What is New Offender Registration? New Offender Registration, or “registration”, is the process by which information about an offender, sentenced to one of the enumerated offenses requiring registration in Act 111 of 2011, is first entered into the PA SORT system. PA SORT is the statewide offender registry that was established to capture the information required to bring Pennsylvania into compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The database maintains a complete and systematic index of all registering sexual offenders and is able to communicate with other state and federal offender registry systems.
When does registration occur? Registration is ordered at the time of sentence and generally occurs after conviction of an enumerated offense, completion of an offender assessment by the Sexual Offender Assessment Board and any ordered pre-sentence investigation, and subsequent to or as part of the sentencing process. It is the responsibility of each offender to comply with registration requirements and failure to do so will subject the offender to prosecution. Each county must establish a location and process by which offender registration will occur.
What occurs during registration? Registration involves scanning palm prints and fingerprints, photographing the offender, collecting DNA samples and entry of offender data into the PA SORT system. Data is then sent electronically to the Megan’s Law Section of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) for validation and approval. The initial registration may take up to 1 ½ hours to complete but varies with each registrant.
What equipment is necessary? Each county must have an approved registration site accessible in order to complete an initial offender registration. An approved registration site will include a Livescan machine with palm printing capability along with a workstation with the necessary peripherals to capture a photograph, signature, and document scanning. Click on
Equipment Standards for an itemized list of equipment needed at a registration site.
Who is responsible for registering offenders? Currently, the law cites various agencies with registration responsibilities including, but not limited to, County Adult and Chief Juvenile Probation Departments, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Pennsylvania State Police, and Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. Refer to the Pennsylvania Statutes for the authoritative source on organizations with registration responsibilities.
**Content Last Updated 6/15/2012**
***"This website is for informational purposes only. Should you have a question regarding a specific statute, please seek the advice of counsel for your agency."***