2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 23 - Law Enforcement and Public Safety › Chapter 3 - South Carolina Law Enforcement Division › Section 23-3-460. Bi-annual registration for life subject to provisions of Section 23-3-462 and Section 23-3-463; notification of change of address; notification of local law enforcement agencies.

(A) A person required to register pursuant to this article is required to register biannually for life subject to the provisions of Section 23-3-462 and Section 23-3-463. For purposes of this article, "biannually" means each year during the month of his birthday and again during the sixth month following his birth month. The person required to register shall register and must reregister at the sheriff's department in each county where he resides, owns real property, is employed, or attends any public or private school including, but not limited to, a secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and any vocational, technical, or occupational school. A person determined by a court to be a sexually violent predator pursuant to state law is required to verify registration and be photographed every ninety days by the sheriff's department in the county in which he resides unless the person is committed to the custody of the State, and verification will be held in abeyance until his release.
(B) A person classified as a Tier III offender by Title I of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-248), the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), is required to register every ninety days.
(C) If a person required to register pursuant to this article changes his address within the same county, that person must send written notice of the change of address to the sheriff within three business days of establishing the new residence. If a person required to register under this article owns or acquires real property or is employed within a county in this State, or attends, is enrolled, volunteers, interns, or carries on a vocation at any public or private school including, but not limited to, a secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and any vocational, technical, or occupational school, he must register with the sheriff in each county where the real property, employment, or the public or private school is located within three business days of acquiring the real property, beginning employment at any school, or attending the public or private school.
(D) If a person required to register pursuant to this article changes his permanent or temporary address into another county in South Carolina, the person must register with the county sheriff in the new county within three business days of establishing the new residence. The person also must provide written notice within three business days of the change of address in the previous county to the sheriff with whom the person last registered. For purposes of this subsection, "temporary address" or "residence" means the location of the individual's home or other place where the person habitually lives or resides, or where the person lives or resides for a period of ten or more consecutive days. For purposes of this subsection, "habitually lives or resides" means locations at which the person lives with some regularity.
(E) A person required to register pursuant to this article and who is employed by, attends, is enrolled, volunteers, interns, or carries on a vocation at any public or private school, including, but not limited to, a kindergarten, elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and any vocational, technical, or occupational school, must provide written notice within three business days of each change in attendance, enrollment, volunteer status, intern status, employment, or vocation status at any public or private school in this State. For purposes of this subsection, "employed and carries on a vocation" means employment that is full time or part time for a period of time exceeding fourteen days or for an aggregate period of time exceeding thirty days during a calendar year, whether financially compensated, volunteered, or for the purpose of government or educational benefit; and "student" means a person who is enrolled on a full-time or part-time basis, in a public or private school, including, but not limited to, a kindergarten, elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and a vocational, technical, or occupational school.
(F) If a person required to register pursuant to this article moves outside of South Carolina, the person must provide written notice within three business days of the change of address to a new state to the county sheriff with whom the person last registered.
(G) A person required to register pursuant to this article who moves to South Carolina from another state establishes residence, acquires real property, is employed in, or attends, is enrolled, volunteers, interns, is employed by, or carries on a vocation at a public or private school, including, but not limited to, a kindergarten, elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and a vocational, technical, or occupational school in South Carolina, and is not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Juvenile Parole Board at the time of moving to South Carolina must register within three business days of establishing residence, acquiring real property, gaining employment, attending or enrolling, volunteering or interning, being employed by, or carrying on a vocation at a public or private school in this State.
(H) The sheriff of the county in which the person resides must forward all changes to any information provided by a person required to register pursuant to this article to SLED within three business days.
(I) A sheriff who receives registration information, notification of change of permanent or temporary address, or notification of change in employment, or attendance, enrollment, employment, volunteer status, intern status, or vocation status at a public or private school, including, but not limited to, a kindergarten, elementary school, middle school or junior high, high school, secondary school, adult education school, college or university, and a vocational, technical, or occupational school, must notify all local law enforcement agencies, including college or university law enforcement agencies, within three business days of an offender whose permanent or temporary address, real property, or public or private school is within the local law enforcement agency's jurisdiction.
(J) The South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, shall inform, in writing, any new resident who applies for a driver's license, chauffeur's license, vehicle tag, or state identification card of the obligation of sex offenders to register. The department also shall inform, in writing, a person renewing a driver's license, chauffeur's license, vehicle tag, or state identification card of the requirement for sex offenders to register.
HISTORY: 1994 Act No. 497, Part II, Section 112A; 1996 Act No. 444, Section 16; 1998 Act No. 384, Section 1; 2001 Act No. 107, Section 4; 2002 Act No. 310, Section 3; 2005 Act No. 141, Section 5; 2006 Act No. 342, Section 4, eff July 1, 2006; 2010 Act No. 212, Section 5, eff June 7, 2010; 2022 Act No. 221 (H.4075), Section 3, eff May 23, 2022.
Validity
For the validity of the prior version of this section, see Powell v. Keel, 433 S.C. 457, 860 S.E.2d 344 (2021), rehearing denied (Aug. 4, 2021).
Editor's Note
2006 Act No. 342, Section 1, provides as follows:
"This act may be cited as the 'Sex Offender Accountability and Protection of Minors Act of 2006'."
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."
Effect of Amendment
The 2006 amendment, in subsection (A), in the first sentence substituted "bi-annually" for "annually" and "during the month of his birthday and again during the sixth month following his birth month" for "within thirty days after the anniversary date of the offender's last registration" and in the second sentence substituted "person required to register shall register and must reregister" for "offender shall register"; and made nonsubstantive and conforming amendments throughout.
The 2010 amendment rewrote this section.
2022 Act No. 221, Section 3, in (A), in the first sentence, inserted "subject to the provisions of Section 23-3-462 and Section 23-3-463" and made a nonsubstantive change; and in (C), in the second sentence, inserted ", beginning employment at any school," following "acquiring the real property" and made a nonsubstantive change.