Pen. Code, § 290.012 · Chapter 5.5. Sex Offenders
Pen. Code, § 290.012
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Beginning on his or her first birthday following registration or change of address, the person shall be required to register annually, within five working days of his or her birthday, to update his or her registration with the entities described in subdivision (b) of Section 290. At the annual update, the person shall provide current information as required on the Department of Justice annual update form, including the information described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 290.015. The registering agency shall give the registrant a copy of the registration requirements from the Department of Justice form.
(b) In addition, every person who has ever been adjudicated a sexually violent predator, as defined in Section 6600 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall, after his or her release from custody, verify his or her address no less than once every 90 days and place of employment, including the name and address of the employer, in a manner established by the Department of Justice. Every person who, as a sexually violent predator, is required to verify his or her registration every 90 days, shall be notified wherever he or she next registers of his or her increased registration obligations. This notice shall be provided in writing by the registering agency or agencies. Failure to receive this notice shall be a defense to the penalties prescribed in subdivision (f) of Section 290.018.
(c) In addition, every person subject to the Act, while living as a transient in California, shall update his or her registration at least every 30 days, in accordance with Section 290.011.
(d) No entity shall require a person to pay a fee to register or update his or her registration pursuant to this section. The registering agency shall submit registrations, including annual updates or changes of address, directly into the Department of Justice California Sex and Arson Registry (CSAR).
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 772, Sec. 2. (SB 448) Effective January 1, 2017. Note: This section was amended on Nov. 6, 2012, by initiative Prop. 35.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=290.012.
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- sha256 c84fec053a6b22cf5a6e736e4ffded39b6c0012d9c0816a14f287670cf4e1f53
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
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