Maryland sorts registrants into three tiers, and the offense of conviction decides the tier. Tier I registers for 15 years, Tier II for 25 years and Tier III for life. All three tiers appear on the public registry, and missing a reporting deadline is a separate crime.
- Tier I 15 years · in person every 6 months Crim. Proc. §11-707
- Tier II 25 years · in person every 6 months Crim. Proc. §11-707
- Tier III Life · in person every 3 months Crim. Proc. §11-707
- Failure to register Up to 3 years and $5,000 for a first offense Crim. Proc. §11-721
Jump to: How tiers work · What falls in each tier · October 1 changes · Who has to register · Deadlines · Ending early · The public registry · Restrictions · Penalties · FAQ
For anyone charged with a sex offense in Maryland, the registry question often matters as much as the sentence. A jail term ends. Registration can run for 15 years, 25 years or the rest of your life, with in-person check-ins, three-day reporting deadlines and a public listing the whole time.
This guide explains how Maryland’s three tiers work, what puts an offense in each one, what changes on October 1, 2026, and what registration actually requires day to day.
How the tiers work
The tier is not a judge’s assessment of how dangerous someone is. It comes from the offense of conviction: Criminal Procedure §11-701 lists which crimes fall in Tier I, Tier II and Tier III. Attempts and conspiracies count the same as the completed crime. Convictions from other states, federal courts and the military count if the offense is equivalent.
Some tiers turn on facts that are not elements of the crime itself, most often the victim’s age. In Rogers v. State (2020), a case from Anne Arundel County, Maryland’s highest court held that when registration depends on a fact like that, the judge or jury must find it beyond a reasonable doubt before sentencing. The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services cannot decide it on its own afterward.
A prior registration can also move someone up. A registrable offense committed after a person is already registered in Tier I puts them in Tier II. A Tier I or Tier II offense committed after they are already registered in Tier II puts them in Tier III.
What falls in each tier
| Tier | Examples of offenses in the tier | Registration term | In-person check-ins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier I | Fourth-degree sexual offense; visual surveillance with prurient intent when the victim is a minor; possessing, or knowingly accessing and viewing, child pornography | 15 years (can drop to 10) | Every 6 months |
| Tier II | Sexual solicitation of a minor; producing or distributing child pornography; hiring a minor for a prohibited purpose; third-degree sexual offense against a 14- or 15-year-old by someone 21 or older; sex trafficking of a minor | 25 years | Every 6 months |
| Tier III | First- or second-degree rape; attempted rape; sexual abuse of a minor; continuing course of conduct with a child; incest; third-degree sexual offense with aggravating factors or against a child under 14; kidnapping of a minor | Life | Every 3 months |
Examples only. The complete lists are in Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-701(o)–(q). Conspiracy and attempt count in every tier, and so do equivalent federal, military and out-of-state convictions. Sexually violent predators also check in every 3 months.
The lists are long and technical, and the same statute can land in different tiers depending on the victim’s age or the specific subsection charged. Before any plea, the exact subsection matters.
What changes on October 1, 2026
Two new laws take effect on October 1, 2026, and both affect tiers:
- Offenses by a person in a position of authority. Chapter 426 moves sexual offenses against a minor by someone in a position of authority, such as school staff, into a new section of the Criminal Law Article, §3-308.1. The basic misdemeanor stays in Tier I. Two new felonies, when the victim is under 13 or when the person has a prior conviction, are Tier III.
- Sexual contact during a burglary. Chapter 499 makes nonconsensual sexual contact committed during a burglary a third-degree sexual offense. It is Tier I when the victim is an adult, Tier II when the victim is a minor 13 or older, and Tier III when the victim is under 13. It applies only to acts on or after October 1, 2026.
Who has to register
Anyone convicted of an offense in one of the tiers has to register. For registry purposes, §11-702 counts all of these as a conviction:
- a guilty verdict;
- a guilty plea or a plea of nolo contendere. Maryland courts treat an Alford plea, where the defendant accepts a conviction while maintaining innocence, as a guilty plea;
- a probation before judgment (PBJ) entered after a finding of guilt, but only if the court orders registration as a condition of probation;
- a finding of not criminally responsible.
For a list of serious sex offenses involving a victim under 16, a PBJ is not available at all. And a newer form of PBJ, created in 2023, lets a court withhold a finding of guilt entirely; how that version interacts with registration has not been settled by an appellate court. If a PBJ is on the table in your case, ask exactly how it would be structured.
People who move to Maryland with a registration duty from another state, and nonresidents who come here to work, study or stay, also have to register (§11-704).
Deadlines and check-ins
Most of the reporting deadlines in §11-705 are three days. They are short, and missing one is a crime even when nothing else has gone wrong.
- First registration. Before release, if you are sentenced to prison. Within 3 days, if you receive a PBJ, a suspended sentence or a sentence with no prison time.
- In person with local police. Within 3 days of release, with the primary police agency of each county where you live.
- Changes. Within 3 days of any change in residence, vehicle or plates, email address or online identifiers, phone numbers, or employment, and of starting or ending college enrollment or a job there. A legal name change must be reported in writing within 3 days.
- Travel. 21 days’ notice before leaving the country to live, work or study, and advance notice before staying somewhere else for more than 5 days or being away for more than 7.
- Routine check-ins. Every 6 months in person for Tier I and Tier II, and every 3 months for Tier III and sexually violent predators. Registrants without a fixed address also check in weekly.
In Anne Arundel County, registration is handled by the Anne Arundel County Police Department, including for people who live in Annapolis or at Fort Meade. Call the department to confirm the current location and hours before you go.
Can registration end early?
Tier I: yes, automatically, if you qualify. Under §11-707(c), a Tier I term “shall be reduced” to 10 years if, during those 10 years, the registrant:
- is not convicted of any crime punishable by more than a year;
- is not convicted of any sex offense;
- completes any parole, probation or supervised release without a revocation;
- completes an appropriate sex offender treatment program.
The statute doesn’t describe how the reduction is applied, so confirm it with the DPSCS Sex Offender Registry Unit well before the 10-year mark.
Tier II and Tier III: no early-removal petition for adults. Registration ends early only if the conviction is reversed, vacated or set aside, or if the person is pardoned. Lifetime supervision, a separate requirement for some registrants, can be ended by petition after 5 years, but that ends the supervision, not the registration.
People whose registration duty was applied retroactively, based on offenses before the registry rules changed, may be in a different position. Maryland’s highest court has held that the registry cannot be applied to some of them involuntarily. Whether that helps in a given case depends on the specific dates and facts.
What the public registry shows
Maryland posts registrants in all three tiers online (§11-717). According to DPSCS, a public entry can show the person’s name, aliases, address, age and photo; employer or school; tier and length of registration; the offense, in legal and plain-language terms; conviction dates and where the conviction happened; and vehicle information.
By law, the listing may not show a Social Security number, driver’s license number, medical or treatment information, travel or immigration document numbers, or arrests that did not lead to a conviction. Separately, local police notify the school superintendent and nearby private schools when a registrant will live close by, and must send a copy of a registration statement to anyone who asks in writing.
You can search the registry on the DPSCS Sex Offender Registry site.
Restrictions, and one common myth
Schools and child care. Under §11-722, registrants may not knowingly enter school property used for elementary or secondary education, a licensed or registered child care home or center, or a home providing informal child care. The exceptions are narrow: a parent visiting their own child’s school or child care with specific written permission, voting at a school polling place, and approved education for registrants who are students themselves.
No statewide residency ban. Maryland does not have a statewide law barring registrants from living near schools or parks. People under lifetime supervision can be given conditions about where they live or spend time, along with GPS monitoring, polygraphs or computer checks, depending on the case (§11-723).
Lifetime supervision. It is mandatory for sexually violent predators, for first- and second-degree rape and attempted rape, for some child sexual abuse convictions, and for people with more than one registrable conviction from separate incidents.
Penalties for violations
| Violation | Classification | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Knowingly failing to register, report or update, or giving false information — first offense | Misdemeanor | 3 years and/or $5,000 |
| The same — second or later offense | Felony | 5 years and/or $10,000 |
| Knowingly entering school or child-care property | Misdemeanor | 5 years and/or $5,000 |
| Violating lifetime supervision — first offense | Misdemeanor | 5 years and/or $5,000 |
| Violating lifetime supervision — second or later | Felony | 10 years and/or $10,000 |
Source: Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §§11-721, 11-722 and 11-724.
There is no statute of limitations for the misdemeanor version of failing to register (Courts & Judicial Proceedings §5-106(b)), so a missed update can be charged years later. The State must prove the violation was knowing, but courts read that requirement narrowly. In January 2026, the Appellate Court of Maryland held that a registrant who said depression made him forget to register still acted knowingly, because he had been told the rules and had registered before.
If you are charged, or already registered
- Don’t discuss the allegations with anyone but your lawyer, including by text, on social media or on a jail phone.
- Preserve messages, account records, location data and anything else that shows where you were and what was said.
- Before any plea, ask which tier the conviction would carry, for how long, and whether any fact the tier depends on still has to be proven.
- Ask how a PBJ, an Alford plea or a different charge would change the registration outcome.
- If you are already registered, calendar every 3-day deadline and keep copies of everything you file.
Recorded jail calls and social media posts are two of the most common ways people hurt their own cases. Here is why.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have to register as a sex offender in Maryland?
Tier I registrants register for 15 years, Tier II for 25 years and Tier III for life (Criminal Procedure §11-707). A Tier I term is reduced to 10 years if, over those 10 years, the registrant avoids new serious or sex-offense convictions, completes any supervision without revocation and completes a treatment program.
Does a PBJ require sex offender registration in Maryland?
Sometimes. A probation before judgment counts as a conviction for registry purposes when it follows a finding of guilt and the court orders registration as a condition of probation (§11-702). For some serious offenses involving a victim under 16, a PBJ is not available at all.
Are Tier I offenders listed on the Maryland public registry?
Yes. Maryland posts all three tiers online. The listing leaves out Social Security and driver’s license numbers, medical and treatment information, and arrests that did not lead to a conviction (§11-717).
Can you get off the Maryland sex offender registry?
Adult Tier II and Tier III registrants have no petition for early removal. Registration ends if the conviction is reversed, vacated or set aside, or if the person is pardoned. Tier I terms drop to 10 years when the statutory conditions are met.
Does Maryland have residency restrictions for sex offenders?
There is no statewide residency restriction. People under lifetime supervision can have conditions about where they live or spend time, and every registrant is barred from knowingly entering school and child-care property, with narrow exceptions (§§11-722 and 11-723).
Talk to a Maryland criminal defense attorney
Registration consequences are locked in when a plea or verdict is entered, and they outlast most sentences. If you are facing a registrable charge, or have questions about an existing registration, Cochran & Chhabra Law Group offers free, confidential consultations. Request a consultation or call 410.268.5515. Learn more about our criminal defense practice.
Sources
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-701 (definitions and tiers)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-702 (what counts as a conviction)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-704 (who must register)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-705 (registration and reporting deadlines)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-707 (registration terms and check-ins)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-717 (public registry)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-721 (failure to register)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-722 (school and child-care property)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-723 (lifetime supervision)
- Md. Code, Criminal Procedure §11-724 (supervision violations and discharge)
- Md. Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings §5-106 (limitations)
- Rogers v. State (Md. 2020)
- Hammond v. State (Md. App. 2026)
- Lopez v. State (Md. App. 2017), on Alford pleas
- DPSCS v. Doe (Md. 2014), on retroactive registration
- 2026 Md. Laws Ch. 426 (HB 501)
- 2026 Md. Laws Ch. 499 (SB 230)
- DPSCS, Sex Offender Registry frequently asked questions
- DPSCS, Maryland Sex Offender Registry search
Updated September 25, 2026, including changes taking effect October 1, 2026. This article provides general information about Maryland law, not legal advice for your situation.