//**PROOF OF CONCEPT** — full quality-of-life profile for California, 16 dimensions of the sex-offense registry regime. Ratings are researcher judgments from the //registrant's// perspective; each links its statute. NOT legal advice.//

====== California — Registry Profile ======

**Weighted burden index 34.8/100** · rank **43 of 56** (1 = least burdensome) · 11/16 dimensions statute-verified · 1 unverified.

Legend: 🟢 favorable (less burden) · 🟠 moderate · 🔴 restrictive · ℹ️ context · ⚪ unknown. ✓ = statute-verified.

^ Dimension ^ Rating ^ Detail ^ Statute ^
| **Registration length** | 🟠 moderate | Tiered (SB 384) — tier 1 min 10 yrs, tier 2 min 20 yrs, tier 3 life; tiers 1 and 2 have defined minimum terms that can be terminated | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-290.html|Cal. Penal Code § 290]] ✓ |
| **Removal / petition off** | 🟢 favorable | Genuine tiered petition (SB 384, § 290.5) — tier 1 may petition after 10 yrs, tier 2 after 20 yrs; court-discretionary but a reasonably accessible end-path for the large tier 1/2 populations — ⚑ needs human review | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-290-5.html|Cal. Penal Code § 290.5]] ✓ |
| **Individualized risk assessment** | 🟢 favorable | Yes — SARATSO risk assessment tool | § 290.04 |
| **In-person reporting frequency** | 🟠 moderate | Transients monthly; SVPs quarterly; all others yearly | § 290.012 |
| **Registration fee** | 🟢 favorable | No fee — Penal Code bars any entity from requiring payment to register or update registration | [[https://www.probationinfo.org/sor/cost/|§ 290.012]] ✓ |
| **Residency restriction** | 🟠 moderate | Limited — Jessica's Law 2000 ft ban (PC 3003.5(b)) struck down as blanket rule by In re Taylor (2015); now imposed only case-by-case on parolees under supervision — **2000 ft** · local: many local ordinances enacted post-2006; a number invalidated/preempted after litigation | [[https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/defense/sex-offender-registration/residency-restrictions/|Cal. Penal Code § 3003.5(b) (blanket enforcement voided by In re Taylor, 60 Cal.4th 1019 (2015))]] ✓ |
| **Employment restriction** | 🟠 moderate | Limited — § 290.95(c) bars registrants convicted of an offense against a minor under 16 from working/volunteering directly and unaccompanied with minors (or with supervisory/disciplinary power over them); other registrants need only disclose registrant status when applying for such work | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-290-95/|Cal. Penal Code § 290.95]] ✓ |
| **Presence / loitering restriction** | 🟠 moderate | Limited — § 626.81 makes it a misdemeanor for a § 290 registrant to enter school grounds without lawful business AND written permission from the chief administrator; no broad parks/where-children-gather ban | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-626-81/|Cal. Penal Code § 626.81]] ✓ |
| **Visitor registration trigger** | 🟠 moderate | Must register within 5 working days of entering | § 290.002 |
| **Internet identifiers required** | 🔴 restrictive | Yes — 'a list of all Internet identifiers actually used by the person' required | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-290-015.html|Penal Code § 290.015(a)(4)]] ✓ |
| **Civil commitment** | 🔴 restrictive | SVP civil commitment statute (WIC 6600-6609.3) | 6600-6609.3 |
| **Public website exposure** | 🟠 moderate | Tiered Megan's Law site — tier 3 full address, tier 2 at community/ZIP level, tier 1 (lowest) excluded from the public site; narrow family-offense exclusion applications also available — lowest tier withheld | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-290-46.html|Cal. Penal Code § 290.46]] ✓ |
| **Halloween / holiday restriction** | ⚪ unknown | No statewide Halloween statute located; CDCR 'Operation Boo' is a parole condition — could not confirm from a source read | n/a |
| **Marked driver's license / ID** | 🟢 favorable | Not marked — Veh. Code § 13005 ID-card contents require photo/description/security features only; no registrant designation | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-code/veh-sect-13005/|Cal. Veh. Code § 13005]] ✓ |
| **Community notification (& who pays)** | 🟠 moderate | Passive Megan's Law site (§ 290.46) plus risk-based active LE notification 'by whatever means' under § 290.45; no registrant cost | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-290-45/|Cal. Penal Code § 290.45; § 290.46]] ✓ |
| **Age of consent (context)** | ℹ️ context | 18 — close-in-age: intercourse within 3 years of age is a misdemeanor rather than a felony | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/penal-code/pen-sect-261-5/|Penal Code § 261.5 (unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor)]] ✓ |

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Source wiki page: [[california|California]] · compare with others via [[playground:qol_index|the index]].
//Weighted index from the v1 model (weighted_score.py); weights encode NARSOL's judgment about everyday lived burden. Removal ratings and the weights need NARSOL/attorney sign-off before authoritative use.//