on the date of release from incarceration, or on the date of sentencing when the person got probation or another form of community supervision rather than custody.¹ Any later incarceration pauses the clock entirely. An arrest that does not result in a new conviction, adjudication, or supervision revocation does not.

To be eligible to petition, you must have completed the full 10 years with every annual registration update on time, no new felony or registrable offense convictions during the period, and you cannot be in custody, on parole, or on probation when you file.¹

Tier 2: Twenty-Year Registration

Tier 2 applies to registrable offenses that qualify as serious or violent felonies under California law. It also captures a handful of specific offenses regardless of that classification: incest, certain sexual acts with minors involving force or coercion, sexual penetration accomplished through specific unlawful means, and a second or subsequent conviction for annoying or molesting a child when the cases were tried separately.³

The 20-year clock also starts on release from custody, and the same tolling rule applies: later incarceration pauses it. To petition, you must complete the full 20 years with unbroken registration compliance and no new felony or registrable offense convictions.

Tier 3: Lifetime Registration

Tier 3 requires registration for life. The statute assigns this tier for the most serious offenses, including:

Murder or kidnapping committed during a sex offense, such as killing someone while committing rape or child molestation, or kidnapping someone with intent to commit a sex crime.
Aggravated sexual assault of a child, including sexual acts with a child under 14 when the offender is at least 10 years older, continuous sexual abuse of a child, and sexual acts with a child under 10.
Sex trafficking of a minor, including pimping or pandering involving a child, or procuring a child for sex acts.
Repeat offenses, including a second separate conviction for lewd acts with a child under 14, or classification as a habitual sex offender.
Anyone committed to a state mental hospital as a sexually violent predator.
Anyone with a “well above average risk” SARATSO score at the time of release.

The full Tier 3 list in the statute is longer, but those are the categories most people encounter.³

The SARATSO-Only Exception

One narrow path off Tier 3 exists. If your placement is based solely on a “well above average risk” SARATSO score and your conviction offense would otherwise sit in Tier 1 or Tier 2, you can petition after 20 years from your release date.¹ If that petition is denied, you must wait at least three years before filing again.⁵ For everyone else in Tier 3, there is no termination pathway.

Petitioning to End Registration

Reaching the end of your minimum period does not automatically remove you from the registry. You have to file a petition and have a court grant it.

The petition is Judicial Council Form CR-415, filed in the superior court in the county where you currently register.⁶ You must include proof that you are currently registered, and you serve copies on the registering law enforcement agency and the district attorney in that county. If your conviction is from a different county, you also serve the law enforcement agency and DA there.⁵

After the petition is filed, law enforcement has 60 days to report to the DA and the court on whether you meet the statutory requirements. The DA then has 60 days from receiving that report to request a hearing. If no hearing is requested and the report confirms eligibility, the court grants the petition, provided you have no pending charges affecting your tier and are not in custody or under supervision.⁵

When the DA Opposes

If the DA requests a hearing, the question becomes whether continued registration would significantly enhance community safety. The court weighs the nature of the original offense, the age and number of victims, completion of treatment programs, criminal history since the conviction, and current stability. If the court finds that continued registration still serves public safety, the petition is denied.⁵

A denial isn’t permanent, but it costs time. The court sets a waiting period of at least one year and no more than five before you can file again, and it must state on the record why it chose that length.⁵ All existing registration obligations continue in the meantime.

Termination is not retroactive to your criminal record. A granted petition ends your registration duty going forward; it does not expunge the underlying conviction.

What Still Applies While You’re Registered

Compliance is not just about preserving your right to petition. Failing to register is its own crime, and the penalty depends on the underlying offense:

For misdemeanor-based registrants, a willful violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail.
For felony-based registrants, a willful violation is a felony punishable by 16 months, two years, or three years in state prison. Anyone with a prior failure-to-register conviction faces the felony penalty on a repeat violation regardless of the original offense level.
Sexually violent predators who fail to complete required 90-day verification check-ins face state prison or up to one year in county jail.

If probation is granted on a failure-to-register conviction, the law requires a minimum 90 days in county jail as a condition.⁷ Federal law adds another layer: knowingly failing to register or update after traveling in interstate or foreign commerce is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison.⁸

International Travel

Two federal rules matter if you travel abroad. Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, you must notify your registration jurisdiction at least 21 days before any international trip. That jurisdiction forwards your travel details to the U.S. Marshals Service, which shares them with INTERPOL and law enforcement in the destination country.⁹

Under International Megan’s Law, the State Department places a printed statement inside the passports of covered sex offenders. It reads: “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to 22 USC 212b(c)(1).” The identifier remains as long as you are subject to registration and cannot be removed. It does not automatically bar entry to another country, but foreign immigration officials can use it to trigger additional screening, detention, or denial of entry at their discretion.¹⁰

1
California Department of Justice. California Tiered Sex Offender Registration (Senate Bill 384) FAQs
2
California Department of Justice. Information Bulletin 20-02-CJIS
3
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 290 – Sex Offender Registration Act
4
SARATSO. Risk Assessment Instruments
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 290.5
6
Judicial Branch of California. Petition to Terminate Sex Offender Registration (Pen. Code, 290.5)
7
California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 290.018
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2250 – Failure to Register
9
Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. SORNA: Information Required for Notice of International Travel
10
U.S. Department of State. Passports and International Megan’s Law