PA Sex Offender Laws and Regulations

Megan's Law for the state of Pennsylvania is contained in Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Title 42, Chapter 97, Subchapter H. 42 Pa. C.S. § 9791. It sets the State Police to maintain a database of the sex offenders in the state, in the form of the PA sex offender registry. Information about offenders who currently reside, study or work in the state is to be furnished on the website of the state police for public dissemination.  The website has been created and made available to the residents of the state in compliance with 42 Pa. C.S. § 9798.1.

PA Sex Offender Statutes

A PA sex offender is one who has been charged with any of the following crimes under the state statutes:

•    18 Pa.C.S. § 3125: Aggravated Indecent Assault
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 4302: Incest, where the victim is a minor
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.1: Sexual Assault,
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 6320: Sexual Exploitation of Children
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 3126: Indecent Assault, where the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 3124.2: Institutional Sexual Assault
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 6318: Unlawful Contact with a Minor
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 5903(a) (3), (4), (5), and (6): Obscene and Other Sexual Materials & Performances, where the victim is a minor
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 3121: Rape
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 6312: Sexual Abuse of Children
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 2910: Luring a Child into a Motor Vehicle
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 3123: Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 5902(b): Prostitution, where the offender promotes prostitution of a minor
•    18 Pa.C.S. § 2901: Kidnapping, where the victim is a minor

PA Sex Offender Registration

A sex offender in Pennsylvania is required to register for a particular span and the time frame depends on the gravity of the crime committed. A 10 year registration is mandatory for those who are registered for offenses like institutional sexual assault, kidnapping, incest, sexual abuse of a child, indecent assault, and luring a child into a motor vehicle.

Crimes like sexual assault, incest, rape, aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and more than a couple of convictions for any of the offenses stated under 10 year registration call for lifetime registration of the offender. The offenders need to register as soon as they are released from prison or have been sentenced to a parole term.

For a sex offender moving into Pennsylvania, the stipulated time to ensure registration is within 48 hours of setting up a home in the state or taking up a job or joining an educational or professional course.

Information Contained in Sex Offender Registries

All Pennsylvania sex offenders are required to register with the following information: full name of the offender, aliases if any, date of birth, detailed residential address (addresses) including street name, municipality, zip code and city and county name, employment address or educational institution address, physical details of the offender including height, weight, complexion, color of the eyes, hair color, a photograph, identifiers if any including tattoos, scars or birthmarks, offense description, date of conviction, vehicle registration information, current legal status of the offender and whether the individual has complied to the registration norms so far.

The information submitted to the police by the offenders is then verified by the concerned authorities. For offenders, both lifetime and 10 year registrants, the address verification procedure is carried out on an annual basis. The offender needs to make an appearance at pre-approved site for a photograph and for filling out a verification form.

PA Sex Offender Information

Information on PA Sex Offenders is available at http://www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us/. The information available on the website is sourced from data collected at the time of sex offender registration in the state. However, the information on the website cannot be relied upon solely. It needs to be verified from credible sources. The only way to identify a sex offender correctly from the database is by cross checking with the fingerprint records that are collected when the offender is taken in to serve an incarceration term.

If you come across any Pennsylvania sex offender information on the website that strikes you as being incorrect, you can immediately contact the Pennsylvania State Police at their toll free number (866) 771-3170. You can also contact them in person or through mail at

Pennsylvania State Police
Bureau of Records and Identification
Megan's Law Section
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110

Information on the whereabouts of Pennsylvania sex offenders is made available to the local residents as soon as they move into neighborhoods. This done in cases of an out of state offender or a sexually violent predator and the information is made available to those within 250 feet of the predator’s residence.

Communication notification flyers that are sent out which contain the full names of the offenders; sex crimes they have committed; their residential, workplace and institute address; their photograph; and the details of the order of the court by which the offender has been designated as a Sexually Violent Predator.

Residents of the state are entitled to information about offenders who are registered with the state. You can acquire more information about the offender by contacting the chief law enforcement officer in your locality.

As per the latest statistics available there were a total of 14,249 offenders in the state. Of these 94 percent were found to have complied with the state sex offender registration norms.