Can a sex offender be around any children?
Yes – their biological, adopted, or step children.

Where are sex offenders not allowed to go?
They cannot be within 300 feet of a place intended primarily for the use by minors for education or recreation purposes.

Can sex offenders go to parks?
There are no state or national regulations on buffers for parks or recreation areas but counties and cities may approve ordinances that restrict sex offenders from being in city, county, state or nationally maintained parks and recreation areas.

How can I find sex offenders that live near my child's school or daycare?
Look up sex offenders at http://sexoffender.ncsbi.gov/. You can also sign up for emails so that when a sex offender moves into your area you will receive an alert. You can enter up to five locations within a 1, 3, or 5 mile radius of your home, child’s school, daycare, park, or church. This allows you to see a map with the location, name and picture of offenders living near the address you entered into the site.

How close can sex offenders live to schools and daycares?
They cannot live within 1,000 feet of any of these locations unless they are grandfathered in prior to the daycare or school being established, or prior to the law going into effect on December 1, 2008, or resided there prior to their conviction.

Can sex offenders attend church?
Yes, as long as the church does not have a North Carolina registered daycare facility nor is it within 300 feet of a daycare or school.

Can I put a sign in their yard?
No, that would be trespassing.

Can I post their picture on the neighborhood watch website?
Sex offenders’ registration information is publicly available at http://sexoffender.ncsbi.gov/ . This would be the best forum to present this information. Sex offenders have children as well and they should not be held accountable for their parents’ conduct. It would be best to address this question to an attorney that represents the housing committee or neighborhood watch website.

What should I do if I see a sex offender where they are not allowed?
Contact your local law enforcement agency.

Are sex offenders ever removed from the registry?
A sex offender can petition the court ten years after their initial registration date for removal from the registry. If granted, all rights are restored and there are no restrictions on the individual. The ten year period starts on their registration date. If they are sent to prison, they do not register until they are released. Therefore, if they are sentenced to 20 years, their ten year registration starts after the 20 year sentence is completed.

If a sex offender moves near me, how do I know they are registered?
Register for email alerts at http://sexoffender.ncsbi.gov/