2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 23 - Law Enforcement and Public Safety › Chapter 3 - South Carolina Law Enforcement Division › Section 23-3-463. Motion to request order to be removed from requirements of the sex offender registry.

(A) An offender may file a motion with the general sessions court to request an order to be removed from the requirements of the sex offender registry act if:
(1) He is a Tier I or Tier II offender or if the offender was required to register based on an adjudication of delinquency whose application for removal under Section 23-3-462 has been denied by SLED.
(2) He is a Tier III offender after thirty years from the date of discharge from incarceration without supervision, or the termination of active supervision of probation, parole, or any other active alternative to incarceration.
(3) If the offender is required to register due to an out-of-state or federal conviction, the equivalent tier under the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-248), the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) shall apply.
(B) All motions pursuant to this section must be made no earlier than the appropriate timeframes related to the underlying offense as specified in Section 23-3-462(A)(1) or subsection (A)(2). An offender is not eligible for a hearing pursuant to this section if he submitted an application prior to the timeframe specified in Section 23-3-462(A)(1) that was either not accepted or erroneously accepted by SLED.
(C) The motion must be filed in the county in which the underlying conviction occurred if the conviction occurred within the State, or if the conviction occurred outside of the State, the county in which the offender resides.
(D) A person requesting a hearing under this section is entitled to the assistance of counsel, and if the person is indigent, the court must appoint counsel to assist the person.
(E) The court may direct that a qualified evaluator designated by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health conduct an evaluation whether the offender poses a foreseeable risk to reoffend. For any such evaluation, the court must order the offender to comply with all testing and assessments deemed necessary by the evaluator. After the evaluation by the qualified evaluator designated by the department, if the offender or the prosecutor seeks an independent evaluation by an independent qualified evaluator, then that evaluation must be completed within ninety days after receipt of the request by the department evaluator. The court may grant an extension upon the request of the independent qualified evaluator and a showing of extraordinary circumstances. Any qualified evaluator who will be submitted as an expert at a hearing on the motion must submit a written report available to both parties.
(F) The court must make a determination upon a finding by clear and convincing evidence that the offender is no longer a foreseeable risk to reoffend and that it is in the best interest of justice to grant the motion for removal from the requirement of registration.
(G) The State of South Carolina must be named as the respondent to the action and shall be represented by the prosecution office that obtained the underlying conviction for which the offender is required to register, or, if the conviction occurred outside of the State, the Attorney General. All requirements of the Victim's Rights Act, including reasonable notice, must be observed. The following agencies have standing to request to be made a party to the motion:
(1) any original prosecuting solicitor's office for an underlying qualifying conviction if not already representing the State;
(2) the local solicitor's office where the offender resides at the time of the hearing if not already representing the State; or
(3) the Attorney General's Office if not already representing the State.
(H) If a person is convicted of multiple offenses requiring registration, and the offenses fall within different tiers, the person only may petition for removal of the registration requirement once the required time passes for the highest tier offense they have been convicted of that requires registration.
(I) If the motion is denied, the person may not file for removal from the registry pursuant to this section again until five years after the date of the final order.
HISTORY: 2022 Act No. 221 (H.4075), Section 5, eff May 23, 2022.
Editor's Note
2022 Act No. 221, Section 8, provides as follows:
"SECTION 8. This act is retroactive and shall apply to any resident of this State who currently is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 23, and who meets the requirements set forth in the act."