Data Compliance & SORNA Information

SORNA Overview

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. SORNA establishes federal standards for sex offender registration and notification, including:

Three-tier classification based on offense severity (Tier 1: lowest, Tier 3: highest)
Registration duration: 15 years (Tier 1), 25 years (Tier 2), lifetime (Tier 3)
In-person verification: Annual (Tier 1), semi-annual (Tier 2), quarterly (Tier 3)
Community notification requirements proportionate to tier level
Minimum registration information including address, employment, school, vehicle

State Compliance Status

Not all states have achieved full SORNA compliance. States that have not implemented all SORNA requirements maintain their own registration and notification standards, which may differ from federal guidelines.

SORNA Compliant States (46)

AL AK AZ AR CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MI MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Non-Compliant States (4)

CA MA MN OR

Our Data Handling Practices

Collection

We collect sex offender registry data exclusively from official state agency sources. We do not supplement with unofficial sources, user submissions, or third-party databases.

Processing

Collected data is normalized into a consistent schema across all states. This includes standardizing name formats, geocoding addresses, and mapping offense descriptions to consistent categories. No data is fabricated or inferred.

Updates

Data is refreshed daily from each state source. Update timestamps are displayed on all records and state pages. When a state source is temporarily unavailable, the most recent data is maintained with a notation.

Removal

Records are removed from SafeWatch when they are removed from the official state registry. If you believe a record should be removed, contact the relevant state agency to update their registry. Once updated at the source, our data will reflect the change within 24 hours.

COPPA Compliance

SafeWatch Registry is not directed at children under 13. While sex offender registry data serves a child safety purpose, the website is intended for use by adults (parents, guardians, community members). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Contact

For compliance-related questions, contact compliance@safewatch.io.