PROOF OF CONCEPT — full quality-of-life profile for 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.
Weighted burden index 53.2/100 · rank 17 of 56 (1 = least burdensome) · 12/16 dimensions statute-verified · 1 unverified.
Legend: 🟢 favorable (less burden) · 🟠 moderate · 🔴 restrictive · ℹ️ context · ⚪ unknown. ✓ = statute-verified.
| Dimension | Rating | Detail | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration length | 🔴 restrictive | Continuing duty for life absent court removal — Tier III, murder, and former § 18.2-67.2:1 register for life; Tier I/II may only petition off after 15/25 years — lifetime | § 9.1-908 ✓ |
| Removal / petition off | 🟠 moderate | Real but long/discretionary — Tier I petition no earlier than 15 years, Tier II 25 years; Tier III, murder, and 2+ offenses excluded; court grants only if satisfied the person no longer poses a public-safety risk (24-mo refiling bar) — ⚑ needs human review | § 9.1-910 ✓ |
| Individualized risk assessment | 🔴 restrictive | No — tiers I/II/III by offense; risk assessment only during supervision and civil commitment proceedings | § 9.1-902 |
| In-person reporting frequency | 🟠 moderate | Tiered — Tier I and II reregister yearly (birth month; certain offenses twice a year); Tier III and murder reregister four times each year at three-month intervals (certain offenses every month) (§ 9.1-904) | § 9.1-904 ✓ |
| Registration fee | 🟢 favorable | No fee charged to registrants — the only registry fee (up to $15, § 9.1-912) is for the PUBLIC/entities requesting registry information, not for registrants to register | § 9.1-912 ✓ |
| Residency restriction | 🟠 moderate | Limited statewide residency ban — certain adults convicted of specified violent sex offenses (offense after 7/1/2006, offender more than 3 years older than the victim) may not RESIDE within 500 feet of a school or child day center; does not apply to all registrants — 500 ft | § 18.2-370.3 ✓ |
| Employment restriction | 🟢 favorable | None — no statewide employment distance/proximity restriction for registrants (§§ 9.1-913/914 govern registry dissemination, not employment) | n/a ✓ |
| Presence / loitering restriction | 🔴 restrictive | SVP designees barred from school property/events on school property; a petition process for approval exists | § 18.2-370.5 |
| Visitor registration trigger | 🟢 favorable | Lenient — registration triggered only by an 'extended visit' (a period of visitation of 30 days or more); such visitors must then register in person within three days of entering the Commonwealth (§ 9.1-905) | § 9.1-905 ✓ |
| Internet identifiers required | 🔴 restrictive | Required — must provide 'electronic mail address information, any instant message, chat or other Internet communication name or identity information' | § 9.1-903(B) ✓ |
| Civil commitment | 🔴 restrictive | Yes — SVP civil commitment statute exists | § 37.2-900 through 37.2-921 |
| Public website exposure | 🔴 restrictive | All registrants published on the internet registry (§ 9.1-913); statute defines no category of registrant excluded from public posting — no lowest tier kept off | § 9.1-913 ✓ |
| Halloween / holiday restriction | ⚪ unknown | No statewide Halloween/holiday statute confirmed; not addressed in the registry chapter reviewed | n/a |
| Marked driver's license / ID | 🟢 favorable | Not marked — Virginia does not require a registrant's driver's license or state ID to be labeled | n/a ✓ |
| Community notification (& who pays) | 🟠 moderate | Beyond the public website, opt-in electronic notice to the public and written/electronic notice to schools, day-cares and similar entities on request (§ 9.1-914); any fee falls on the requester, not the registrant | § 9.1-914 ✓ |
| Age of consent (context) | ℹ️ context | 18 — an adult (18+) having consensual sex with a 15-17 year old is a Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 18.2-371); carnal knowledge of a child 13-14 is a felony (§ 18.2-63); minors get a close-in-age reduction | § 18.2-63; § 18.2-371 ✓ |
Source wiki page: Virginia · compare with others via 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.