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

====== West Virginia — Registry Profile ======

**Weighted burden index 62.2/100** · rank **12 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** | 🔴 restrictive | 10 years or life, but the life triggers (prior conviction, multiple victims/violations, sexually violent offense/SVP, or ANY offense involving a minor) capture the majority of registrants — **lifetime** | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-15-public-safety/wv-code-sect-15-12-4.html|W.Va. Code § 15-12-4]] ✓ |
| **Removal / petition off** | 🔴 restrictive | No time-served or rehabilitation petition — removal only if the underlying conviction is overturned; the 10-year term ends automatically, lifetime registrants have no relief mechanism — ⚑ needs human review | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-15-public-safety/wv-code-sect-15-12-4.html|W.Va. Code § 15-12-4]] ✓ |
| **Individualized risk assessment** | 🔴 restrictive | No — two levels by offense statute, no risk assessment | WVC §15-12-10 |
| **In-person reporting frequency** | 🟠 moderate | Annually, or every 90 days for designated violent offenders | WVC §15-12-10 |
| **Registration fee** | 🔴 restrictive | Yes — $125 recurring statewide annual fee (HB3164, W.Va. Code § 15-12-2(o)), effective 1/1/2026 and currently in effect/enforced; under NARSOL-WVRSOL federal challenge (Basham v. Mitchell) but not enjoined — preliminary-injunction motion pending, no ruling as of 2026 | [[https://wvrsol.org/2026/01/legal-challenge-to-west-virginias-registry-fee-moves-forward-with-preliminary-injunction-motion/|W.Va. Code § 15-12-2(o)]] ✓ |
| **Residency restriction** | 🟠 moderate | Supervision-only residency ban — persons on extended supervised release for a sexually violent offense may not establish a residence within 1,000 feet of a school or child care facility (or the victim's residence); applies during supervised release, not permanently — **1000 ft** | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-62-criminal-procedure/wv-code-sect-62-12-26.html|WVC §62-12-26]] ✓ |
| **Employment restriction** | 🟠 moderate | Supervision-only — a person on extended supervised release for a sexually violent offense (10-yr-to-life term) is 'prohibited from...accepting employment within 1,000 feet of a school or child care facility'; not a permanent statewide bar | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-62-criminal-procedure/wv-code-sect-62-12-26.html|W.Va. Code § 62-12-26]] ✓ |
| **Presence / loitering restriction** | 🟢 favorable | None statewide — no presence/loitering bar near schools/parks; only the supervised-release residence/employment 1,000-ft rule applies | [[https://www.probationinfo.org/restrictions/west-virginia/|n/a]] ✓ |
| **Visitor registration trigger** | 🟠 moderate | Register if present more than 15 continuous days | WVC §15-12-9 |
| **Internet identifiers required** | 🔴 restrictive | Required — must report 'any Internet accounts the registrant has and the screen names, user names, or aliases the registrant uses on the Internet' | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-15-public-safety/wv-code-sect-15-12-2.html/|WVC §15-12-2(d)(8)]] ✓ |
| **Civil commitment** | 🟢 favorable | No such laws | n/a |
| **Public website exposure** | 🟠 moderate | Statutory disclosure is tiered — § 15-12-5 makes only LIFETIME registrants routinely public (quarterly list); a 10-year registrant's information is released only when a county resident petitions the circuit court and it finds the disclosure relevant to public safety. (Note: the WVSP online registry in practice may show more than the statutory floor — not verifiable here.) — lowest tier withheld | [[https://code.wvlegislature.gov/15-12-5/|W.Va. Code § 15-12-5]] ✓ |
| **Halloween / holiday restriction** | ⚪ unknown | No statewide Halloween/holiday statute confirmed; not addressed in the registry statute reviewed | n/a |
| **Marked driver's license / ID** | 🔴 restrictive | Branded for SVPs — any replacement driver's license or non-driver ID card issued to a person designated a sexually violent predator 'must be coded by the commissioner to denote the person is a sexually violent predator' (non-SVP registrants not marked) | [[https://probationinfo.org/sor/id/|W.Va. Code (DMV SVP license/ID coding)]] ✓ |
| **Community notification (& who pays)** | 🔴 restrictive | Broad active notification — within 5 business days State Police distribute registrant notice statements to schools, child care, CPS and youth-serving community/religious orgs; SVPs also get published community-notification programs (§ 15-12-5); no registrant charge | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-15-public-safety/wv-code-sect-15-12-5.html|WVC §15-12-5]] ✓ |
| **Age of consent (context)** | ℹ️ context | 16 — with close-in-age exception (partner must be 4+ years older than the under-16 person to be an offense per § 61-8B-5) | [[https://codes.findlaw.com/wv/chapter-61-crimes-and-their-punishment/wv-code-sect-61-8b-5/|WVC §61-8B-5]] ✓ |

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Source wiki page: [[west_virginia|West Virginia]] · 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.//