Registration Requirements Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

Published date13 August 2020
Citation85 FR 49332
Record Number2020-15804
SectionProposed rules
CourtThe Attorney General Office
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 157 (Thursday, August 13, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 157 (Thursday, August 13, 2020)]
                [Proposed Rules]
                [Pages 49332-49355]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-15804]
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                DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
                Office of the Attorney General
                28 CFR Part 72
                [Docket No. OAG 157; AG Order No. 4759-2020]
                RIN 1105-AB52
                Registration Requirements Under the Sex Offender Registration and
                Notification Act
                AGENCY: Department of Justice.
                ACTION: Proposed rule.
                -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                SUMMARY: The Department of Justice is proposing a rule that specifies
                the registration requirements under the Sex Offender Registration and
                Notification Act (``SORNA''). The rule in part reflects express
                requirements of SORNA and in part reflects the exercise of authorities
                SORNA grants to the Attorney General to interpret and implement SORNA's
                requirements. SORNA's requirements have previously been delineated in
                guidelines issued by the Attorney General for implementation of SORNA's
                requirements by registration jurisdictions.
                [[Page 49333]]
                DATES: Written and electronic comments must be sent or submitted on or
                before October 13, 2020. Comments received by mail will be considered
                timely if they are postmarked on or before the last day of the comment
                period. The electronic Federal Docket Management System will accept
                electronic comments until midnight Eastern Time at the end of that day.
                ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Regulations Docket Clerk, Office
                of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue
                NW, Room 4234, Washington, DC 20530. To ensure proper handling, please
                reference Docket No. OAG 157 on your correspondence. You may submit
                comments electronically or view an electronic version of this proposed
                rule at http://www.regulations.gov.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, Office
                of Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, 202-514-
                3273.
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Posting of Public Comments. Please note that
                all comments received are considered part of the public record and made
                available for public inspection online at http://www.regulations.gov.
                Such information includes personal identifying information (such as
                your name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter.
                 You are not required to submit personal identifying information in
                order to comment on this rule. Nevertheless, if you still want to
                submit personal identifying information (such as your name, address,
                etc.) as part of your comment, but do not want it to be posted online,
                you must include the phrase ``PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION'' in the
                first paragraph of your comment. You also must locate all the personal
                identifying information you do not want posted online in the first
                paragraph of your comment and identify what information you want
                redacted.
                 If you want to submit confidential business information as part of
                your comment, but do not want it to be posted online, you must include
                the phrase ``CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION'' in the first paragraph
                of your comment. You also must prominently identify confidential
                business information to be redacted within the comment. If a comment
                has so much confidential business information that it cannot be
                effectively redacted, all or part of that comment may not be posted on
                http://www.regulations.gov.
                 Personal identifying information and confidential business
                information identified and located as set forth above will be placed in
                the agency's public docket file, but not posted online. If you wish to
                inspect the agency's public docket file in person by appointment,
                please see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph.
                Overview
                 The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (``SORNA''),
                which is title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
                2006, Public Law 109-248, 34 U.S.C. 20901 et seq., establishes national
                standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United
                States. SORNA has a dual character, imposing registration obligations
                on sex offenders as a matter of Federal law that are federally
                enforceable under circumstances supporting Federal jurisdiction, see 18
                U.S.C. 2250, and providing minimum national standards that non-Federal
                jurisdictions are expected to incorporate in their sex offender
                registration and notification programs, subject to a reduction of
                Federal funding for those that fail to do so, see 34 U.S.C. 20912(a),
                20926-27.
                 The Justice Department's Office of Sex Offender Sentencing,
                Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (``SMART Office'')
                administers the national standards for sex offender registration and
                notification under SORNA and assists all jurisdictions in implementing
                the SORNA standards in their programs. See id. 20945. As provided by
                SORNA, the Department of Justice also (i) prosecutes SORNA violations
                by sex offenders committed under circumstances supporting Federal
                jurisdiction, see 18 U.S.C. 2250; (ii) assists in the enforcement of
                sex offender registration requirements through the activities of the
                U.S. Marshals Service, see 34 U.S.C. 20941; (iii) operates, through the
                Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Sex Offender Registry,
                which compiles the information obtained through the sex offender
                registration programs of the states and other registration
                jurisdictions and makes it available on a nationwide basis for law
                enforcement purposes, see id. 20921; and (iv) operates the Dru Sjodin
                National Sex Offender Public website, www.nsopw.gov, which provides
                public access through a single national site to the information about
                sex offenders posted on the public sex offender websites of the various
                registration jurisdictions, see id. 20922.
                 SORNA generally directs the Attorney General to ``issue guidelines
                and regulations to interpret and implement [SORNA].'' Id. 20912(b).
                SORNA also authorizes the Attorney General to take more specific
                actions in certain contexts.
                 One such provision is 34 U.S.C. 20913. That section states in
                subsection (b) that sex offenders are generally to register initially
                before release from imprisonment, or within three business days of
                sentencing if not sentenced to imprisonment, but it provides further in
                subsection (d) that the Attorney General has ``the authority to specify
                the applicability of the requirements of [SORNA] to sex offenders
                convicted before the enactment of [SORNA] or its implementation in a
                particular jurisdiction, and to prescribe rules for the registration of
                any such sex offenders and for other categories of sex offenders who
                are unable to comply with subsection (b).'' As discussed below in
                connection with 28 CFR 72.3, section 20913(d) is not a constitutionally
                impermissible delegation of legislative authority. Rather, it enables
                the Attorney General to effectuate the legislative intent that SORNA
                apply to all sex offenders, regardless of when they were convicted.
                 Another relevant provision lists several types of information that
                sex offenders must provide for inclusion in sex offender registries,
                and states that sex offenders must also provide ``[a]ny other
                information required by the Attorney General.'' Id. 20914(a)(8). This
                provision as well is not an impermissible delegation of legislative
                authority, but rather is instrumental to the Attorney General's
                effectuating the legislative objective to ``protect the public from sex
                offenders and offenders against children'' by ``establish[ing] a
                comprehensive national system for the registration of those
                offenders.'' Id. 20901; see 73 FR at 38054-57; 76 FR at 1637. The
                Attorney General's exercise of the authority under section 20914(a)(8)
                is limited to requiring additional information that furthers the
                legislative public safety objective or the implementation or
                enforcement of SORNA's provisions. How that has been done is explained
                below in connection with proposed 28 CFR 72.6 and 72.7.
                 The Attorney General has exercised these authorities in previous
                rulemakings and issuances of guidelines under SORNA, as detailed in the
                rulemaking history and section-by-section analysis below, and the
                interpretations and policy decisions in this proposed rule follow those
                already adopted in existing SORNA-related documents. The present rule
                provides a concise and comprehensive statement of what sex offenders
                must do to comply with SORNA's requirements.
                [[Page 49334]]
                 In addition to SORNA's original provisions, described above, this
                rulemaking draws on and implements provisions of the International
                Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes
                Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders
                (``International Megan's Law''), Public Law 114-119. Section 6 of
                International Megan's Law amended SORNA by (i) redesignating, in 34
                U.S.C. 20914(a), former paragraph (7) as paragraph (8) and adding a new
                paragraph (7) that requires a sex offender to provide for inclusion in
                the sex offender registry information relating to intended travel
                outside the United States, including several specified types of
                information ``and any other itinerary or other travel-related
                information required by the Attorney General''; (ii) adding a new
                subsection (c) to 34 U.S.C. 20914 that requires sex offenders to
                provide and update registration information required by SORNA ``in
                conformity with any time and manner requirements prescribed by the
                Attorney General''; and (iii) adding a new subsection (b) to SORNA's
                criminal provision, 18 U.S.C. 2250, that specifically reaches
                international travel reporting violations.
                 This rulemaking is not innovative in terms of policy. Many of the
                requirements it articulates reflect express SORNA requirements. These
                include, inter alia, statutory specifications about (i) where and when
                sex offenders must register; (ii) several categories of required
                registration information; (iii) how long sex offenders must continue to
                register, including different registration periods for sex offenders in
                different tiers and lifetime registration for those in the highest
                tier; and (iv) a requirement to appear periodically to verify the
                registration information. See 34 U.S.C. 20911(2)-(4), 20913,
                20914(a)(1)-(7), 20915, 20918.
                 Other features of the rule reflect exercises of the Attorney
                General's powers to implement SORNA's requirements. These include
                additional specifications regarding information sex offenders must
                provide, how and when they must report certain changes in registration
                information, and the time and manner for complying with SORNA's
                registration requirements by sex offenders who cannot comply with
                SORNA's normal registration procedures. On these matters, however, the
                proposed rule embodies the same policies as those appearing in the
                previously issued SORNA guidelines and prior rulemakings under SORNA.
                 The rule also makes no change in what registration jurisdictions
                need to do to substantially implement SORNA in their registration
                programs, a matter that will continue to be governed by the previously
                issued guidelines for SORNA implementation. While this rule does not
                make new policy, as discussed above, it is expected to have a number of
                benefits. The rule will facilitate enforcement of SORNA's registration
                requirements through prosecution of non-compliant sex offenders under
                18 U.S.C. 2250. By providing a comprehensive articulation of SORNA's
                registration requirements in regulations addressed to sex offenders, it
                will provide a more secure basis for prosecution of sex offenders who
                engage in knowing violations of any of SORNA's requirements. It will
                also resolve a number of specific concerns that have arisen in past
                litigation or could be expected to arise in future litigation, if not
                clarified and resolved by this rule. For example, as discussed below,
                the amendment of Sec. 72.3 in the rule will ensure that its
                application of SORNA's requirements to sex offenders with pre-SORNA
                convictions is given effect consistently, resolving an issue resulting
                from the decision in United States v. DeJarnette, 741 F.3d 971 (9th
                Cir. 2013).
                 Beyond the benefits to effective enforcement of SORNA's
                requirements, the rule will benefit sex offenders by providing a clear
                and comprehensive statement of their registration obligations under
                SORNA. This statement will make it easier for sex offenders to
                determine what they are required to do and thus facilitate compliance.
                 By facilitating the enforcement of, and compliance with, SORNA's
                registration requirements, the rule will further SORNA's public safety
                objectives. See 34 U.S.C. 20901. More consistent adherence to these
                requirements will enable registration and law enforcement authorities
                to better track and monitor released sex offenders in the community and
                enhance the basis for public notification regarding registered sex
                offenders that SORNA requires. See id. 20920, 20923.
                 Effective September 1, 2017, the provisions of SORNA, formerly
                appearing at 42 U.S.C. 16901 et seq., were recodified in a new title 34
                of the United States Code, and now appear at 34 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.
                See http://uscode.house.gov/editorialreclassification/t34/index.html.
                United States Code citations of SORNA provisions in this proposed rule
                accordingly differ from the corresponding citations in earlier sources
                and documents.
                Rulemaking History
                 This proposed rule is the ninth document the Attorney General has
                published pursuant to the statutory directive to the Attorney General
                to issue guidelines and regulations to interpret and implement SORNA.
                See 34 U.S.C. 20912(b). The previous SORNA-related documents are as
                follows:
                 (1) Interim rule entitled, ``Applicability of the Sex Offender
                Registration and Notification Act,'' published at 72 FR 8894 (Feb. 28,
                2007). The interim rule solicited public comments, and the comment
                period ended on April 30, 2007. The interim rule added a new part 72 to
                title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, entitled ``Sex Offender
                Registration and Notification.'' The interim rule provided that ``[t]he
                requirements of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
                apply to all sex offenders, including sex offenders convicted of the
                offense for which registration is required prior to the enactment of
                that Act.'' 28 CFR 72.3.
                 (2) Proposed guidelines, published at 72 FR 30210 (May 30, 2007),
                whose general purpose was to provide guidance and assistance to
                registration jurisdictions in implementing the SORNA standards in their
                sex offender registration and notification programs. The proposed
                guidelines solicited public comment, and the comment period ended on
                August 1, 2007.
                 (3) Final guidelines for registration jurisdictions regarding SORNA
                implementation entitled, ``The National Guidelines for Sex Offender
                Registration and Notification'' (the ``SORNA Guidelines''), published
                at 73 FR 38030 (July 2, 2008).
                 (4) Proposed supplemental guidelines for SORNA implementation,
                published at 75 FR 27362 (May 14, 2010), whose general purpose was to
                address certain issues arising in SORNA implementation that required
                that some aspects of the SORNA Guidelines be augmented or modified. The
                proposed supplemental guidelines solicited public comment, and the
                comment period closed on July 13, 2010.
                 (5) Final rule entitled, ``Applicability of the Sex Offender
                Registration and Notification Act,'' published at 75 FR 81849 (Dec. 29,
                2010). This rule finalized the February 28, 2007, interim rule
                providing for SORNA's applicability to all sex offenders, including
                those with pre-SORNA convictions.
                 (6) Final supplemental guidelines for SORNA implementation
                entitled, ``Supplemental Guidelines for Sex
                [[Page 49335]]
                Offender Registration and Notification'' (the ``SORNA Supplemental
                Guidelines''), published at 76 FR 1630 (Jan. 11, 2011).
                 (7) Proposed supplemental guidelines, published at 81 FR 21397
                (Apr. 11, 2016), whose general purpose was to afford registration
                jurisdictions greater flexibility in their efforts to substantially
                implement SORNA's juvenile registration requirement. These proposed
                supplemental guidelines solicited public comment, and the comment
                period closed on June 10, 2016.
                 (8) Final supplemental guidelines regarding substantial
                implementation of SORNA's juvenile registration requirement entitled,
                ``Supplemental Guidelines for Juvenile Registration Under the Sex
                Offender Registration and Notification Act,'' published at 81 FR 50552
                (Aug. 1, 2016).
                Section-by-Section Analysis
                 The present proposed rule expands part 72 of title 28 of the Code
                of Federal Regulations to provide a full statement of the registration
                requirements for sex offenders under SORNA. It revises the statement of
                purpose and definitional sections in 28 CFR 72.1 and 72.2. It maintains
                the existing provision in 28 CFR 72.3 stating that SORNA's requirements
                apply to all sex offenders, regardless of when they were convicted, and
                incorporates additional language in Sec. 72.3 to reinforce that point.
                It also adds to part 72 provisions--Sec. Sec. 72.4 through 72.8--
                articulating where sex offenders must register, how long they must
                register, what information they must provide, how they must register
                and keep their registrations current to satisfy SORNA's requirements,
                and the liability they face for violations, following SORNA's express
                requirements and the prior articulation of standards for these matters
                in the SORNA Guidelines and the SORNA Supplemental Guidelines.
                Section 72.1--Purpose
                 Section 72.1(a) states part 72's purpose to specify SORNA's
                registration requirements and their scope of application. It further
                notes that the Attorney General has the authority pursuant to
                provisions of SORNA to specify these requirements and their
                applicability as provided in part 72.
                 Section 72.1(b) states that part 72 does not preempt or limit any
                obligations of or requirements relating to sex offenders under other
                laws, rules, or policies. It further notes that states and other
                governmental entities may prescribe requirements, with which sex
                offenders must comply, that are more extensive or stringent than those
                prescribed by SORNA. This reflects the fact that SORNA provides minimum
                national standards for sex offender registration. It is intended to
                establish a floor rather than a ceiling for the registration programs
                of states and other jurisdictions, which can prescribe registration
                requirements binding on sex offenders under their own laws independent
                of SORNA. Jurisdictions accordingly are free to adopt more stringent or
                extensive registration requirements for sex offenders than those set
                forth in this part, including more stringent or extensive requirements
                regarding where, when, and how long sex offenders must register, what
                information they must provide, and what they must do to keep their
                registrations current. See 73 FR at 38032-35, 38046.
                Section 72.2--Definitions
                 Section 72.2 states that terms used in part 72 have the same
                meaning as in SORNA. Hence, for example, references in the part to
                registration ``jurisdictions'' mean the 50 states, the District of
                Columbia, the five principal U.S. territories, and Indian tribes
                qualifying under 34 U.S.C. 20929. See id. 20911(10); 73 FR at 38045,
                38048. Likewise, where the part uses such terms as sex offender (and
                tiers thereof), sex offense, convicted or conviction, sex offender
                registry, student, employee or employment, and reside or residence, the
                meaning is the same as in SORNA. See 34 U.S.C. 20911(1)-(9), (11)-(13);
                73 FR at 38050-57, 38061-62.
                Section 72.3--Applicability of the Sex Offender Registration and
                Notification Act
                 Section 72.3 carries forward in substance current 28 CFR 72.3,
                which states that SORNA's requirements apply to all sex offenders,
                including those whose sex offense convictions predate SORNA's
                enactment. This section was initially adopted on February 28, 2007, and
                amended on December 29, 2010. The section and its rationale are
                explained further in the interim and final rulemakings that adopted it.
                See 72 FR 8894; 75 FR 81849.
                 Section 72.3, and its modification by this rulemaking, are
                constitutionally sound. In Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003), the
                Supreme Court upheld the retroactive application of sex offender
                registration requirements against an ex post facto challenge, in
                reviewing a state registration system whose major features paralleled
                SORNA's in many ways. The commonalities between SORNA and the state
                registration program upheld in Smith include required registration
                before release from imprisonment; provision of name, address,
                employment, vehicle, and other registration information; continued
                registration and periodic verification of registration information for
                at least 15 years; lifetime registration and quarterly verification for
                certain registrants convicted of aggravated or multiple sex offenses;
                and public internet posting of information about registrants. See id.
                at 90-91. The Federal courts have consistently rejected ex post facto
                challenges to SORNA itself. See, e.g., United States v. Felts, 674 F.3d
                599, 605-06 (6th Cir. 2012).
                 Section 72.3 also is not premised on any constitutionally
                impermissible delegation of legislative authority to the executive
                branch of government. Congress intended that SORNA apply to all sex
                offenders, regardless of when they were convicted. See Reynolds v.
                United States, 565 U.S. 432, 442-45 (2012); id. at 448-49 & n. (Scalia,
                J., dissenting) (agreeing that Congress intended for SORNA to apply to
                all sex offenders). Congress authorized the Attorney General to specify
                the applicability of SORNA's requirements to sex offenders with pre-
                SORNA and pre-SORNA-implementation convictions, see 34 U.S.C. 20913(d),
                in order to effectuate that intent while enabling the Attorney General
                to address transitional issues presented in integrating the existing
                sex offender population into SORNA's comprehensive nationwide
                registration system. See Reynolds, 565 U.S. at 440-42; 72 FR at 8895-
                97; 73 FR at 38035-36, 38046, 38063-64; 75 FR at 81850-52. In adopting
                Sec. 72.3, the Attorney General implemented the relevant legislative
                policy--that SORNA's requirements should apply to all sex offenders--to
                the maximum, having found no reason to delay or qualify its
                implementation. Consequently, as an articulation of a legislative
                policy embodied in SORNA, the issuance of Sec. 72.3 pursuant to 34
                U.S.C. 20913(d) involved no exercise of legislative authority and did
                not contravene the non-delegation doctrine. See Gundy v. United States,
                139 S. Ct. 2116, 2123-30 (2019) (plurality opinion); id. at 2130-31
                (Alito, J., concurring in the judgment); id., Brief for the United
                States at 22-38.
                 Moreover, regardless of any question concerning the validity of 34
                U.S.C. 20913(d), Sec. 72.3 is adequately supported on the basis of the
                Attorney General's authority to issue guidelines and regulations to
                interpret and implement SORNA, appearing in 34 U.S.C. 20912(b). In
                Sec. 72.3, the Attorney General interpreted SORNA as intended by
                [[Page 49336]]
                Congress to apply to all sex offenders regardless of when they were
                convicted--an interpretation endorsed by the Supreme Court, see
                Reynolds, 565 U.S. at 440-45; see also Gundy, 139 S. Ct. at 2123-31--
                and he implemented that legislative policy by embodying it in a clearly
                stated rule.
                 The same considerations apply to the amended version of Sec. 72.3
                proposed here, which effectuates more reliably the legislative policy
                judgment that SORNA's requirements should apply to all sex offenders by
                restating the current rule with additional specificity, but which
                involves no change in substance. In comparison with the current
                formulation of Sec. 72.3, this proposed rule adds a second sentence
                stating that (i) all sex offenders must comply with all requirements of
                SORNA, regardless of when they were convicted; (ii) this is so
                regardless of whether a registration jurisdiction has substantially
                implemented SORNA or any particular SORNA requirement; and (iii) this
                is so regardless of whether a particular requirement or class of sex
                offenders is mentioned in examples in the rules or guidelines issued by
                the Attorney General.
                 The first part of the added sentence reiterates Sec. 72.3's
                specification of SORNA's applicability to all sex offenders in the form
                of an affirmative direction to sex offenders, and it states explicitly
                that all of SORNA's requirements so apply.
                 The added sentence further states that the registration duties
                SORNA prescribes for sex offenders are not conditional on registration
                jurisdictions' having adopted SORNA's requirements in their own
                registration laws or policies. For example, SORNA requires sex
                offenders to register in the states (and other registration
                jurisdictions) in which they reside, work, or attend school. See 34
                U.S.C. 20913(a). All of the states have sex offender registration
                programs, which were initially established long before the enactment of
                SORNA. Hence, sex offenders are able to register in these existing
                state programs. The fact that a particular state has not modified its
                registration program at this time to incorporate the full range of
                SORNA requirements does not prevent a sex offender required to register
                by SORNA from registering in the state or excuse a failure to do so.
                See, e.g., Felts, 674 F.3d at 603-05.
                 The same principle applies in situations in which a jurisdiction's
                law does not track or incorporate a particular SORNA requirement
                affecting a sex offender. Consider a situation of this nature in which
                SORNA requires a sex offender to register but the law of the state in
                which he resides does not. This may occur, for example, because state
                law does not require registration based on the particular sex offense
                for which the offender was convicted, or because state law requires
                registration by sex offenders for shorter periods of time than SORNA,
                or because state law does not apply its registration requirements
                ``retroactively'' as broadly as Sec. 72.3 applies SORNA's requirements
                to sex offenders with pre-SORNA convictions. Notwithstanding the
                absence of a parallel state law, the registration authorities in the
                state may be willing to register the sex offender because Federal law
                (i.e., SORNA) requires him to register. Cf. Doe v. Keathley, 290 SW3d
                719 (Mo. 2009) (state constitutional prohibition of retrospective laws
                does not preclude registration based on SORNA). If the state
                registration authorities are willing to register the sex offender, he
                is not relieved of the duty to register merely because state law does
                not track the Federal law registration requirement.
                 Hence, sex offenders can be held liable for violating any
                requirement stated in this rule, regardless of when they were
                convicted, and regardless of whether the jurisdiction in which the
                violation occurs has adopted the requirement in its own law. This does
                not mean, however, that SORNA unfairly holds sex offenders liable for
                failing to comply with its requirements, where the requirement is
                unknown to the sex offender or impossible for him to carry out. Cf.
                Felts, 674 F.3d at 605 (noting concern). Federal enforcement of SORNA's
                requirements occurs primarily through SORNA's criminal provision, 18
                U.S.C. 2250. That provision makes it a Federal crime for a person
                required to register by SORNA to knowingly fail to register or update a
                registration as required by SORNA under circumstances supporting
                Federal jurisdiction, such as conviction of a Federal sex offense or
                interstate or foreign travel. As discussed below, section 2250 holds
                sex offenders liable only for violations of known registration
                obligations, and it excuses failures to comply with SORNA under certain
                conditions if the non-compliance results from circumstances beyond the
                sex offenders' control.
                 Consider first the concern that sex offenders may lack notice
                regarding registration obligations. Under the procedures prescribed by
                SORNA, and under standard procedures that have generally been adopted
                by registration jurisdictions whether or not they have implemented
                SORNA's requirements, the registration of sex offenders normally
                involves (i) informing sex offenders of their registration duties, (ii)
                obtaining from sex offenders signed acknowledgments confirming receipt
                of that information, and (iii) having sex offenders provide the
                required registration information. See 34 U.S.C. 20919(a); 73 FR at
                38062-63.
                 Registration procedures of this nature inform sex offenders of what
                they must do, and the acknowledgments obtained from them provide
                evidence that they were so informed. See 76 FR at 1638. If a
                jurisdiction that registers a sex offender has not fully revised its
                processes for conformity to SORNA, then it may not tell the sex
                offender about some of the registration requirements imposed by SORNA,
                such as those that the jurisdiction has not incorporated in its own
                laws. If the jurisdiction fails to inform a sex offender about some of
                SORNA's registration requirements, the sex offender then does not know
                about some of his registration obligations under SORNA based on the
                information received from the jurisdiction, and may not learn of them
                from other sources. In such cases, the possibility of liability under
                18 U.S.C. 2250 continues to be limited to cases in which a sex offender
                ``knowingly fails to register or update a registration as required by
                [SORNA].'' The limitation to ``knowing[ ]'' violations provides a
                safeguard against liability based on unwitting violations of SORNA
                requirements of which a sex offender was not aware. Section
                72.8(a)(1)(iii) of this rule, and the accompanying discussion below,
                provide further explanation about the limitation of liability under 18
                U.S.C. 2250 to cases involving violation of known registration
                obligations.
                 The second concern about fairness involves situations in which a
                sex offender has failed to do something SORNA requires because it is
                impossible for him to do so. For example, as noted above, a
                jurisdiction with laws that do not require registration based on the
                particular offense for which a sex offender was convicted may
                nevertheless be willing to register him in light of his Federal law
                (SORNA) registration obligation. But alternatively, the jurisdiction's
                law or practice may constrain its registration personnel to register
                only sex offenders whom its own laws require to register. In such a
                case, it is impossible for the sex offender to register in that
                jurisdiction, though subject to a registration duty under SORNA. This
                is so because registration is by its nature a two-party transaction,
                involving a sex offender's providing information about where he resides
                and other matters as required, and acceptance of that
                [[Page 49337]]
                information by the jurisdiction for inclusion in the sex offender
                registry. If the jurisdiction is unwilling to carry out its side of the
                transaction, then the sex offender cannot register.
                 Concerns of this nature are also addressed in SORNA's criminal
                provision, 18 U.S.C. 2250. Subsection (c) of section 2250 provides an
                affirmative defense to liability for SORNA violations if ``(1)
                uncontrollable circumstances prevented the individual from complying;
                (2) the individual did not contribute to the creation of such
                circumstances in reckless disregard of the requirement to comply; and
                (3) the individual complied as soon as such circumstances ceased to
                exist.'' A registration jurisdiction's law or practice that precludes
                registration of a sex offender, as described above, is a circumstance
                that the sex offender cannot control and to which he did not
                contribute, so he cannot be held liable for failure to register with
                that jurisdiction as SORNA requires.
                 The defense in section 2250(c) comes with the proviso that the
                defendant must comply with SORNA ``as soon as [the preventing]
                circumstances cease[ ] to exist.'' For example, consider the case posed
                above of a jurisdiction that refuses to register sex offenders based on
                a particular offense for which SORNA requires registration, so that a
                sex offender residing in the jurisdiction who was convicted of that
                offense cannot register there. Suppose that the jurisdiction later
                progresses in its implementation of SORNA and becomes willing to
                register offenders who have been convicted for that sex offense. In
                light of the proviso, the sex offender's obligation to register revives
                once the jurisdiction becomes willing to register him. That is fair,
                because the circumstance preventing his compliance with the SORNA
                registration requirement no longer exists.
                 Section 72.8(a)(2) of this rule, and the accompanying discussion
                below, provide further explanation about the contours of the
                impossibility defense under 18 U.S.C. 2250(c).
                 Returning to the text of proposed Sec. 72.3, the added sentence
                states at the end that sex offenders must comply with SORNA's
                requirements ``regardless of whether any particular requirement or
                class of sex offenders is mentioned in examples in this regulation or
                in other regulations or guidelines issued by the Attorney General.'' In
                conjunction with the earlier statement in the provision that all sex
                offenders must comply with all SORNA requirements, the added language
                responds to a judicial decision that did not give full effect to the
                current regulation.
                 Section 72.3, as currently formulated, states that SORNA's
                ``requirements . . . apply to all sex offenders,'' exercising the
                Attorney General's ``authority to specify the applicability of the
                requirements of [SORNA] to sex offenders convicted before the enactment
                of [SORNA] or its implementation in a particular jurisdiction.'' 34
                U.S.C. 20913(d); see Reynolds, 565 U.S. at 441-45 (explaining
                Congress's decision to give the Attorney General authority to apply
                SORNA's requirements to sex offenders with pre-SORNA convictions).
                Nevertheless, in United States v. DeJarnette, 741 F.3d 971 (9th Cir.
                2013), the court believed that the Attorney General had not made all of
                SORNA's requirements applicable to all sex offenders. The case
                concerned the applicability of SORNA's requirement that a sex offender
                register initially in the jurisdiction in which he is convicted, if it
                differs from his residence jurisdiction, see 34 U.S.C. 20913(a) (second
                sentence), where the sex offender's conviction predated SORNA's
                enactment. Notwithstanding 28 CFR 72.3, the court concluded that the
                Attorney General had not made this SORNA requirement applicable to sex
                offenders with pre-SORNA convictions, if they were already subject to
                state law registration requirements. DeJarnette, 741 F.3d at 982. The
                decision was largely premised on the fact that the particular SORNA
                requirement at issue was not mentioned in relation to that particular
                class of sex offenders in the examples of sex offenders subject to
                SORNA's requirements in 28 CFR 72.3 and the SORNA Guidelines.
                DeJarnette, 741 F.3d at 976-80.
                 The sentence added to Sec. 72.3 by this rulemaking will foreclose
                future decisions of this nature and ensure that Sec. 72.3's
                application of SORNA's requirements to all sex offenders is given
                effect consistently.
                 The proposed rule includes one further change in Sec. 72.3,
                affecting the first example in the provision. The example as currently
                formulated describes a sex offender convicted in 1990 and released
                following imprisonment in 2007, and says that the sex offender is
                subject to SORNA's requirements. In Reynolds, the Supreme Court held
                that SORNA's requirements did not apply to sex offenders with pre-SORNA
                convictions prior to the Attorney General's exercise of the authority
                under 34 U.S.C. 20913(d) to specify SORNA's applicability to those
                offenders. 565 U.S. at 434-35. It follows that SORNA's requirements did
                not apply to such sex offenders before the Attorney General's original
                issuance of 28 CFR 72.3 on February 28, 2007. Example 1 in Sec. 72.3
                might be misunderstood as suggesting the contrary, i.e., that a sex
                offender with a pre-SORNA conviction released from imprisonment at any
                time in 2007 was immediately subject to SORNA's requirements. Hence, to
                avoid any possible inconsistency or apparent inconsistency with the
                Supreme Court's decision in Reynolds, the rule proposes to change the
                example by substituting a later year for 2007.
                Section 72.4--Where sex offenders must register
                 Section 72.4 tracks SORNA's express requirement that a sex offender
                must register and keep the registration current in each jurisdiction in
                which the sex offender resides, is an employee, or is a student, and
                must also initially register in the jurisdiction in which the offender
                was convicted if that jurisdiction differs from the jurisdiction of
                residence. See 34 U.S.C. 20913(a); 73 FR at 38061-62.
                Section 72.5--How long sex offenders must register
                 Section 72.5 sets out SORNA's requirements regarding the duration
                of registration. SORNA classifies sex offenders into three ``tiers,''
                based on the nature and seriousness of their sex offenses and their
                histories of recidivism. See 34 U.S.C. 20911(2)-(4); 73 FR at 38052-54.
                The tier in which a sex offender falls affects how long the offender
                must continue to register under SORNA. The required registration
                periods are generally 15 years for a tier I sex offender, 25 years for
                a tier II sex offender, and life for a tier III sex offender. See 34
                U.S.C. 20915(a); 73 FR at 38068. Paragraph (a) in Sec. 72.5 reproduces
                these requirements.
                 Paragraph (a) of Sec. 72.5 provides an exception ``when the sex
                offender is in custody or civilly committed,'' incorporating in
                substance an express proviso appearing in SORNA, 34 U.S.C. 20915(a).
                The exception and proviso mean that SORNA does not require a sex
                offender to carry out its processes for registering or updating
                registrations during subsequent periods of confinement, e.g., when
                imprisoned because of conviction for some other offense following his
                release from imprisonment for the sex offense. This reflects that ``the
                SORNA procedures for keeping up the registration . . . generally
                presuppose the case of a sex offender who is free in the community''
                and that ``[w]here a sex offender is confined, the public is protected
                against the risk of his reoffending in a more direct way, and more
                certain means are available for tracking his whereabouts.''
                [[Page 49338]]
                73 FR at 38068. However, registration jurisdictions may see incremental
                value in requiring sex offenders to carry out their processes for
                registering and updating registrations during subsequent confinement
                and are free to do so, though SORNA does not require it.
                 The proviso relating to custody or civil commitment does not
                pertain to or limit SORNA's requirement that initial registration is to
                occur while the sex offender is still imprisoned following conviction
                for the predicate sex offense. See 34 U.S.C. 20913(b)(1), 20919(a).
                Rather, as indicated above, it affects a sex offender's registration
                obligations under SORNA if he is later reincarcerated after his
                release. The proviso relating to custody or civil commitment also does
                not mean that the running of the SORNA registration period is suspended
                during such subsequent confinement, and does not otherwise affect the
                commencement or duration of a sex offender's registration period under
                SORNA.
                 For example, consider a sex offender, released in 2010 from
                imprisonment for a sex offense conviction, whom SORNA requires to
                register for 25 years as a tier II sex offender, and suppose the sex
                offender is subsequently convicted during the registration period for
                committing a robbery and imprisoned for three years for the latter
                offense. SORNA's registration requirement for that sex offender
                terminates in 2035, although he was incarcerated for three years of the
                25-year SORNA registration period. Sex offenders should keep in mind,
                however, that their registration jurisdictions are free to impose more
                extensive requirements than SORNA, including longer registration
                periods. Hence, the basic registration period under the law of a
                jurisdiction in which such a sex offender is registered may be longer
                than 25 years. And even if the basic registration period under the
                jurisdiction's law is the same as the 25 years required by SORNA, the
                jurisdiction may choose not to credit the three years the sex offender
                spent in prison for the robbery towards the running of the registration
                period under state law. See 73 FR at 38032-35, 38046, 38068. Expiration
                of the SORNA registration period accordingly does not obviate the need
                for sex offenders to check with registration jurisdictions whether they
                remain subject to registration requirements under the jurisdictions'
                laws.
                 As provided in paragraph (b) of Sec. 72.5, the registration period
                under SORNA begins to run upon release from imprisonment following a
                sex offense conviction, or at the time of sentencing for a sex offense
                where imprisonment does not ensue. See 73 FR at 38068. The sex
                offender's release from imprisonment, which marks the start of the
                registration period for an incarcerated sex offender, may occur later
                than the end of the sentence imposed for the sex offense itself. For
                example, suppose that a sex offender is convicted for a fatal sexual
                assault upon a victim, resulting in a sentence of three years of
                imprisonment for the sexual assault and a concurrent or consecutive
                sentence of 25 years of imprisonment for murder. Or consider a case in
                which a sex offender is sentenced to three years of imprisonment for a
                sexual assault and at a later time he is sentenced to 25 years of
                imprisonment for an unrelated murder, while still imprisoned for the
                sex offense. Or suppose that a sex offender is already serving a 25-
                year prison term for an unrelated murder, when he is sentenced to three
                years of imprisonment for a sexual assault. In all such cases, the
                registration period under SORNA starts to run when the sex offender
                actually completes his imprisonment and is released. It does not start
                to run while the sex offender is still imprisoned but has completed the
                portion of the sentence attributable to the sex offense.
                 This conclusion follows from the general design and specific
                requirements of SORNA's registration procedures. SORNA provides that
                incarcerated sex offenders must initially register ``before completing
                a sentence of imprisonment with respect to the [registration]
                offense.'' 34 U.S.C. 20913(b)(1). SORNA further states that the
                correlative responsibilities of registration officials in effecting the
                initial registration are to be carried out ``shortly before release of
                the sex offender from custody.'' Id. 20919(a); see 73 FR at 38063
                (explaining requirement to register shortly before release from
                custody). Thereafter, sex offenders must ``keep the registration[s]
                current'' for specified periods of time, depending on their
                ``tier[s].'' 34 U.S.C. 20915(a). In light of these provisions, the
                registration period is logically understood as being framed at the
                start by the release from custody and at the end by the termination of
                the specified time period.
                 Considering specifically cases in which a sex offender is serving
                an aggregate prison term for multiple crimes, 34 U.S.C. 20913(b)(1)
                requires registration ``before completing a sentence of imprisonment
                with respect to the offense giving rise to the registration
                requirement.'' (Emphasis added). It does not require registration
                ``before completing a sentence of imprisonment for the offense giving
                rise to the registration requirement.'' The broader ``with respect to''
                language is best understood to mean that the relevant prison term under
                section 20913(b)(1) is not the specific sentence imposed for the
                predicate sex offense alone, but rather is the full related sentence of
                imprisonment, including any prison time imposed for other crimes. The
                corresponding language in section 20919(a) supports this understanding,
                requiring initial registration of the sex offender ``shortly before
                release of the sex offender from custody.'' This language does not
                signify that initial registration is to occur when the sex offender is
                about to complete the portion of an aggregate sentence attributable
                specifically to the sex offense, though the sex offender will remain in
                custody because he is serving additional time for another offense or
                offenses. Rather, by its terms, section 20919(a) contemplates that
                initial registration will occur shortly before the sex offender is
                actually released, and section 20913(b)(1) must be understood in the
                same way, because section 20913(b)(1) and section 20919(a) describe the
                same transaction (initial registration) from different perspectives.
                 For example, consider the case of a sex offender convicted and
                sentenced for a fatal sexual assault, resulting in a three-year prison
                term for the sexual assault and a concurrent or consecutive 25-year
                sentence for murder. Suppose that the sexual assault involved was a
                sexual contact offense against an adult victim, resulting in the
                classification of the sex offender as a tier I sex offender and a
                registration period of 15 years. See 34 U.S.C. 20911(2)-(4),
                20915(a)(1). If the registration period started to run at the end of
                the first three years of the sex offender's incarceration, then the 15-
                year registration period would expire long before the sex offender's
                release, because of the extension of his imprisonment by the murder
                sentence. This result would be at odds with section 20919(a)'s
                direction that sex offenders are to be initially registered ``shortly
                before release . . . from custody,'' because the sex offender's
                registration obligation under SORNA would be a thing of the past by
                that time, and also with the requirements under sections 20913 and
                20915(a)(1) that the sex offender register and keep the registration
                current for 15 years, because his registration period would be over
                before he registered in the first place.
                 In addition to the inconsistency with the statutory provisions
                discussed above, starting the running of the registration period upon
                the conclusion
                [[Page 49339]]
                of the portion of a sentence attributable to the registration offense
                would result in arbitrary differences in registration requirements,
                depending on fortuities in the structuring of criminal sentences or
                their descriptions in judgments. For example, considering again the
                case of a fatal sexual assault, suppose that the resulting sentence
                involves a three-year prison term for the sexual assault, followed by a
                consecutive 25-year prison term for murder. As discussed above, the
                assumed 15-year registration period for the sexual assault would then
                run out long before the sex offender's release, and he would never have
                to register at all. But suppose the sentence is cast instead as a 25-
                year prison term for murder, followed by a consecutive three-year
                prison term for the sexual assault. The completion of the prison term
                for the sexual assault would then coincide with the sex offender's
                release from prison, and he would have to register and keep the
                registration current for 15 years. Because the ordering of the sexual
                assault and murder sentences has no relevance to the public safety
                purposes served by sex offender registration, the discrepancy between
                the two cases as to resulting registration requirements would be
                irrational. For this reason as well, the registration period under
                SORNA starts to run when the sex offender is actually released, and not
                at an earlier time upon completion of the portion of an aggregate
                sentence specifically attributable to the predicate sex offense.
                 By way of comparison, an offender's term of post-imprisonment
                supervised release for a sex offense does not start to run until he is
                released from prison, including in cases in which the offender's
                release is delayed by his serving additional prison time for another
                offense or offenses. This is not unfair or illogical; it rationally
                reflects the nature of supervision as a measure designed for overseeing
                and managing offenders following their release. While sex offender
                registration differs from supervision in being a non-punitive, civil
                regulatory measure, see, e.g., Smith, 538 U.S. at 92-106; Felts, 674
                F.3d at 605-06, it is likewise concerned with the post-release
                treatment of sex offenders in the community. Hence, as with periods of
                supervision, it is rational for an offender's registration period for a
                sex offense to begin to run when he is released from prison, including
                in cases in which the offender's release is delayed by his serving
                additional prison time for other criminal conduct. This reflects the
                nature of registration as a measure designed for tracking and
                monitoring sex offenders following their release.
                 The principle that the registration period under SORNA commences on
                release also applies to cases in which the sex offender is not
                imprisoned for the sex offense per se but is imprisoned because of
                conviction for another offense. For example, suppose that a sex
                offender is convicted of sexually assaulting and robbing a victim,
                resulting in a sentence of probation for the sexual assault and a
                sentence of five years of imprisonment for the robbery. Considering the
                relevant statutory provisions, section 20913(b)(2) makes applicable an
                alternative time for initial registration--three business days after
                sentencing--only ``if the sex offender is not sentenced to a term of
                imprisonment.'' Correspondingly, section 20919(a) provides for initial
                registration immediately after sentencing, rather than shortly before
                release from custody, only ``if the sex offender is not in custody.''
                These provisions, by their terms, do not apply to a sex offender who
                remains in custody, though on the basis of an offense other than the
                predicate sex offense. Hence, cases of this nature must fall under the
                requirement of sections 20913(b)(1) and 20919(a) to effect initial
                registration shortly before the sex offender's release, and the
                consequences are the same as in the cases discussed above involving
                aggregate prison terms for the registration offense and other crimes.
                Where the sex offender receives a non-incarcerative sentence for the
                registration offense and a prison term for another offense, the
                registration period starts upon the sex offender's release, so that
                once registered and out in the community he must keep the registration
                current for the full registration period specified in 34 U.S.C. 20915,
                and not just for a truncated period reduced by his incarceration for
                another offense.
                 In terms of underlying policy, registration is by definition
                concerned with tracking sex offenders in the community following their
                release. See 73 FR at 38044-45. The tiers and the associated
                registration periods under SORNA reflect categorical legislative
                judgments as to how long sex offenders should be tracked following
                release for public safety purposes. These judgments do not come into
                play until the sex offender is released. When that happens may be
                affected by many factors--such as the length of the prison term the sex
                offender receives for the sex offense; whether the sex offender makes
                parole (in a state system having parole) or gets good-conduct credit;
                whether the jurisdiction adopts an early release program because of
                prison crowding; and whether the sex offender gets additional prison
                time because of sentencing for other offenses, related or unrelated to
                the sex offense.
                 Whatever the reasons may be, it is logical to start a post-release
                tracking regime--i.e., registration--when the sex offender is actually
                released. Initial registration is to occur ``shortly before'' that, as
                34 U.S.C. 20919(a) requires, ``in light of the underlying objectives of
                ensuring that sex offenders have their registration obligations in mind
                when they are released, and avoiding situations in which registration
                information changes significantly between the time the initial
                registration procedures are carried out and the time the offender is
                released.'' 73 FR at 38063.
                 Hence, the registration period under SORNA starts to run when a sex
                offender is released from imprisonment, and not at an earlier time when
                the specific sentence for the registration offense has been served, if
                the two times differ. This follows from the features of the statutory
                provisions discussed above, from the absurdities entailed by a
                different interpretation, and from the basic character of registration
                as a post-release tracking measure. To the extent that there might be
                any uncertainty or argument to the contrary, the Attorney General in
                this rule exercises his authority under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b) to interpret
                and implement SORNA's provisions affecting the duration of registration
                in the manner stated.
                 Paragraph (c) in Sec. 72.5 sets out SORNA's reduction of its
                registration period for certain sex offenders who maintain a ``clean
                record'' in accordance with statutory standards. The specific ``clean
                record'' conditions are that the sex offender not be convicted of any
                felony or any sex offense, successfully complete any period of
                supervision, and successfully complete an appropriate sex offender
                treatment program (certified by a registration jurisdiction or the
                Attorney General). The SORNA registration period is reduced by five
                years for a tier I sex offender who maintains a clean record for 10
                years, and reduced to the period for which the clean record is
                maintained for a tier III sex offender required to register on the
                basis of a juvenile delinquency adjudication who maintains a clean
                record for 25 years. See 34 U.S.C. 20915(a), (b); 73 FR at 38068-69.
                Section 72.6--Information Sex Offenders Must Provide
                 Section 72.6 sets out the registration information sex offenders
                must provide. Much of the specified information is
                [[Page 49340]]
                expressly required by SORNA, see 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(1)-(7), and the
                remainder reflects SORNA's direction that sex offenders must provide
                ``[a]ny other information required by the Attorney General,'' id.
                20914(a)(8).
                 In general terms, the required information comprises (i) name,
                birth date, and Social Security number; (ii) remote communication
                identifiers (including email addresses and telephone numbers); (iii)
                information about places of residence, non-residential lodging,
                employment, and school attendance; (iv) international travel; (v)
                passports and immigration documents; (vi) vehicle information; and
                (vii) professional licenses. By providing basic information about who a
                sex offender is, where he is, how he gets around, and what he is
                authorized to do, these requirements implement SORNA and further its
                public safety objectives.
                 Paragraph (a)(1) of Sec. 72.6 requires that a sex offender provide
                his name, including any alias, which is an express SORNA requirement.
                See 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(1); 73 FR at 38055.
                 Paragraph (a)(2) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                date of birth information, a requirement the Attorney General has
                adopted in the SORNA Guidelines and this rule because date of birth
                information is regularly utilized as part of an individual's basic
                identification information and hence is of value in helping to
                identify, track, and locate registered sex offenders. The paragraph
                requires that any date that the sex offender uses as his or her
                purported date of birth must be provided, in addition to the actual
                date of birth, because sex offenders may, for example, provide false
                date of birth information in seeking employment that would provide
                access to children or other potential victims. See 73 FR at 38057.
                 Paragraph (a)(3) of Sec. 72.6 requires that a sex offender provide
                his Social Security number, which is an express SORNA requirement. See
                34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(2). The paragraph further requires provision of any
                number that a sex offender uses as his purported Social Security
                number. The Attorney General has adopted the latter requirement--
                already appearing in the SORNA Guidelines in 2008--because sex
                offenders may, for example, attempt to use false Social Security
                numbers in seeking employment that would provide access to children or
                other potential victims. See 73 FR at 38055.
                 Paragraph (b) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide all
                remote communication identifiers that he uses in internet or telephonic
                communications or postings, including email addresses and telephone
                numbers. A provision of the Keeping the internet Devoid of Sexual
                Predators Act of 2008 (KIDS Act), Public Law 110-400, directed the
                Attorney General to use the authority under paragraph (7) of 34 U.S.C.
                20914(a) [now designated paragraph (8)] to require sex offenders to
                provide internet identifiers. The Attorney General has previously
                exercised that authority to require the specified information in the
                SORNA Guidelines. See 34 U.S.C. 20916(a); 73 FR at 38055; 76 FR at
                1637. The Attorney General has exercised the same authority to require
                telephone numbers--a requirement also already appearing in the SORNA
                Guidelines--for a number of reasons, including facilitating
                communication between registration personnel and sex offenders, and
                addressing the potential use of telephonic communication by sex
                offenders in efforts to contact or lure potential victims. See 73 FR at
                38055.
                 Paragraph (c)(1) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                residence address information or other residence location information
                if the sex offender lacks a residence address. Providing residence
                address information is an express SORNA requirement. See 34 U.S.C.
                20914(a)(3). In the SORNA Guidelines, and now in this rule, the
                Attorney General has adopted the requirement to provide other residence
                location information for sex offenders who do not have residence
                addresses, such as homeless sex offenders or sex offenders living in
                rural areas that lack street addresses, because having this type of
                location information serves the same public safety purposes as knowing
                the whereabouts of sex offenders with definite residence addresses. See
                73 FR at 38055-56, 38061-62.
                 Paragraph (c)(2) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                information about temporary lodging while away from his residence for
                seven or more days. In the SORNA Guidelines, and now in this rule, the
                Attorney General has adopted this requirement because sex offenders may
                reoffend at locations away from the places in which they have a
                permanent or long-term presence, and indeed could be encouraged to do
                so to the extent that information about their places of residence is
                available to the authorities but information is lacking concerning
                their temporary lodgings elsewhere. The benefits of having this
                information include facilitating the successful investigation of crimes
                committed by sex offenders while away from their normal places of
                residence and discouraging sex offenders from committing crimes in such
                circumstances. See 73 FR at 38056.
                 Paragraph (c)(3) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                employer name and address information, or other employment location
                information if the sex offender lacks a fixed place of employment.
                Providing employer name and address information is an express SORNA
                requirement. See 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(4). The Attorney General has
                adopted, in the SORNA Guidelines and this rule, the requirement to
                provide other employment location information for sex offenders who
                work but do not have fixed places of employment--e.g., a long-haul
                trucker whose ``workplace'' is roads and highways throughout the
                country, a self-employed handyman who works out of his home and does
                repair or home improvement work at other people's homes, or a person
                who frequents sites that contractors visit to obtain day labor and
                works for any contractor who hires him on a given day. The Attorney
                General has adopted this requirement because knowing where such sex
                offenders are in the course of employment serves the same public safety
                purposes as knowing the whereabouts of sex offenders who work at fixed
                locations. See 73 FR at 38056, 38062.
                 Paragraph (c)(4) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                the name and address of any place where the sex offender is or will be
                a student, an express SORNA requirement. See 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(5); 73
                FR at 38056-57, 38062.
                 Paragraph (d) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                information about intended travel outside of the United States. This is
                an express SORNA requirement, added by International Megan's Law. See
                34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(7); Public Law 114-119, sec. 6(a)(1). A related
                provision in Sec. 72.7(f) of this rule requires sex offenders to
                report international travel information at least 21 days in advance.
                Exercising the general authority under paragraph (8) of 34 U.S.C.
                20914(a) [then designated paragraph (7)] to expand the required range
                of registration information, the Attorney General initially adopted
                these requirements in the SORNA Supplemental Guidelines, see 76 FR at
                1637-38, even before the enactment of International Megan's Law, for a
                number of reasons:
                 (i) Realizing SORNA's public safety objectives requires that
                registered sex offenders be effectively tracked as they leave and
                return to the United States, and that other sex offenders who enter the
                United States be identified, so that domestic registration and law
                enforcement authorities know about the
                [[Page 49341]]
                sex offenders' presence in the United States and can ensure that they
                register while here as SORNA requires. To that end, SORNA directs the
                Attorney General to establish and maintain a system for informing
                relevant registration jurisdictions about persons entering the United
                States whom SORNA requires to register. See 34 U.S.C. 20930. Sections
                72.6(d) and 72.7(f) of this rule are part of that system, requiring
                registered sex offenders to inform their registration jurisdictions
                about travel abroad, including information that encompasses both their
                departure from and return to the United States. Beyond this direct
                benefit, learning about sex offenders' entry into the United States may
                depend on notice from the authorities of the countries they come from--
                authorities who may expect reciprocal notice about sex offenders
                traveling to their countries from the United States. Having U.S. sex
                offenders inform their registration jurisdictions of travel abroad
                provides information that is used by U.S. authorities, including the
                U.S. Marshals Service and INTERPOL Washington-U.S. National Central
                Bureau, to notify the authorities in the destination countries about
                sex offenders traveling to their areas. These foreign authorities may
                in return advise U.S. authorities about sex offenders traveling to the
                United States from their countries, facilitating the notification of
                domestic registration jurisdictions about the sex offenders' presence
                that section 20930 contemplates. See 73 FR at 38066; 76 FR at 1637.
                 (ii) Sex offenders traveling abroad may remain subject in some
                respects to U.S. jurisdiction, e.g., because a sex offender intends to
                go to an overseas U.S. military base or to work as or for a U.S.
                military contractor in another country. In such cases, the intended
                travel of the sex offender may implicate the same public safety
                concerns in relation to communities abroad for which the United States
                has responsibility as it does in relation to communities within the
                United States. See 73 FR at 38067; 76 FR at 1637-38.
                 (iii) More broadly, for a sex offender disposed to reoffend, it may
                be attractive to travel to foreign countries where law enforcement is
                weaker (or perceived to be weaker), where sexually trafficked children
                or other vulnerable victims may be more readily available, and where
                the registration and notification measures to which the sex offender is
                subject in the United States are inoperative. The United States does
                not wish to export the public safety threat posed by its sex offenders
                to other countries. Requiring sex offenders in the United States to
                inform their registration jurisdictions about international travel
                provides a basis for notifying foreign authorities in the destination
                countries, which helps to reduce the resulting risks. If these sex
                offenders do reoffend in other countries, the resulting human harm to
                victims is no less because it occurs in a foreign country, and the
                United States' image and foreign relations interests may be adversely
                affected as well. Sex offenders from the United States who commit sex
                offenses in other countries may be subject to prosecution under various
                Federal laws, which reflect the United States' policy of, and
                commitment to, combating the commission of crimes of sexual abuse and
                exploitation internationally as well as domestically. See, e.g., 18
                U.S.C. 1591, 2251(c), 2260, 2423. Consistent tracking of international
                travel by sex offenders helps to deter and prevent such crimes, and to
                facilitate their investigation if they occur.
                 Beyond creating a general requirement to report travel outside of
                the United States at least 21 days in advance, the SORNA Supplemental
                Guidelines authorized the requirement of more definite information
                about international travel plans. 76 FR at 1638 (additional directions
                may be issued by the SMART Office ``concerning the information to be
                required in sex offenders' reports of intended international travel,
                such as information concerning expected itinerary, departure and return
                dates, and means and purpose of travel''); see Information Required for
                Notice of International Travel, http://ojp.gov/smart/international_travel.htm (providing such directions). Section 72.6(d)
                in this rule specifically directs sex offenders traveling abroad to
                report information regarding any anticipated itinerary, dates and
                places of departure, arrival, or return, carrier and flight numbers for
                air travel, destination countries and address or contact information
                therein, and means and purpose of travel. More detailed information of
                this type is needed because notice only that a sex offender intends to
                travel somewhere outside of the United States at some time three weeks
                or more in the future would be inadequate to realize the objectives of
                international tracking of sex offenders--objectives that include, as
                discussed above, notification as appropriate of U.S. and foreign
                authorities in destination countries for public safety purposes,
                preventing and detecting the offenders' commission of sex offenses in
                other countries, and reliably tracking sex offenders as they leave and
                enter the United States for purposes of enforcing registration
                requirements. Requiring the specified information concerning
                international travel is justified by its value in furthering these
                objectives. See 73 FR at 38066-67; 76 FR at 1634, 1637-38.
                 Congress endorsed these objectives and the stated conclusion in
                International Megan's Law, whose purposes include ``[t]o protect
                children and others from sexual abuse and exploitation, including sex
                trafficking and sex tourism, by providing advance notice of intended
                travel by registered sex offenders outside the United States to the
                government of the country of destination [and] requesting foreign
                governments to notify the United States when a known sex offender is
                seeking to enter the United States.'' Public Law 114-119; see 162 Cong.
                Rec. H390-94 (Feb. 1, 2016) (explanation in House floor debate on
                passage). As noted above, the measures adopted by International Megan's
                Law in support of its international notification system include an
                express requirement that sex offenders report intended international
                travel, making this requirement a permanent feature of SORNA that
                exists independently of regulatory action. See 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(7);
                Public Law 114-119, sec. 6(a)(1).
                 Section 72.6(d) in this rule follows the new SORNA travel
                information provision added by International Megan's Law, which states
                that sex offenders must provide ``[i]nformation relating to intended
                travel of the sex offender outside the United States, including any
                anticipated dates and places of departure, arrival, or return, carrier
                and flight numbers for air travel, destination country and address or
                other contact information therein, means and purpose of travel, and any
                other itinerary or other travel-related information required by the
                Attorney General.'' 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(7). A sex offender must report
                all anticipated information in these categories in relation to both the
                United States and destination countries as the language of Sec.
                72.6(d) makes clear. For example, a sex offender who is leaving the
                United States must report any anticipated date and place of departure
                from the United States, and also any anticipated date and place of
                return to the United States if the sex offender expects to return.
                Likewise, with respect to each foreign country to be visited, the sex
                offender must report any anticipated date and place of arrival in that
                country and any anticipated date and place of departure from that
                country.
                 Paragraph (e) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                information concerning any passport or passports he
                [[Page 49342]]
                has, and concerning documents establishing his immigration status if he
                is an alien. The passports referenced in the paragraph include
                passports of all types and nationalities, not just U.S. passports.
                Where the sex offender has multiple passports, as may occur, for
                example, in cases involving dual citizenship, the paragraph's reference
                to ``each passport'' the sex offender has means that the sex offender
                must report all of his passports. The Attorney General has included
                information about passports and immigration documents as required
                registration information in the SORNA Guidelines and in this rule
                because having this type of information in the registries serves
                various purposes. These include locating and apprehending registrants
                who may attempt to leave the United States after committing new sex
                offenses or registration violations, facilitating the tracking and
                identification of registrants who leave the United States but later
                reenter while still required to register, see 34 U.S.C. 20930, and
                crosschecking the accuracy and completeness of other types of
                information that registrants are required to provide--e.g., if
                immigration documents show that an alien registrant is in the United
                States on a student visa but the registrant fails to provide school
                attendance information as required by 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(5). See 73 FR
                at 38056.
                 Paragraph (f) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                information concerning any vehicle owned or operated by the sex
                offender, information concerning the license plate number or other
                registration number or identifier for the vehicle, and information as
                to where the vehicle is habitually kept. In part, the paragraph
                reflects the express SORNA requirement in 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(6) that a
                sex offender provide ``[t]he license plate number and a description of
                any vehicle owned or operated by the sex offender.'' This includes, in
                addition to vehicles registered to the sex offender, any vehicle that
                the sex offender regularly drives, either for personal use or in the
                course of employment. See 73 FR at 38057. The remainder of the
                paragraph reflects the Attorney General's requirement (previously
                adopted in the SORNA Guidelines) of additional vehicle-related
                information that serves similar purposes or may be useful to help
                prevent flight, facilitate investigation, or effect an apprehension if
                the sex offender commits new offenses or violates registration
                requirements. See id.
                 Paragraph (g) of Sec. 72.6 requires a sex offender to provide
                information concerning all licensing of the offender that authorizes
                him to engage in an occupation or carry out a trade or business. The
                Attorney General has adopted this requirement, initially in the SORNA
                Guidelines and now in this rule, because information of this type (i)
                may be helpful in locating a registered sex offender if he absconds,
                (ii) may provide a basis for notifying the responsible licensing
                authority if the offender's conviction of a sex offense may affect his
                eligibility for the license, and (iii) may be useful in crosschecking
                the accuracy and completeness of other information the offender is
                required to provide--e.g., if the sex offender is licensed to engage in
                a certain occupation but does not provide name or place of employment
                information as required by 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(4) for such an
                occupation. See 73 FR at 38056.
                Section 72.7--How Sex Offenders Must Register and Keep the Registration
                Current
                 SORNA requires sex offenders to register and keep the registrations
                current in jurisdictions in which they reside, work, or attend school.
                Section 72.7 sets out the procedures for doing so, addressing the
                timing requirements for registering and updating registrations, the
                jurisdictions to which changes in registration information must be
                reported, and the means for reporting such changes. In general terms,
                the section requires (i) initial registration before release from
                imprisonment, or within three business days after sentencing if the sex
                offender is not imprisoned; (ii) periodic in-person appearances to
                verify and update the registration information; (iii) reporting of
                changes in name, residence, employment, or school attendance; (iv)
                reporting of intended departure or termination of residence,
                employment, or school attendance in a jurisdiction; (v) reporting of
                changes relating to remote communication identifiers, temporary lodging
                information, and vehicle information; (vi) reporting of international
                travel; and (vii) compliance with a jurisdiction's rules if a sex
                offender has not complied with the normal time and manner
                specifications for carrying out a SORNA requirement.
                 The requirements articulated in this section in part appear
                expressly in SORNA and in part reflect exercises of the powers SORNA
                confers on the Attorney General to further specify its requirements.
                The authorities relied on include the following: SORNA directs the
                Attorney General to issue rules and guidelines to ``interpret and
                implement'' its provisions, which include the basic requirement that
                each sex offender must ``register . . . and keep the registration
                current.'' 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(a). Previously in the SORNA
                Guidelines, see 73 FR at 38062-67, and now in this rule, the Attorney
                General interprets his authority to ``interpret and implement'' SORNA
                as including the authority to articulate a comprehensive, gap-free set
                of procedural requirements for registering and updating registrations.
                Authority of this nature is needed to implement SORNA in conformity
                with the legislative objective of protecting the public from sex
                offenders by establishing a comprehensive national system for their
                registration. 34 U.S.C. 20901. Beyond the public safety need, this
                understanding of section 20912(b) ``takes Congress to have filled
                potential lacunae'' in SORNA in a manner consistent with fair notice
                concerns, empowering the Attorney General to eliminate any ``vagueness
                and uncertainty'' regarding how sex offenders are to comply with
                SORNA's registration requirements. Reynolds, 565 U.S. at 441-42.
                 The Attorney General's authority to interpret and implement SORNA
                includes in particular the authority to adopt additional specifications
                regarding the time and manner in which its requirements must be carried
                out. For example, SORNA expressly requires that sex offenders must
                appear in person to report changes of name, residence, employment, and
                student status within three business days of such changes. 34 U.S.C.
                20913(c). But SORNA does not expressly require the reporting within a
                particular timeframe of changes relating to other types of registration
                information that also bear directly and importantly on the
                identification, tracking, and location of sex offenders. These include
                remote communication identifiers (such as email addresses), temporary
                lodging information, international travel information, and vehicle
                information, as described in Sec. 72.6(b), (c)(2), (d), and (f) of
                this rule. Absent a requirement that changes in these types of
                information be reported promptly, the information in the registries
                about these matters could become seriously out of date, which would in
                turn impair SORNA's basic objective of effectively tracking and
                locating sex offenders in the community following their release. See 73
                FR at 38044-45, 38066-67. The Attorney General accordingly has adopted
                definite timing requirements for reporting changes in these types of
                information, previously in the guidelines for SORNA implementation, and
                now in Sec. 72.7(e)-(f) in this rule.
                 Adopting such rules reflects an exercise of the Attorney General's
                authority to ``interpret and implement''
                [[Page 49343]]
                SORNA, 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), and more specifically to interpret and
                implement SORNA's requirement that sex offenders must ``keep the
                registration current,'' id. 20913(a). While the heading of subsection
                (c) of section 20913 is ``[k]eeping the registration current,'' the
                heading only signifies that the subsection sets out an updating rule
                for the most basic types of registration information. It does not
                signify that nothing more can be required to keep the registration
                current. The contrary is evident from section 20915(a), which specifies
                the duration of required registration under SORNA. Section 20915(a)
                uses the same terminology, stating that a sex offender ``shall keep the
                registration current'' for the relevant period of time. Obviously, in
                providing that a sex offender must ``keep the registration current''
                for a specified period, section 20915(a) defines the period of time
                during which a sex offender must continue to comply with all of SORNA's
                requirements, given the absence of any other provision in SORNA
                specifying how long sex offenders must comply with its various
                requirements. Among other consequences, this means that sex offenders
                must appear in person periodically to verify and update their
                registration information, as required by section 20918, for the
                specified period of time--not just that they must report changes in
                name, residence, employment, and school attendance, as provided in
                section 20913(c), for the specified period of time. That consideration
                alone demonstrates that section 20913(c) does not exhaust SORNA's
                requirements for ``keep[ing] the registration current.''
                 Regarding other matters, such as changes in registration
                information relating to remote communication identifiers, temporary
                lodging, vehicles, and international travel, the Attorney General has
                understood the authority to interpret and implement SORNA's requirement
                to keep the registration current as including the authority to adopt
                specific time and manner requirements for the reporting of such
                changes. Congress ratified this understanding in the KIDS Act. In that
                Act, Congress provided that (i) ``[t]he Attorney General, using the
                authority provided in [34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(8)], shall require that each
                sex offender provide to the sex offender registry those internet
                identifiers the sex offender uses or will use'' and (ii) ``[t]he
                Attorney General, using the authority provided in [34 U.S.C. 20912(b)],
                shall specify the time and manner for keeping current information
                required to be provided under this section.'' 34 U.S.C. 20916(a)-(b).
                 Notably, Congress did not find it necessary to make new grants of
                authority to the Attorney General for these purposes and instead
                directed the Attorney General to utilize the pre-existing authorities
                under SORNA to require internet identifier information and specify the
                time and manner for keeping it current. This confirms that the section
                20912(b) authority includes the authority to adopt additional time and
                manner requirements in the rules and guidelines the Attorney General
                issues.
                 SORNA directs sex offenders to provide for inclusion in the sex
                offender registry several expressly described types of registration
                information and, in addition, ``[a]ny other information required by the
                Attorney General.'' Id. 20914(a)(8). The section 20914(a)(8) authority
                underlies the specification of required types of registration
                information in Sec. 72.6 in this rule beyond those expressly set forth
                in section 20914(a)(1)-(7). The section 20914(a)(8) authority also
                provides an additional, independent legal basis for various
                requirements in Sec. 72.7, including a number of timing rules it
                incorporates.
                 In relation to some types of required registration information
                under this rule, which may be based wholly or in part on the exercise
                of the Attorney General's authority under section 20914(a)(8), a timing
                requirement is inherent in the nature of the information that must be
                reported. This is true of the requirement under Sec. 72.7(d) to report
                if a sex offender will be commencing residence, employment, or school
                attendance elsewhere or will be terminating residence, employment, or
                school attendance in a jurisdiction. It is likewise true of the
                requirement under Sec. 72.7(f) to report intended international
                travel. Because these provisions constitute requirements to report
                present intentions regarding expected future actions, the information
                they require necessarily must be reported in advance of the expected
                actions.
                 Section 20914(a)(8) also provides an additional, independent legal
                basis for more specific timeframe requirements appearing in Sec. 72.7
                of this rule. One of these requirements is that intended international
                travel is to be reported at least 21 days in advance of the travel, as
                provided in Sec. 72.7(f). In substance, this is a requirement that a
                sex offender report to the residence jurisdiction an intention to
                travel outside of the United States at some time 21 days or more in the
                future. Viewing the expected timing of the travel as an aspect of the
                required information, it is within the Attorney General's authority
                under 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(8) to require sex offenders to provide ``[a]ny
                other information''--and following the adoption of section 20914(a)(7)
                by International Megan's Law, within the Attorney General's more
                specific authority under the latter provision to require ``any other .
                . . travel-related information.'' Essentially the same point applies to
                the rule's specification that sex offenders must report within three
                business days changes relating to certain types of registration
                information the Attorney General has required. Section 72.7(e) directs
                reporting of changes in information within that timeframe relating to
                remote communication identifiers, temporary lodging, and vehicles.
                Viewed as requirements to report the information that certain actions
                or occurrences have taken place within the preceding three business
                days, these requirements are within the Attorney General's authority
                under 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(8).
                 Turning to another SORNA provision supporting time and manner
                requirements, 34 U.S.C. 20913(d) authorizes the Attorney General to
                specify the applicability of SORNA's requirements to sex offenders
                convicted before the enactment of SORNA or its implementation in a
                particular jurisdiction ``and to prescribe rules for the registration
                of any such sex offenders and for other categories of sex offenders who
                are unable to comply with subsection (b).'' The cross-referenced
                ``subsection (b)'' is the SORNA provision that requires sex offenders
                to register initially before release from imprisonment, or within three
                business days of sentencing if the sex offender is not imprisoned. As
                discussed below in connection with Sec. 72.7(a)(2) of this rule, sex
                offenders released from Federal or military custody and sex offenders
                convicted in foreign countries generally are unable to register prior
                to release. The section 20913(d) authority to prescribe registration
                rules for sex offenders ``unable to comply with subsection (b)''
                accordingly provides one of the legal bases for the alternative timing
                rules in Sec. 72.7(a)(2), which direct registration by sex offenders
                in the affected classes within three business days of entering a
                jurisdiction following release.
                 The authorities described above--under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b),
                20913(d), and 20914(a)(8)--provided the basis for the Attorney
                General's adoption of time and manner specifications for complying with
                SORNA's registration requirements in previously issued guidelines under
                SORNA. More recently, International Megan's Law added an express,
                general
                [[Page 49344]]
                grant of authority to the Attorney General to make such specifications.
                The relevant provision is 34 U.S.C. 20914(c), which reads as follows:
                ``(c) TIME AND MANNER.--A sex offender shall provide and update
                information required under subsection (a), including information
                relating to intended travel outside the United States required under
                paragraph (7) of that subsection, in conformity with any time and
                manner requirements prescribed by the Attorney General.''
                 The cross-referenced ``subsection (a)'' is SORNA's list of all the
                registration information that sex offenders must provide. Hence, the
                new section 20914(c) requires sex offenders to comply with the Attorney
                General's directions regarding the time and manner for providing and
                updating all registration information required by SORNA. In addition to
                empowering the Attorney General to specify the time and manner for
                reporting particular types of registration information, this provision
                enables the Attorney General to specify the time and manner for
                registration. This is so because registration on the part of a sex
                offender consists of providing required registration information to the
                registration jurisdiction for inclusion in the sex offender registry.
                Given that the Attorney General has the authority under section
                20914(c) to specify the time and manner for a sex offender's provision
                of each required type of registration information, it follows that the
                Attorney General has the authority under section 20914(c) to specify
                the time and manner for a sex offender's provision of the required
                types of information collectively, which constitutes registration under
                SORNA.
                Paragraph (a)--Initial Registration
                 Paragraph (a)(1) of Sec. 72.7 tracks SORNA's general rule that a
                sex offender must initially register--that is, register for the first
                time based on a sex offense conviction--before release from
                imprisonment, or within three business days of sentencing in case of a
                non-incarcerative sentence. See 34 U.S.C. 20913(b) (initial
                registration by sex offenders); id. 20919(a) (complementary duties of
                registration officials); 73 FR at 38062-65 (related explanation in
                guidelines).
                 Paragraph (a)(2)(i) of Sec. 72.7 addresses the situation of sex
                offenders who are released from Federal or military custody or
                sentenced for a Federal or military sex offense. There is no separate
                Federal registration program for such offenders. Hence, Federal
                authorities cannot register these offenders prior to their release from
                custody or near the time of sentencing. This is in contrast to the
                authorities of the SORNA registration jurisdictions--the states, the
                District of Columbia, the five principal U.S. territories, and
                qualifying Indian tribes--who may register their sex offenders prior to
                release or near sentencing as provided in 34 U.S.C. 20913(b), 20919(a).
                SORNA instead enacted special provisions under which Federal
                correctional and supervision authorities (i) are required to inform
                Federal (including military) offenders with sex offense convictions
                that they must register as required by SORNA and (ii) must notify the
                (non-Federal) jurisdictions in which the sex offenders will reside
                following release or sentencing so that these jurisdictions can
                integrate the sex offenders into their registration programs. See 18
                U.S.C. 4042(c); Public Law 105-119, sec. 115(a)(8)(C), as amended by
                Public Law. 109-248, sec. 141(i) (10 U.S.C. 951 note); 73 FR at 38064;
                see also 18 U.S.C. 3563(a)(8); id. 3583(d) (third sentence); id.
                4209(a) (second sentence) (mandatory Federal supervision condition to
                comply with SORNA); 34 U.S.C 20931 (requiring the Secretary of Defense
                to provide to the Attorney General military sex offender information
                for inclusion in the National Sex Offender Registry and National Sex
                Offender Public website).
                 The timing rule adopted for such situations is that sex offenders
                released from Federal or military custody or convicted of Federal or
                military sex offenses but not sentenced to imprisonment must register
                within three business days of entering or remaining in a jurisdiction
                to reside, see 73 FR at 38064, which parallels SORNA's normal timeframe
                for registering or updating a registration following changes of
                residence, see 34 U.S.C. 20913(c). Section 72.7(a)(2)(i) refers to a
                sex offender entering ``or remaining'' in a jurisdiction to reside
                because, for example, a Federal sex offender released from a Federal
                prison located in a state may remain in that state to reside, rather
                than relocating to some other state. In such a case, the three-
                business-day period for registering with the state runs from the time
                of the sex offender's release.
                 In terms of legal authority, the requirement of Sec. 72.7(a)(2)(i)
                is supported by the Attorney General's authority to interpret and
                implement SORNA's requirement to register in the jurisdiction of
                residence, 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(a); the Attorney General's
                authority under section 20913(d) to prescribe rules for the
                registration of sex offenders who are unable to comply with section
                20913(b)'s timing rule for initial registration; and the Attorney
                General's authority under section 20914(c) to adopt time and manner
                specifications for providing and updating registration information,
                which includes the authority to adopt time and manner specifications
                for registration as discussed above. Viewing a sex offender's being
                released from Federal or military custody and taking up residence in a
                jurisdiction as a change of residence, this requirement is also
                supportable as a direct application of section 20913(c).
                 Paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of Sec. 72.7 addresses the situation of
                persons required to register on the basis of foreign sex offense
                convictions. Registration by the convicting state is not an available
                option under SORNA in such cases because foreign states are not
                registration jurisdictions under SORNA. See 34 U.S.C. 20911(10). Also,
                there may be no domestic jurisdiction in which SORNA requires such
                offenders to register--if they are not residing, working, or attending
                school in the United States at the time they are released from custody
                or sentenced in the foreign country--but SORNA's requirements will
                apply if they travel or return to the United States. The rule adopted
                for foreign conviction situations is that the sex offender must
                register within three business days of entering a domestic jurisdiction
                to reside, work, or attend school, see 73 FR at 38050-51, 38064-65,
                which parallels SORNA's normal timeframe for registering or updating a
                registration following changes of residence, employment, or student
                status, see 34 U.S.C. 20913(c).
                 In terms of legal authority, this requirement is supported by the
                Attorney General's authority to interpret and implement SORNA's
                requirement to register in jurisdictions of residence, employment, and
                school attendance, 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(a); the Attorney General's
                authority under section 20913(d) to prescribe rules for the
                registration of sex offenders who are unable to comply with section
                20913(b)'s timing rule for initial registration; and the Attorney
                General's authority under section 20914(c) to adopt time and manner
                specifications for providing and updating registration information,
                which includes the authority to adopt time and manner specifications
                for registration as discussed above. Insofar as a sex offender's travel
                or return to the United States following a foreign conviction involves
                a change of residence, employment, or student status, this
                [[Page 49345]]
                requirement is also supportable as a direct application of section
                20913(c).
                Paragraph (b)--Periodic In-Person Verification
                 Paragraph (b) of Sec. 72.7 sets out the express requirement of 34
                U.S.C. 20918 that sex offenders periodically appear in person in the
                jurisdictions in which they are required to register, allow the
                jurisdictions to take current photographs, and verify their
                registration information, with the frequency of the required
                appearances determined by their tiering. See 73 FR at 38067-68.
                 The second sentence of paragraph (b), exercising the Attorney
                General's authority under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), interprets and implements
                section 20918's requirement of verifying the information in each
                registry to include correcting any information that is out of date or
                inaccurate and reporting any new registration information. With respect
                to most types of registration information, other provisions of Sec.
                72.7 require reporting of changes within shorter timeframes than the
                intervals between periodic in-person appearances for verification.
                Hence, a sex offender who has complied with SORNA's requirements is
                likely to have reported changes in most types of registration
                information prior to his next verification appearance. But Sec. 72.7
                does not specially address the time and manner for reporting changes in
                some types of registration information. See Sec. 72.6(a)(2)-(3), (e),
                (g) (requiring as well information concerning actual and purported
                dates of birth and Social Security numbers, passports and immigration
                documents, and professional licenses). Sex offenders can keep their
                registrations current with respect to the latter categories of
                information by reporting any changes in their periodic verifications.
                See 73 FR at 38067-68.
                Paragraph (c)--Reporting of Initiation and Changes Concerning Name,
                Residence, Employment, and School Attendance
                 Paragraph (c) of Sec. 72.7 is based on SORNA's express requirement
                that ``[a] sex offender shall, not later than 3 business days after
                each change of name, residence, employment, or student status, appear
                in person in at least 1 jurisdiction involved pursuant to [34 U.S.C.
                20913(a)] and inform that jurisdiction of all changes in the
                information required for that offender in the sex offender registry.''
                34 U.S.C. 20913(c); see 73 FR at 38065-66.
                 While SORNA provides a definite timeframe for reporting these
                changes (within three business days), specifies a means of reporting
                (through in-person appearance), and requires reporting of a change in
                ``at least 1 jurisdiction,'' it does not specify the particular
                jurisdiction in which each kind of change--i.e., change in name,
                residence, employment, or school attendance--is to be reported. As
                discussed earlier, the Attorney General's authority under 34 U.S.C.
                20912(b) to interpret and implement SORNA includes the authority to
                further specify the manner in which changes in registration information
                are to be reported where there are such gaps or ambiguities in SORNA's
                statutory provisions. In addition, the Attorney General now has express
                authority under 34 U.S.C. 20914(c) to prescribe the manner in which all
                required registration information is to be provided and updated.
                Exercising those authorities in paragraph (c) in Sec. 72.7, the
                Attorney General interprets and implements the requirement of section
                20913(c), and prescribes the manner in which sex offenders must provide
                and update information about name, residence, employment, or student
                status, by specifying the particular jurisdiction in which a sex
                offender must appear to report the changes section 20913(c) describes--
                in the residence jurisdiction to report a change of name or residence,
                in the employment jurisdiction to report a change of employment, and in
                the jurisdiction of school attendance to report a change in school
                attendance. See 73 FR at 38065.
                 For example, suppose that a sex offender resides in state A and
                commutes to work in state B. Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. 20913(a), the sex
                offender must register in both states--in state A as his residence
                state, and in state B as his employment state. Suppose that the sex
                offender changes his place of residence in state A and continues to
                work at the same place in state B. Logically, the sex offender should
                carry out his in-person appearance in state A to report his change of
                residence in state A, rather than in state B, where his contact with
                the latter state (employment) has not changed. Conversely, varying the
                example, suppose that the sex offender changes his place of employment
                from one employer to another in state B, but continues to reside in the
                same place in state A. The sex offender should carry out his in-person
                appearance in state B to report his change of employment in state B,
                rather than in state A, where his contact with the latter state
                (residence) has not changed.
                 These conclusions follow from the underlying policies of SORNA's
                in-person appearance requirements, which aim to provide opportunities
                for face to face encounters between sex offenders and persons
                responsible for their registrations in the local areas in which they
                will be present. Such encounters may help law enforcement personnel to
                familiarize themselves with the sex offenders in their areas, thereby
                facilitating the effective discharge of their protective and
                investigative functions in relation to those sex offenders, and helping
                to ensure that their responsibilities to track those offenders are
                taken seriously and carried out consistently. Likewise, from the
                perspective of sex offenders, face to face encounters with officers
                responsible for their monitoring in the local areas where they are
                present may help to impress on them that their identities, locations,
                and past criminal conduct are known to the authorities in those areas.
                Hence, there is a reduced likelihood of their avoiding detection and
                apprehension if they reoffend, and this may help them to resist the
                temptation to reoffend. See 73 FR at 38065, 38067.
                 These policies are furthered by sex offenders appearing in person
                to report changes in residence, employment, and school attendance in
                the jurisdictions in which the changes occur, rather than in other
                jurisdictions where they may be required to register, but within whose
                borders there has been no change in the location of the sex offender.
                Section 72.7(c) in the rule accordingly provides that changes in the
                most basic types of location information--residence, employment, school
                attendance--are to be reported through in-person appearances in the
                jurisdictions in which they occur. Section 72.7(c) also provides
                definiteness regarding the reporting of name changes under 34 U.S.C.
                20913(c), providing that such changes are to be reported in the
                residence jurisdiction, as the jurisdiction in which a sex offender is
                likely to have his most substantial presence and contacts.
                Paragraph (d)--Reporting of Departure and Termination Concerning
                Residence, Employment, and School Attendance
                 Paragraph (d) of Sec. 72.7 requires sex offenders to inform the
                jurisdictions in which they reside if they will be commencing
                residence, employment, or school attendance in another jurisdiction or
                outside of the United States, and to inform the relevant jurisdictions
                if they will be terminating residence, employment, or school attendance
                in a jurisdiction. The Attorney General has previously articulated
                these requirements in the SORNA Guidelines. See 73 FR at
                [[Page 49346]]
                38065-67. These requirements are not part of the requirement under 34
                U.S.C. 20913(c) to report certain changes through in-person appearances
                and they may be reported by any means allowed by registration
                jurisdictions in their discretion. See 73 FR at 38067.
                 Paragraph (d)(1) of Sec. 72.7, relating to notice about intended
                commencement of residence, employment, or school attendance outside of
                a jurisdiction, and paragraph (d)(2), relating to notice about
                termination of residence, employment, or school attendance in a
                jurisdiction, are complementary, each applying in certain situations
                that may be outside the scope of the other. For example, Sec.
                72.7(d)(1) requires a sex offender to inform his residence jurisdiction
                if he will be starting a job in another jurisdiction, even if he will
                continue to reside where he has resided and will not be terminating any
                existing connection to the residence jurisdiction. Section 72.7(d)(2)
                requires a sex offender to inform a jurisdiction of his intended
                termination of residence, employment, or school attendance in that
                jurisdiction ``even if there is no ascertainable or expected future
                place of residence, employment, or school attendance for the sex
                offender.'' 73 FR at 38066. Regarding the underlying legal authority
                for Sec. 72.7(d), its informational requirements overlap with types of
                information 34 U.S.C. 20914(a) expressly requires sex offenders to
                provide, which include information as to where a sex offender ``will
                reside,'' ``will be an employee,'' or ``will be a student.'' Id.
                20914(a)(3)-(5). To the extent Sec. 72.7(d) goes beyond the
                registration information that SORNA expressly requires, it is a
                straightforward exercise of the Attorney General's authority under 34
                U.S.C. 20914(a)(8) to require any additional registration information.
                 Even before the enactment of International Megan's Law, the
                Attorney General's implementation authority under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b)
                was understood to include the authority to specify time and manner
                requirements for providing and updating registration information, as
                discussed above. Currently, section 20914(c) confers express authority
                on the Attorney General to adopt the time and manner requirements set
                forth in Sec. 72.7(d)--i.e., that (i) intended commencement of
                residence, employment, or school attendance in another jurisdiction or
                outside the United States is to be reported to the residence
                jurisdiction (by whatever means it allows) prior to any termination of
                residence in that jurisdiction and prior to commencing residence,
                employment, or school attendance in the other jurisdiction or outside
                of the United States; and (ii) intended termination of residence,
                employment, or school attendance in a jurisdiction is to be reported to
                the jurisdiction (by whatever means it allows) prior to the termination
                of residence, employment, or school attendance in the jurisdiction.
                Section 72.7(d)'s requirement that the intended actions or changes are
                to be reported prior to the termination of residence, employment, or
                school attendance in the relevant jurisdiction ensures that the
                reporting requirement applies while the sex offender is still subject
                to the requirement to register and keep the registration current in the
                jurisdiction pursuant to 34 U.S.C. 20913(a). This approach avoids any
                question about the validity of requiring a sex offender to provide or
                update information in a jurisdiction in which he is no longer required
                to register under SORNA.
                 The exercise of the authorities described above in Sec. 72.7(d)
                furthers SORNA's objective of creating a ``comprehensive national
                system for the registration of [sex] offenders,'' 34 U.S.C. 20901,
                which reliably tracks sex offenders as they move away from and into
                registration jurisdictions. A sex offender's departure from a
                jurisdiction in which he is registered may eventually be discovered--
                e.g., because he fails to appear for the next periodic verification of
                his registration, see id. 20918--even if he does not affirmatively
                notify the jurisdiction that he is leaving. But considerable time may
                elapse before that happens, leaving a cold trail for law enforcement
                efforts to locate the sex offender, if he does not register in the
                destination jurisdiction as SORNA requires.
                 For example, for a sex offender who decides to change his residence
                from one state to another, Sec. 72.7(d) requires the sex offender to
                inform the state he is leaving prior to his departure, and Sec.
                72.7(c) requires him to inform the destination state within three
                business days of his arrival there. Under SORNA's procedures for
                information sharing among registration jurisdictions, the state of
                origin in such a case directly notifies the identified destination
                state. See 34 U.S.C. 20921(b), 20923(b)(3); 73 FR at 38065; 76 FR at
                1638. If the sex offender then fails to appear and register as expected
                in the destination state, appropriate follow-up ensues, which may
                include investigative efforts by state and local law enforcement and
                the U.S. Marshals Service to locate the sex offender, issuance of a
                warrant for his arrest, and entry of information into national law
                enforcement databases reflecting the sex offender's status as an
                absconder or unlocatable. See 34 U.S.C. 20924; 73 FR at 38069. In the
                context of this system, the requirement of Sec. 72.7(d) for a sex
                offender to notify the residence jurisdiction concerning his departure
                is an important element. It helps to ensure that agencies and officials
                responsible for sex offender registration and its enforcement are
                promptly made aware of major changes in the location of sex offenders,
                and thereby reduces the risk that sex offenders will disappear in the
                interstices between jurisdictions.
                 In so doing, Sec. 72.7(d) resolves certain potential problems in
                the operation of SORNA's registration system following the Supreme
                Court's decision in Nichols v. United States, 136 S Ct. 1113 (2016),
                and a similar earlier decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals,
                United States v. Lunsford, 725 F.3d 859 (8th Cir. 2013). Nichols
                involved a sex offender who abandoned his residence in Kansas and
                relocated to the Philippines, without informing the Kansas registration
                authorities of his departure. The issue in the case was whether Nichols
                had violated 34 U.S.C. 20913(c), which requires a sex offender ``not
                later than three business days after each change of name, residence,
                employment, or student status'' to ``appear in person in at least 1
                jurisdiction involved pursuant to subsection (a) and inform that
                jurisdiction of all changes'' in the required registration information.
                 The Court noted that subsection (a) of section 20913 mentions three
                jurisdictions as possibly ``involved''--``where the offender resides,
                where the offender is an employee, and where the offender is a
                student''-- which would not include the state of Kansas after Nichols
                had moved to the Philippines. Nichols, 136 S Ct. at 1117 (quoting 34
                U.S.C. 20913(a)). The Court further noted that section 20913(c)
                requires appearance and registration within three business days after a
                change of residence, and Nichols could not have appeared in Kansas
                after he left the state. Id. at 1117-18. The Court accordingly
                concluded that Nichols' failure to inform Kansas of his departure was
                not a violation of section 20913(c), since Kansas was no longer an
                ``involved'' jurisdiction in which section 20913(c) may require a sex
                offender to report changes in residence. Id. at 1118. Applying the same
                reasoning to the domestic context, if a sex offender terminates his
                residence in a state and thereafter takes up residence in another
                state, he cannot violate section 20913(c) by failing to inform the
                state he is leaving. For, following the termination of residence in
                that state, it
                [[Page 49347]]
                is no longer a ``jurisdiction involved'' for purposes of section
                20913(c).
                 There is no comparable problem, however, with Sec. 72.7(d)'s
                requirement that a sex offender inform a jurisdiction in which he
                resides of his intended departure from the jurisdiction, because Sec.
                72.7(d) does not depend on the requirements of section 20913(c).
                Rather, Sec. 72.7(d) is grounded in the requirement of section
                20914(a) that sex offenders provide certain information, including
                ``[a]ny other information required by the Attorney General,'' and the
                requirement of section 20914(c) that they report the required
                information in the ``time and manner . . . prescribed by the Attorney
                General.''
                 The Attorney General's exercise of his authorities under section
                20914(a) and 20914(c) to require sex offenders to inform their
                registration jurisdictions that they will be going elsewhere in no way
                conflicts with Nichols' conclusion that section 20913(c) does not
                require such pre-departure notice of intended relocation. Section
                20914(a)(8) says that sex offenders must provide ``[a]ny other
                information required by the Attorney General.'' The statute does not
                say that sex offenders must provide ``[a]ny other information required
                by the Attorney General, except for information about intended
                departure from the jurisdiction.'' Nichols' interpretation of section
                20913(c) provides no basis for reading such an unstated limitation into
                section 20914(a)(8). Likewise, Nichols provides no basis for reading
                unstated limitations into the Attorney General's authority--now
                expressly granted by section 20914(c)--to prescribe time and manner
                requirements for providing and updating registration information, which
                adequately supports Sec. 72.7(d)'s requirement that a sex offender
                inform the jurisdiction in which he resides about intended departure
                prior to any termination of residence and before going elsewhere.
                 The Attorney General's adoption of the Sec. 72.7(d) requirements
                is also consistent with the Supreme Court's analysis of particular
                arguments and issues in Nichols. The salient points are as follows:
                 First, the Court in Nichols noted that the predecessor Federal sex
                offender registration law (the ``Wetterling Act'') required a sex
                offender to ``report the change of address to the responsible agency in
                the State the person is leaving,'' while SORNA contains no comparable
                provision that expressly requires sex offenders to notify jurisdictions
                they are leaving. 136 S Ct. at 1118 (quoting 42 U.S.C. 14071(b)(5)
                (2000)). However, SORNA does not attempt to articulate all the
                particulars of its registration requirements for sex offenders, instead
                authorizing the Attorney General to complete the regulatory scheme
                through interpretation and implementation of SORNA. See, e.g., 34
                U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(d), 20914(a)(8), 20914(c). Given the extent of
                the Attorney General's powers under SORNA, it was not necessary for
                Congress to include an express provision in SORNA requiring sex
                offenders to notify jurisdictions they are leaving. Nor can there be
                any doubt that requiring such notification is now within the terms of
                the Attorney General's powers under SORNA, as discussed above. Indeed,
                34 U.S.C. 20923(b)(3)--which provides that a jurisdiction's officials
                are to inform each jurisdiction ``from or to which a change of
                residence, employment, or student status occurs''-- contemplates the
                Attorney General's adoption of requirements like those appearing in
                Sec. 72.7(d). For if sex offenders were not required to advise the
                jurisdictions they leave of their departure and destination, those
                jurisdictions could not inform the jurisdictions ``to which'' sex
                offenders relocate.
                 Second, the Court in Nichols rejected an argument that a
                jurisdiction necessarily remains ``involved'' for purposes of section
                20913(c) if the sex offender continues to appear on the jurisdiction's
                registry as a current resident. The Court responded that section
                20913(a) gives jurisdictions where the offender resides, is an
                employee, or is a student as the only possibilities for an ``involved''
                jurisdiction, and does not include a jurisdiction ``where the offender
                appears on a registry.'' 136 S Ct. at 1118. The Court said ``[w]e
                decline the . . . invitation to add an extra clause to the text of
                Sec. [20]913(a).'' Id. In contrast, Sec. 72.7(d) in this rule does
                not require the addition of an extra clause to section 20913(a). It
                involves the exercise of the Attorney General's authorities under SORNA
                to include the information described in Sec. 72.7(d) in the
                information that a sex offender must provide to the jurisdictions
                described in the actual clauses of section 20913(a)--i.e., those in
                which he resides, is an employee, or is a student.
                 Third, the Court rejected an argument that Nichols was required to
                inform Kansas of his intended departure based on 34 U.S.C.
                20914(a)(3)'s direction to sex offenders to provide information about
                where they ``will reside.'' The Court noted that ``Sec. [20]914(a)
                merely lists the pieces of information that a sex offender must provide
                if and when he updates his registration; it says nothing about whether
                the offender has an obligation to update his registration in the first
                place.'' 136 S Ct. at 1118. In context, the Court's point was that
                section 20914(a)(3) just specifies a type of information sex offenders
                must provide, and does not say when they must provide it, so section
                20914(a)(3) does not in itself require sex offenders to provide change
                of residence information in advance when they leave a jurisdiction. For
                example, without more, section 20914(a)(3) might be taken to entail
                that sex offenders must advise where they ``will reside'' when
                initially registering before release from imprisonment, see 34 U.S.C.
                20913(b)(1), but not necessarily that they give advance notice to their
                registration jurisdictions of expected future residence on subsequent
                relocations.
                 However, this understanding of section 20914(a)(3) does not imply
                any limitation on the Attorney General's authority to require a sex
                offender to ``update his registration in the first place,'' Nichols,
                136 S Ct. at 1118, on the basis of 34 U.S.C. 20914(c), which directs
                that ``[a] sex offender shall provide and update information required
                under subsection (a) . . . in conformity with any time and manner
                requirements prescribed by the Attorney General.'' Nor does it imply
                any limitation on the Attorney General's authority under SORNA to
                require sex offenders to report the full range of information described
                in Sec. 72.7(d). In Sec. 72.7(d), as discussed above, the Attorney
                General exercises these authorities to require sex offenders to inform
                jurisdictions of intended departure and expected future residence prior
                to any termination of residence in a jurisdiction.
                 Finally, the Court in Nichols rejected an argument that Nichols had
                to notify Kansas of his departure on the theory that he engaged in two
                changes of residence--the first when he abandoned his residence in
                Kansas, and the second when he checked into a hotel in the Philippines.
                136 S Ct. at 1118-19. Section 72.7(d) in this rule, however, does not
                assume any such multiplicity in changes of residence. Rather, it
                establishes a freestanding requirement to inform registration
                jurisdictions in advance of termination of residence and commencement
                of intended future residence.
                 At the end of the Nichols decision, the Court noted that--
                considering the International Megan's Law amendments to SORNA--``[o]ur
                interpretation of the SORNA provisions at issue in this case in no way
                means that sex offenders will be able to escape punishment for leaving
                the United States without
                [[Page 49348]]
                notifying the jurisdictions in which they lived while in this
                country.'' 136 S. Ct. at 1119. The Court noted the addition of a new
                subsection (b) to 18 U.S.C. 2250, which ``criminalized the `knowin[g]
                fail[ure] to provide information required by [SORNA] relating to
                intended travel in foreign commerce,' '' and the addition of 34 U.S.C.
                20914(a)(7), which requires sex offenders to provide information about
                intended international travel. 136 S. Ct. at 1119 (brackets in
                original) (quoting 18 U.S.C. 2250(b)(2)). The Court concluded: ``We are
                thus reassured that our holding today is not likely to create
                `loopholes and deficiencies' in SORNA's nationwide sex-offender
                registration scheme.'' Id. (quoting United States v. Kebodeaux, 570
                U.S. 387, 399 (2013)).
                 Section 72.7(d) in this rule similarly helps to ensure that the
                interpretation of 34 U.S.C. 20913(c) in Nichols and Lunsford does not
                create ``loopholes and deficiencies'' in the operation of SORNA's
                tracking system, in relation to both domestic and international
                relocations. For example, consider a sex offender who terminates his
                residence in a state without informing the state. Suppose the sex
                offender is later found elsewhere in the United States, but he cannot
                be shown to have taken up residence--or to have been employed or a
                student--in another jurisdiction after leaving the original state of
                residence. In light of Nichols, section 20913(c) does not require the
                sex offender to report his relocation to the original state because it
                is no longer an ``involved'' jurisdiction after he leaves, and there
                may be no other relevant jurisdiction in which he must report the
                change, i.e., one in which he presently resides, is employed, or is a
                student. However, with Sec. 72.7(d) in effect, a sex offender in this
                circumstance will have violated 34 U.S.C. 20914(a) and (c)'s
                requirements to provide registration information, including ``[a]ny
                other information'' prescribed by the Attorney General, in the time and
                manner prescribed by the Attorney General. At a minimum, in the case
                described, the sex offender would have failed to provide the
                information that he is terminating his residence in the original state
                of residence prior to his termination of residence in that state,
                contravening Sec. 72.7(d).
                 Hence, Sec. 72.7(d) provides an additional safeguard against
                registered sex offenders' simply disappearing without informing anyone
                about their relocation. The consequences for non-compliant sex
                offenders include potential prosecution by registration jurisdictions,
                which have been encouraged to adopt departure notification requirements
                similar to Sec. 72.7(d) in their registration laws by the Attorney
                General's prior articulation of those requirements in the SORNA
                Guidelines. See 73 FR at 38065-66. The consequences of noncompliance
                with Sec. 72.7(d) will also include potential Federal prosecution
                under 18 U.S.C. 2250 for violations committed under circumstances
                supporting Federal jurisdiction.
                 Sex offenders must comply both with the requirements of Sec.
                72.7(c) and with the requirements of Sec. 72.7(d). For example,
                suppose a sex offender changes residence from state A to state B. It is
                not sufficient if (i) the sex offender complies with Sec. 72.7(d) by
                telling state A that he is leaving and going to state B, but (ii) he
                fails to appear in state B and register there as required by Sec.
                72.7(c), and then (iii) he attempts to excuse his failure to comply
                with Sec. 72.7(c) on the ground that state A could have told state B
                about his relocation. Likewise, it is not sufficient if the sex
                offender in such a case (i) complies with Sec. 72.7(c) by registering
                in state B, but (ii) he fails to inform state A about the intended
                relocation prior to his departure, and then (iii) he attempts to excuse
                his failure to comply with Sec. 72.7(d) on the ground that state B
                could have told state A about his relocation. As discussed above,
                appearance and registration by sex offenders in jurisdictions in which
                they commence residence, employment, or school attendance, as required
                by Sec. 72.7(c), and notification by sex offenders to jurisdictions in
                which they terminate residence, employment, or school attendance, as
                required by Sec. 72.7(d), both serve important purposes in SORNA's
                registration system as articulated in this rule and the previously
                issued SORNA guidelines. Compliance with both requirements is necessary
                to the seamless and effective operation of that system for the reasons
                explained above.
                Paragraph (e)--Reporting of Changes in Information Relating to Remote
                Communication Identifiers, Temporary Lodging, and Vehicles
                 Paragraph (e) requires sex offenders to report to their residence
                jurisdictions within three business days changes in remote
                communication identifier information, temporary lodging information,
                and vehicle information. In terms of legal authority, as discussed
                earlier, these requirements are supportable on the basis of the
                Attorney General's authority to interpret and implement SORNA's
                requirement to keep the registration current, the Attorney General's
                authority to expand the information that sex offenders must provide to
                registration jurisdictions, and the Attorney General's authority to
                prescribe the time and manner for providing and updating registration
                information. See 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(a), 20914(a)(8), (c),
                20916(b); 73 FR at 38066; 76 FR at 1637. (The SORNA Guidelines state
                that such changes are to be reported ``immediately'' and explain at an
                earlier point that ``immediately'' in the context of SORNA's timing
                requirements means within three business days, see 73 FR at 38060,
                38066.) SORNA does not require that these changes be reported through
                in-person appearances and they may be reported by any means allowed by
                registration jurisdictions in their discretion. See id. at 38067.
                Paragraph (f)--Reporting of International Travel
                 Paragraph (f) of Sec. 72.7 requires sex offenders to report
                intended travel outside of the United States to their residence
                jurisdictions. The expected travel must be reported at least 21 days in
                advance and, if applicable, prior to any termination of residence in
                the jurisdiction. Reporting of information about intended international
                travel is an express SORNA requirement following SORNA's amendment by
                International Megan's Law. See 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(7); Public Law 114-
                119, sec. 6(a). The underlying reasons for requiring reporting of
                international travel are explained above in connection with Sec.
                72.6(d) of this rule.
                 The 21-day advance notice requirement is designed to provide
                relevant agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service and INTERPOL
                Washington-U.S. National Central Bureau, sufficient lead time for any
                investigation or inquiry that may be warranted relating to the sex
                offender's international travel, and for notification of U.S. and
                foreign authorities in destination countries, prior to the sex
                offender's arrival in a destination country. The requirement that the
                intended international travel be reported prior to any termination of
                residence in the jurisdiction--potentially an issue in cases in which
                the sex offender is terminating his U.S. residence and relocating to a
                foreign country--ensures that a SORNA violation has occurred in case of
                noncompliance while the sex offender is still residing in the
                jurisdiction and hence required by 34 U.S.C. 20913(a) to register and
                keep the registration current in that jurisdiction. The requirement to
                report intended international travel at least 21 days in advance
                applies in relation to all international travel, including both cases
                in which the sex
                [[Page 49349]]
                offender is temporarily traveling abroad while maintaining a domestic
                residence and cases in which the sex offender is terminating his
                residence in the particular jurisdiction or the United States.
                 The rule recognizes, however, that reporting of intended
                international travel 21 days in advance is not possible in some
                circumstances. Section 72.8(a)(2) of the rule generally addresses
                situations in which sex offenders cannot comply with SORNA requirements
                because of circumstances beyond their control, and it specifically
                addresses inability to comply with the timeframe for reporting of
                international travel in Example 3 in that provision.
                 In terms of legal authority, the requirement to report intended
                international travel to the residence jurisdiction at least 21 days in
                advance and prior to any termination of residence is supportable as an
                exercise of the express authority of the Attorney General under 34
                U.S.C. 20914(c), which states in part that ``[a] sex offender shall
                provide and update . . . information relating to intended travel
                outside the United States . . . in conformity with any time and manner
                requirements prescribed by the Attorney General.'' As discussed above,
                the international travel reporting requirement, including its
                associated timeframe requirement, is also supportable on the basis of
                other SORNA authorities of the Attorney General, which were relied on
                in SORNA guidelines preceding the addition of 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(7),
                (c) by International Megan's Law. These authorities include the
                Attorney General's authority under 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(8) to expand the
                range of required registration information and the Attorney General's
                authority under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b) to issue rules to interpret and
                implement SORNA's requirement to keep the registration current.
                Paragraph (g)--Compliance With Jurisdictions' Requirements for
                Registering and Keeping the Registration Current
                 Paragraph (g) of Sec. 72.7 requires sex offenders to register and
                keep the registration current in conformity with the time and manner
                requirements of their registration jurisdictions, where they have not
                done so in the time and manner normally required under SORNA.
                 SORNA generally requires sex offenders to register initially before
                release from imprisonment or within three business days of sentencing,
                but it recognizes that sex offenders may be unable to comply with these
                requirements in some circumstances. The difficulty can arise in cases
                in which a jurisdiction has no provision for registering certain sex
                offenders as required by SORNA at the time of their release--or even no
                registration program at all at that time--but the jurisdiction can
                register them later as it progresses in its implementation of SORNA's
                requirements. The SORNA Guidelines provide guidance to registration
                jurisdictions about integrating previously excluded sex offenders into
                their registration programs in such circumstances and ensuring that
                these sex offenders fully comply with SORNA's requirements. See 73 FR
                at 38063-64; see also Smith, 538 U.S. 84 (application of new sex
                offender registration requirements to previously convicted sex
                offenders does not violate the constitutional prohibition on ex post
                facto laws).
                 Because the normal timeframe for initial registration under SORNA
                may be past in these situations, SORNA authorizes the Attorney General
                to prescribe rules for registration. Specifically, 34 U.S.C. 20913(d)
                gives the Attorney General the authority to specify the applicability
                of SORNA's requirements to sex offenders with pre-SORNA or pre-SORNA-
                implementation convictions, ``and to prescribe rules for the
                registration of any such sex offenders and for other categories of sex
                offenders who are unable to comply with'' SORNA's initial registration
                requirements. More broadly, as discussed above, the Attorney General's
                general authority under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b) to interpret and implement
                SORNA includes the authority to fill gaps in SORNA's time and manner
                requirements for registering and keeping the registration current, and
                34 U.S.C. 20914(c) expressly requires sex offenders to provide and
                update registration information required by SORNA in the time and
                manner prescribed by the Attorney General.
                 In section 72.7(g) in this rule, the Attorney General proposes to
                exercise his authorities under 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(d), and
                20914(c) to require sex offenders to register and keep their
                registrations current in the time and manner specified by their
                registration jurisdictions, where the sex offenders have not registered
                or kept the registrations up to date in the time and manner normally
                required by SORNA as articulated in the earlier portions of Sec. 72.7.
                This proposal complements the directions to registration jurisdictions
                in the SORNA Guidelines about integrating previously excluded sex
                offenders and previously omitted SORNA requirements into their
                registration programs, with suitable timeframes and procedures, as the
                jurisdictions progress with SORNA implementation. See 73 FR at 38063-
                64. Of course sex offenders are independently required by the laws of
                their registration jurisdictions to comply with the jurisdictions' time
                and manner specifications for registering and updating their
                registrations. The effect of Sec. 72.7(g) is to adopt the
                jurisdictions' time and manner specifications as SORNA requirements in
                the situations it covers.
                 Section 72.7(g)(1) includes four examples. The first example
                concerns a situation in which a state does not register sex offenders
                before release, but a sex offender can register soon after release in
                conformity with the state's procedures. The second example concerns a
                situation in which a jurisdiction does not register certain sex
                offenders at all at the time of their release or entry into the
                jurisdiction, but a sex offender in the excluded class becomes able to
                register at a later time and is directed by the jurisdiction to do so
                after it extends its registration requirements.
                 As the Supreme Court noted in Reynolds, SORNA, in section 20913(b),
                ``says that a sex offender must register before completing his prison
                term, but the provision says nothing about when a pre-Act offender who
                completed his prison term pre-Act must register. . . . Pre-Act
                offenders . . . might, on their own, reach different conclusions about
                whether, or how, the new registration requirements applied to them. A
                ruling from the Attorney General [under section 20913(d)], however,
                could diminish or eliminate those uncertainties . . . .'' 565 U.S. at
                441-42. In Sec. 72.7(g), the Attorney General exercises his
                authorities under sections 20912(b), 20913(d), and 20914(c) to
                ``eliminate those uncertainties'' in conformity with Congress's intent
                concerning the filling of ``potential lacunae'' in SORNA, 565 U.S. at
                441-42. Section 72.7(g) fills the gaps in such cases by adopting the
                timing rules and procedures of the relevant registration jurisdictions.
                This applies in relation to sex offenders who do not register initially
                in conformity with SORNA because they were convicted and released
                before SORNA's enactment, as described by the Court in Reynolds, and in
                relation to all other sex offenders who do not register in accordance
                with the normal time and manner requirements under SORNA, e.g., because
                of shortfalls in a jurisdictions' registration requirements that may
                later be corrected or that allow registration in some variant way.
                [[Page 49350]]
                 The third example in Sec. 72.7(g)(1) concerns a sex offender in a
                jurisdiction that initially does not provide for sex offenders'
                periodically updating registrations through verification appearances as
                required by SORNA, but the jurisdiction later directs the sex offender
                to do so after it incorporates this aspect of SORNA into its
                registration program. Since the periodic verification appearances
                required by 34 U.S.C. 20918 fall under SORNA's requirement to keep the
                registration current and involve updating the registration information
                required by SORNA, it is within the Attorney General's authority under
                34 U.S.C. 20912(b) and 20914(c) to specify the time and manner for the
                verifications where SORNA's verification requirement or normal
                timeframes for verifications have not been followed. Section 72.7(g)(1)
                directs sex offenders to comply with the jurisdiction's requirements
                for periodic verification in such situations.
                 The fourth example in Sec. 72.7(g)(1) concerns a sex offender who
                does not provide particular information within the time required by
                SORNA because a jurisdiction's informational requirements fall short of
                SORNA's requirements but are later brought into line. The example
                illustrates the point by reference to email addresses. As provided in
                Sec. 72.6(b), sex offenders must include this information when they
                register and, as provided in Sec. 72.7(e), they must report any
                subsequent changes within three business days. Where the normal
                reporting time is past when a jurisdiction decides to include a type of
                information in its sex offender registry, Sec. 72.7(g)(1) requires sex
                offenders to comply with the jurisdiction's directions to provide the
                information at a later time.
                 Section 72.7(g)(2) provides that, in a prosecution under 18 U.S.C.
                2250, Sec. 72.7(g)(1) does not relieve a sex offender of the need to
                show an inability to comply with SORNA as an affirmative defense to
                liability. The situations described in Sec. 72.7(g)(1), which may
                involve noncompliance with SORNA's requirements because of deficits in
                registration jurisdictions' requirements or procedures, overlap with
                situations in which a sex offender may have a defense under 18 U.S.C.
                2250(c) because he was prevented from complying with SORNA by
                circumstances beyond his control. However, the purpose and effect of
                Sec. 72.7(g)(1) are to hold sex offenders to compliance with the
                registration rules and procedures of registration jurisdictions in the
                situations it covers. Section 72.7(g) does not, in any case, relieve
                sex offenders of the obligation to comply fully with SORNA if able to
                do so or shift the burden of proof to the government to establish that
                a registration jurisdiction's procedures would have allowed a sex
                offender to register or keep the registration current in conformity
                with SORNA. Rather, the defense under 18 U.S.C. 2250(c) is an
                affirmative defense, as that provision explicitly provides, and as
                Sec. Sec. 72.7(g)(2) and 72.8(a)(2) in this rule reiterate.
                Section 72.8--Liability for Violations
                 Section 72.8 of the rule explains the liability of sex offenders
                for SORNA violations and limitations on that potential liability.
                Paragraph (a)(1)--Offense
                 SORNA's criminal provision, 18 U.S.C. 2250, provides criminal
                liability for sex offenders based on SORNA violations.
                 Section 72.8(a)(1)(i) in the rule refers to potential criminal
                liability under 18 U.S.C. 2250(a). Section 2250(a) authorizes
                imprisonment for up to 10 years based on a knowing failure to register
                or update a registration as required by SORNA. Federal criminal
                liability may result under this provision when the violation occurs
                under circumstances supporting Federal jurisdiction as specified in the
                statute. These jurisdictional circumstances include (i) violation of
                SORNA by sex offenders convicted of sex offenses under Federal
                (including military) law, the law of the District of Columbia, Indian
                tribal law, or the law of a U.S. territory or possession; or (ii)
                travel in interstate or foreign commerce or entering, leaving, or
                residing in Indian country. Section 2250(a) reaches all types of SORNA
                violations, including failure to register or keep the registration
                current in each jurisdiction of residence, employment, or school
                attendance, as required by 34 U.S.C. 20913; failure to provide or
                update registration information required by 34 U.S.C. 20914; or failure
                to appear periodically and verify the registration information, as
                required by 34 U.S.C. 20918.
                 Section 72.8(a)(1)(ii) in the rule refers to potential criminal
                liability under 18 U.S.C. 2250(b), which was added by International
                Megan's Law. See Public Law 114-119, sec. 6(b). Section 2250(b) defines
                an offense that specifically reaches violations of SORNA's
                international travel reporting requirement. The provision authorizes
                imprisonment for up to 10 years for a sex offender who (i) knowingly
                fails to provide information required by SORNA relating to intended
                travel in foreign commerce and (ii) ``engages or attempts to engage in
                the intended travel in foreign commerce.'' The jurisdictional language
                in section 2250(b) reaches cases in which the contemplated travel is
                not carried out, in addition to those in which the sex offender does
                travel abroad. For example, consider a sex offender who (i) purchases a
                plane ticket to a foreign destination but (ii) fails to report the
                intended international travel as required by SORNA and (iii) does not
                actually leave the country because the unreported travel is detected by
                the authorities who arrest him at the airport. The attempted travel in
                foreign commerce provides a sufficient jurisdictional basis for Federal
                prosecution under section 2250(b).
                 Section 72.8(a)(1)(iii) in the rule explains the condition for
                liability under 18 U.S.C. 2250(a)-(b) that the defendant ``knowingly''
                fail to comply with a SORNA requirement. The ``knowingly'' limitation
                ensures that sex offenders are not held liable under section 2250 for
                violations of registration requirements they did not know about.
                However, this does not require knowledge that the requirement is
                imposed by SORNA. State sex offenders, for example, are likely to be
                instructed in the registration process regarding many of the
                registration requirements appearing in SORNA, which are widely
                paralleled in state registration laws, such as the need to report
                changes in residence, employment, internet identifiers, and vehicle
                information; the need to report intended international travel; and the
                need to appear periodically to update and verify registration
                information. The acknowledgment forms obtained from sex offenders in
                registration often provide a means of establishing their knowledge of
                the registration requirements in later prosecutions for violations. See
                76 FR at 1634-35, 1638. But sex offenders may not be informed that the
                registration requirements they are subject to are imposed by a
                particular Federal law, SORNA. This does not impugn the fairness or
                propriety of holding sex offenders liable under 18 U.S.C. 2250 for
                knowingly violating a registration requirement that is in fact imposed
                by SORNA, so long as they are aware of an obligation from some source
                to comply with the requirement. See, e.g., United States v. Elkins, 683
                F.3d 1039, 1050 (9th Cir. 2012); United States v. Whaley, 577 F.3d 254,
                261-62 (5th Cir. 2009). Section 72.8(a)(1)(iii) makes these
                [[Page 49351]]
                points about 18 U.S.C. 2250's knowledge requirement in the rule.
                Paragraph (a)(2)--Defense
                 Subsection (c) of 18 U.S.C. 2250 provides an affirmative defense to
                liability under certain conditions where uncontrollable circumstances
                prevented a sex offender from complying with SORNA, so long as the sex
                offender complied as soon as the preventing circumstances ceased.
                Section 72.8(a)(2) in the rule reproduces this affirmative defense
                provision and provides examples of its operation.
                 Registration is a reciprocal process, involving the provision of
                registration information by sex offenders, and the registration
                jurisdiction's acceptance of the information for inclusion in the sex
                offender registry. The circumstances preventing compliance with SORNA
                under section 2250(c) accordingly may be a registration jurisdiction's
                failure or refusal to carry out the reciprocal role needed to effect
                registration, or the updating of a registration, as required by SORNA.
                 Example 1 in Sec. 72.8(a)(2) illustrates this type of situation,
                describing a case in which a sex offender cannot appear and report an
                inter-jurisdictional change of residence within three business days
                because the office with which he needs to register will not meet with
                him for a week. The case implicates both 34 U.S.C. 20913(a)'s
                requirement that a sex offender register in each jurisdiction in which
                he resides and 34 U.S.C. 20913(c)'s requirement that sex offenders
                report changes of residence within three business days. These
                provisions' net effect is that a sex offender establishing residence in
                a new jurisdiction must register there but with a three-business-days
                grace period. In the case described, 18 U.S.C. 2250(c) would excuse the
                failure to report within the three-business-day timeframe. However, the
                inability to meet section 20913(c)'s specific timeframe does not
                obviate the need to comply with section 20913(a)'s requirement to
                register in each state of residence. Nothing prevents the sex offender
                from complying with this registration requirement once the office is
                willing to meet with him, so he will need to appear and carry out the
                registration at the appointed time in order to have the benefit of the
                18 U.S.C. 2250(c) defense.
                 Example 2 in Sec. 72.8(a)(2) also illustrates a situation in which
                the circumstance preventing compliance with SORNA is a failure by the
                registration jurisdiction to carry out a necessary reciprocal role. The
                specific situation described in the example is a state's refusal to
                register sex offenders based on the offense for which the sex offender
                was convicted. For example, SORNA requires registration based on
                conviction for child pornography possession offenses, see 34 U.S.C.
                20911(7)(G), but some states that have not fully implemented SORNA's
                requirements in their registration programs may be unwilling to
                register a sex offender on the basis of such an offense. Section
                2250(c)'s excuse of the failure to register terminates if the state
                subsequently becomes willing to register the sex offender, because the
                circumstance preventing compliance with SORNA no longer exists.
                However, liability based on a continuing failure by the sex offender to
                comply with SORNA in such a case--following a change in state policy or
                practice allowing compliance--depends on the sex offender's becoming
                aware of the change since, as discussed above, 18 U.S.C. 2250 does not
                impose liability for violation of unknown registration obligations. Cf.
                73 FR at 38063-64 (direction to registration jurisdictions to instruct
                sex offenders about new or additional registration duties in connection
                with SORNA implementation).
                 Example 3 in Sec. 72.8(a)(2) describes a situation in which the
                circumstance preventing compliance with SORNA relates to the situation
                of the sex offender rather than the registration jurisdiction. The
                second sentence of Sec. 72.7(f) in the rule requires in part that a
                sex offender report intended international travel 21 days in advance,
                which he cannot do if he does not anticipate a trip abroad that far in
                advance. In such a case, as described in the example, 18 U.S.C. 2250(c)
                would excuse a sex offender's failure to report the travel 21 days in
                advance. Cf. 76 FR at 1638 (``[R]equiring 21 days advance notice may
                occasionally be unnecessary or inappropriate. For example, a sex
                offender may need to travel abroad unexpectedly because of a family or
                work emergency.''). However, inability to comply with the 21-day
                timeframe in a particular case does not prevent a sex offender from
                otherwise complying with SORNA's requirements to inform the residence
                jurisdiction about intended international travel, appearing in 34
                U.S.C. 20914(a)(7) and in Sec. Sec. 72.6(d) and 72.7(f) in this rule.
                Hence, once the intention to travel exists, the sex offender must
                inform the registration jurisdiction to avoid liability under 18 U.S.C.
                2250.
                Paragraph (b)--Supervision Condition
                 Section 72.8(b) recounts that, for sex offenders convicted of
                Federal offenses, compliance with SORNA is a mandatory condition of
                probation and supervised release. See 18 U.S.C. 3563(a)(8), 3583(d)
                (third sentence). Violation of this condition may result in revocation
                of release. See 18 U.S.C. 3565(a)(2), 3583(e)(3). Section 72.8(b) also
                notes that compliance with SORNA is a mandatory condition of parole for
                sex offenders convicted of Federal offenses, see 18 U.S.C. 4209(a)
                (second sentence), a requirement of narrow application given the
                abolition of parole in Federal cases, except for offenses committed
                before November 1, 1987.
                Regulatory Flexibility Act
                 The Attorney General, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility
                Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), has reviewed this regulation and by approving it
                certifies that this regulation will not have a significant economic
                impact on a substantial number of small entities for the purposes of
                that Act because the regulation only articulates SORNA's registration
                requirements for sex offenders.
                Executive Orders 12866 and 13563--Regulatory Planning and Review
                 This regulation has been drafted and reviewed in accordance with
                Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' section
                1(b), Principles of Regulation, and Executive Order 13563, ``Improving
                Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' The regulation expands part 72 of
                title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations to provide a concise and
                comprehensive statement of what sex offenders must do to comply with
                SORNA's requirements, following express requirements appearing in SORNA
                and previous exercises of authority SORNA grants to the Attorney
                General to interpret and implement SORNA. The justification of these
                requirements as means of furthering SORNA's objectives is explained in
                the preamble to this regulation and in previous SORNA-related
                documents, including the rulemaking entitled ``Applicability of the Sex
                Offender Registration and Notification Act,'' 75 FR 81849 (final rule),
                72 FR 8894 (interim rule); the SORNA Guidelines, 73 FR 38030; and the
                SORNA Supplemental Guidelines, 76 FR 1630. The Department of Justice
                has determined that this rule is a ``significant regulatory action''
                under Executive Order 12866, section 3(f), and accordingly this rule
                has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
                 The Department of Justice expects that the proposed rule will not
                entail new costs and will result in a number
                [[Page 49352]]
                of benefits. For registration jurisdictions, there are no new costs
                because their requirements under SORNA continue to be those articulated
                in the previously issued SORNA guidelines. Likewise, for sex offenders,
                the requirements articulated in the rule either appear expressly in
                SORNA or have previously been articulated by the Attorney General in
                the SORNA guidelines. The procedures by which sex offenders register
                will continue to depend on the registration processes of the
                jurisdictions that register them, which will not be made more time-
                consuming or expensive or otherwise changed by this rule.
                 In terms of benefits, the rule will provide in one place a clear,
                concise, and comprehensive statement of sex offenders' registration
                requirements under SORNA. This will reduce any expenditure by sex
                offenders of time or money required for inquiry with state or Federal
                authorities or others to resolve uncertainties, or required in
                attempting to comply with perceived registration requirements under
                SORNA that go beyond the requirements the Attorney General has actually
                specified. The clarity provided by this rule will make it easier for
                sex offenders to determine what SORNA requires them to do and thereby
                facilitate compliance with SORNA.
                 There are also expected benefits for the government. As the
                preamble explains, the rule's comprehensive articulation of SORNA's
                registration requirements in regulations addressed to sex offenders
                will provide a secure basis for Federal prosecution of knowing
                violations of any of SORNA's requirements. It will resolve specific
                problems that have arisen in past litigation or can be expected to
                arise in future litigation if not clarified and resolved by this rule,
                thereby avoiding the expenditure of litigation resources on these
                matters.
                 As explained in the existing SORNA guidelines, SORNA aims to
                prevent the commission of sex offenses, and to bring the perpetrators
                of such offenses to justice more speedily and reliably, by enabling the
                authorities to better identify, track, and monitor released sex
                offenders and by informing the public regarding the presence of
                released sex offenders in the community. See 73 FR at 38044-45. Hence,
                by facilitating the enforcement of, and compliance with, SORNA's
                registration requirements, and enhancing the basis for public
                notification, the rule is expected to further SORNA's public safety
                objectives and reduce the time and resources required in achieving
                these objectives.
                 While the proposed rule is expected to result in cost reductions,
                as discussed above, additional information would be helpful in
                determining the extent of these savings. We accordingly seek comment on
                the extent to which this rule will result in reductions in time,
                expense, or other costs.
                Executive Order 13132--Federalism
                 This regulation will not have substantial direct effects on the
                states, on the relationship between the national Government and the
                states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the
                various levels of government. There has been substantial consultation
                with state officials regarding the interpretation and implementation of
                SORNA. The previously issued SORNA Guidelines and SORNA Supplemental
                Guidelines articulate the requirements for implementation of the SORNA
                standards by states and other jurisdictions in their sex offender
                registration and notification programs, requirements that are not
                changed by this regulation's provision of a separate statement of the
                registration obligations of sex offenders under SORNA. Therefore, in
                accordance with Executive Order 13132, it is determined that this rule
                does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the
                preparation of a federalism assessment.
                Executive Order 12988--Civil Justice Reform
                 This regulation meets the applicable standards set forth in section
                3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988.
                Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
                 This rule will not result in the expenditure by state, local and
                tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
                million or more in any one year, and it will not significantly or
                uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed
                necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of
                1995. This rule adds provisions to part 72 of title 28 of the Code of
                Federal Regulations that articulate SORNA's registration requirements
                for sex offenders, including where, when, and how long sex offenders
                must register, what information they must provide, and how they must
                keep their registrations current. The Attorney General has previously
                addressed these matters and has resolved them in the same way in the
                SORNA Guidelines, appearing at 73 FR 38030, and in the SORNA
                Supplemental Guidelines, appearing at 76 FR 1630. Those previously
                issued sets of guidelines determine what state, local, and tribal
                jurisdictions must do to achieve substantial implementation of the
                SORNA standards in their registration programs. Reiteration of some of
                these requirements in a concise set of directions to sex offenders in
                this rule will not change what jurisdictions need to do to implement
                SORNA or affect their costs in doing so.
                Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
                 This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by section 251 of the
                Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. 5 U.S.C.
                804(2). This rule will not result in an annual effect on the economy of
                $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices; or
                significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment,
                productivity, or innovation, or on the ability of U.S.-based
                enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and
                export markets.
                List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 72
                 Crime, Information, Law enforcement, Prisoners, Prisons, Probation
                and parole, Records.
                0
                Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, chapter I of title
                28 of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended by
                revising part 72 to read as follows:
                PART 72--SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION
                Sec.
                72.1 Purpose.
                72.2 Definitions.
                72.3 Applicability of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification
                Act.
                72.4 Where sex offenders must register.
                72.5 How long sex offenders must register.
                72.6 Information sex offenders must provide.
                72.7 How sex offenders must register and keep the registration
                current.
                72.8 Liability for violations.
                 Authority: 34 U.S.C. 20901-45; Pub. L. 109-248, 120 Stat. 587;
                Pub. L. 114-119, 130 Stat. 15.
                Sec. 72.1 Purpose.
                 (a) This part specifies the registration requirements of the Sex
                Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 34 U.S.C. 20901 et
                seq., and the scope of those requirements' application. The Attorney
                General has the authority to specify the requirements of SORNA and
                their applicability as provided in this part pursuant to provisions of
                SORNA, including 34 U.S.C. 20912(b), 20913(d), and 20914(a)(8), (c).
                [[Page 49353]]
                 (b) This part does not preempt or limit any obligations of or
                requirements relating to sex offenders under other Federal laws, rules,
                or policies, or under the laws, rules, or policies of registration
                jurisdictions or other entities. States and other governmental entities
                may prescribe registration requirements and other requirements, with
                which sex offenders must comply, that are more extensive or stringent
                than those prescribed by SORNA.
                Sec. 72.2 Definitions.
                 All terms used in this part have the same meaning as in SORNA.
                Sec. 72.3 Applicability of the Sex Offender Registration and
                Notification Act.
                 The requirements of SORNA apply to all sex offenders. All sex
                offenders must comply with all requirements of that Act, regardless of
                when the conviction of the offense for which registration is required
                occurred (including if the conviction occurred before the enactment of
                that Act), regardless of whether a jurisdiction in which registration
                is required has substantially implemented that Act's requirements or
                has implemented any particular requirement of that Act, and regardless
                of whether any particular requirement or class of sex offenders is
                mentioned in examples in this regulation or in other regulations or
                guidelines issued by the Attorney General.
                 Example 1. A sex offender is federally convicted of aggravated
                sexual abuse under 18 U.S.C. 2241 in 1990 and is released following
                imprisonment in 2009. The sex offender is subject to the requirements
                of SORNA and could be held criminally liable under 18 U.S.C. 2250 for
                failing to register or keep the registration current in any
                jurisdiction in which the sex offender resides, is an employee, or is a
                student.
                 Example 2. A sex offender is convicted by a state jurisdiction in
                1997 for molesting a child and is released following imprisonment in
                2000. The sex offender initially registers as required but relocates to
                another state in 2009 and fails to register in the new state of
                residence. The sex offender has violated the requirement under SORNA to
                register in any jurisdiction in which he resides, and could be held
                criminally liable under 18 U.S.C. 2250 for the violation because he
                traveled in interstate commerce.
                Sec. 72.4 Where sex offenders must register.
                 A sex offender must register, and keep the registration current, in
                each jurisdiction in which the offender resides, is an employee, or is
                a student. For initial registration purposes only, a sex offender must
                also register in the jurisdiction in which convicted if that
                jurisdiction is different from the jurisdiction of residence.
                Sec. 72.5 How long sex offenders must register.
                 (a) Duration. A sex offender has a continuing obligation to
                register and keep the registration current (except when the sex
                offender is in custody or civilly committed) for the following periods
                of time:
                 (1) 15 years, if the offender is a tier I sex offender;
                 (2) 25 years, if the offender is a tier II sex offender; and
                 (3) The life of the offender, if the offender is a tier III sex
                offender.
                 (b) Commencement. The registration period begins to run--
                 (1) When a sex offender is released from imprisonment following
                conviction for the offense giving rise to the registration requirement,
                including in cases in which the term of imprisonment is based wholly or
                in part on the sex offender's conviction for another offense; or
                 (2) If the sex offender is not sentenced to imprisonment, when the
                sex offender is sentenced for the offense giving rise to the
                registration requirement.
                 (c) Reduction. If a tier I sex offender has maintained for 10 years
                a clean record, as described in 34 U.S.C. 20915(b)(1), the period for
                which the sex offender must register and keep the registration current
                under paragraph (a) of this section is reduced by 5 years. If a tier
                III sex offender required to register on the basis of a juvenile
                delinquency adjudication has maintained a clean record, as described in
                34 U.S.C. 20915(b)(1), for 25 years, the period for which the sex
                offender must register and keep the registration current under
                paragraph (a) of this section is reduced to the period for which the
                clean record has been maintained.
                Sec. 72.6 Information sex offenders must provide.
                 Sex offenders must provide the following information for inclusion
                in the sex offender registries of the jurisdictions in which they are
                required to register:
                 (a) Name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
                 (1) The name of the sex offender, including any alias used by the
                sex offender.
                 (2) The sex offender's date of birth and any date that the sex
                offender uses as his purported date of birth.
                 (3) The Social Security number of the sex offender and any number
                that the sex offender uses as his purported Social Security number.
                 (b) Remote communication identifiers. All designations the sex
                offender uses for purposes of routing or self-identification in
                internet or telephonic communications or postings, including email
                addresses and telephone numbers.
                 (c) Residence, temporary lodging, employment, and school
                attendance. (1) The address of each residence at which the sex offender
                resides or will reside or, if the sex offender has no present or
                expected residence address, other information describing where the sex
                offender resides or will reside with whatever definiteness is possible
                under the circumstances.
                 (2) Information about any place in which the sex offender is
                staying when away from his residence for seven or more days, including
                the identity of the place and the period of time the sex offender is
                staying there.
                 (3) The name and address of any place where the sex offender is or
                will be an employee or, if the sex offender is or will be employed but
                with no fixed place of employment, other information describing where
                the sex offender works or will work with whatever definiteness is
                possible under the circumstances.
                 (4) The name and address of any place where the sex offender is a
                student or will be a student.
                 (d) International travel. Information relating to intended travel
                outside the United States, including any anticipated itinerary, dates
                and places of departure from, arrival in, or return to the United
                States and each country visited, carrier and flight numbers for air
                travel, destination country or countries and address or other contact
                information therein, and means and purpose of travel.
                 (e) Passports and immigration documents. Information about each
                passport the sex offender has and, if the sex offender is an alien,
                information about any document or documents establishing the sex
                offender's immigration status, including passport or immigration
                document type and number.
                 (f) Vehicle information. The license plate number and a description
                of any vehicle owned or operated by the sex offender, including
                watercraft and aircraft in addition to land vehicles. If a vehicle has
                no license plate but has some other type of registration number or
                identifier, then the registration number or identifier must be
                provided. Information must also be provided as to where any vehicle
                owned or operated by the sex offender is habitually parked, docked, or
                otherwise kept.
                 (g) Professional licenses. Information concerning all licensing of
                the sex offender that authorizes the sex offender
                [[Page 49354]]
                to engage in an occupation or carry out a trade or business.
                Sec. 72.7 How sex offenders must register and keep the registration
                current.
                 (a) Initial registration--(1) In general. Except as provided in
                paragraph (a)(2) of this section, a sex offender must register before
                release from imprisonment following conviction for the offense giving
                rise to the registration requirement, or, if the sex offender is not
                sentenced to imprisonment, within three business days after being
                sentenced for that offense.
                 (2) Special rules for certain cases. The following special
                requirements apply:
                 (i) Federal and military offenders. A sex offender who is released
                from Federal or military custody, or who is convicted for a Federal or
                military sex offense but not sentenced to imprisonment, must register
                within three business days of entering or remaining in a jurisdiction
                to reside following the release or sentencing.
                 (ii) Foreign convictions. A sex offender required to register on
                the basis of a conviction in a foreign country must register within
                three business days of entering any jurisdiction in the United States
                to reside, work, or attend school.
                 (b) Periodic in-person verification. A sex offender must appear in
                person, allow the jurisdiction to take a current photograph, and verify
                the information in each registry in which the offender is required to
                register. In carrying out the required verification of information in
                each registry, the sex offender must correct any information that has
                changed or is otherwise inaccurate and must report any new registration
                information. A sex offender must appear in person for these purposes
                not less frequently than--
                 (1) Each year, if the offender is a tier I sex offender;
                 (2) Every six months, if the offender is a tier II sex offender;
                and
                 (3) Every three months, if the offender is a tier III sex offender.
                 (c) Reporting of initiation and changes concerning name, residence,
                employment, and school attendance. A sex offender who enters a
                jurisdiction to reside, or who resides in a jurisdiction and changes
                his name or his place of residence in the jurisdiction, must appear in
                person in that jurisdiction and register or update the registration
                within three business days. A sex offender who commences employment or
                school attendance in a jurisdiction, or who changes employer, school
                attended, or place of employment or school attendance in a
                jurisdiction, must appear in person in that jurisdiction and register
                or update the registration within three business days.
                 (d) Reporting of departure and termination concerning residence,
                employment, and school attendance. (1) A sex offender residing in a
                jurisdiction must inform that jurisdiction (by whatever means the
                jurisdiction allows) if the sex offender will be commencing residence,
                employment, or school attendance in another jurisdiction or outside of
                the United States. The sex offender must so inform the jurisdiction in
                which he is residing prior to any termination of residence in that
                jurisdiction and prior to commencing residence, employment, or school
                attendance in the other jurisdiction or outside of the United States.
                 (2) A sex offender who will be terminating residence, employment,
                or school attendance in a jurisdiction must so inform that jurisdiction
                (by whatever means the jurisdiction allows) prior to the termination of
                residence, employment, or school attendance in the jurisdiction.
                 (e) Reporting of changes in information relating to remote
                communication identifiers, temporary lodging, and vehicles. A sex
                offender must report within three business days to his residence
                jurisdiction (by whatever means the jurisdiction allows) any change in
                remote communication identifier information, as described in Sec.
                72.6(b), temporary lodging information, as described in Sec.
                72.6(c)(2), and any change in vehicle information, as described in
                Sec. 72.6(f).
                 (f) Reporting of international travel. A sex offender must report
                intended travel outside the United States, including the information
                described in Sec. 72.6(d), to his residence jurisdiction (by whatever
                means the jurisdiction allows). The sex offender must report the travel
                information to the jurisdiction at least 21 days in advance of the
                intended travel and, if the sex offender is terminating his residence
                in the jurisdiction, prior to his termination of residence in the
                jurisdiction.
                 (g) Compliance with jurisdictions' requirements for registering and
                keeping the registration current. (1) A sex offender who does not
                comply with a requirement of SORNA in conformity with the time and
                manner specifications of paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section
                must comply with the requirement in conformity with any applicable time
                and manner specifications of a jurisdiction in which the offender is
                required to register.
                 Example 1. A sex offender convicted in a state does not initially
                register before release from imprisonment, as required by 34 U.S.C.
                20913(b)(1) and paragraph (a)(1) of this section, because the state has
                no procedure for pre-release registration of sex offenders. Instead,
                the state informs sex offenders that they must go to a local police
                station within seven days of release to register. The sex offender must
                comply with the state's requirements for initial registration, i.e.,
                the offender must report to the police station to register within seven
                days of release.
                 Example 2. A sex offender does not register when he is released
                from custody, or does not register upon entering a jurisdiction to
                reside as required by 34 U.S.C. 20913(c) and paragraph (c) of this
                section, because the jurisdiction, at the time, does not register sex
                offenders based on the offense for which he was convicted. The
                jurisdiction later sends the sex offender a notice advising that it has
                extended its registration requirements to include sex offenders like
                him and directing him to report to a specified agency within 90 days to
                register. The sex offender must report to the agency to register within
                the specified timeframe.
                 Example 3. A sex offender registers as required when released from
                imprisonment or upon entering a jurisdiction to reside, but the
                jurisdiction has no procedure for sex offenders to appear periodically
                in person to update and verify the registration information as required
                by 34 U.S.C. 20918 and paragraph (b) of this section. The jurisdiction
                later sends the sex offender a notice advising that it has adopted a
                periodic verification requirement and directing the sex offender to
                appear at a designated time and place for an initial update meeting.
                The sex offender must appear and update the registration as directed.
                 Example 4. A sex offender does not report his email address to the
                jurisdiction in which he resides when he initially registers, or within
                three business days of a change as required by paragraph (e) of this
                section, because email addresses are not among the information the
                jurisdiction accepts for inclusion in its registry. The jurisdiction
                later notifies the sex offender that it has extended the registration
                information it collects to include email addresses and directs him to
                send a reply within a specified time that provides his current email
                address. The sex offender must comply with this direction.
                 (2) In a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 2250, paragraph (g)(1) of this
                section does not in any case relieve a sex offender of the need to
                establish as an affirmative defense an inability to comply with SORNA
                because of circumstances beyond his control as
                [[Page 49355]]
                provided in 18 U.S.C. 2250(c) and Sec. 72.8(a)(2).
                Sec. 72.8 Liability for violations.
                 (a) Criminal liability--(1) Offense. (i) A sex offender who
                knowingly fails to register or update a registration as required by
                SORNA may be liable to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 2250(a).
                 (ii) A sex offender who knowingly fails to provide information
                required by SORNA relating to intended travel outside the United States
                may be liable to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 2250(b).
                 (iii) As a condition of liability under 18 U.S.C. 2250(a)-(b) for
                failing to comply with a requirement of SORNA, a sex offender must have
                been aware of the requirement he is charged with violating, but need
                not have been aware that the requirement is imposed by SORNA.
                 (2) Defense. A sex offender may have an affirmative defense to
                liability, as provided in 18 U.S.C. 2250(c), if uncontrollable
                circumstances prevented the sex offender from complying with SORNA,
                where the sex offender did not contribute to the creation of those
                circumstances in reckless disregard of the requirement to comply and
                complied as soon as the circumstances preventing compliance ceased to
                exist.
                 Example 1. A sex offender changes residence from one jurisdiction
                to another, bringing into play SORNA's requirement to register in each
                jurisdiction where the sex offender resides and SORNA's requirement to
                appear in person and report changes of residence within three business
                days. See 34 U.S.C. 20913(a), (c). The sex offender attempts to comply
                with these requirements by contacting the local sheriff's office, which
                is responsible for sex offender registration in the destination
                jurisdiction. The sheriff's office advises that it cannot schedule an
                appointment for him to register within three business days but that he
                should come by in a week. The sex offender would have a defense to
                liability if he appeared at the sheriff's office at the appointed time
                and registered as required. The sex offender's temporary inability to
                register and inability to report the change of residence within three
                business days in the new residence jurisdiction was due to a
                circumstance beyond his control--the sheriff office's refusal to meet
                with him until a week had passed--and he complied with the requirement
                to register as soon as the circumstance preventing compliance ceased to
                exist.
                 Example 2. A sex offender cannot register in a state in which he
                resides because its registration authorities will not register
                offenders on the basis of the offense for which the sex offender was
                convicted. The sex offender would have a defense to liability because
                the state's unwillingness to register sex offenders like him is a
                circumstance beyond his control. However, if the sex offender failed to
                register after becoming aware of a change in state policy or practice
                allowing his registration, the 18 U.S.C. 2250(c) defense would no
                longer apply, because in such a case the circumstance preventing
                compliance with the registration requirement would no longer exist.
                 Example 3. A sex offender needs to travel to a foreign country on
                short notice--less than 21 days--because of an unforeseeable family or
                work emergency. The sex offender would have a defense to liability for
                failing to report the intended travel 21 days in advance, as required
                by Sec. 72.7(f), because it is impossible to report an intention to
                travel outside the United States before the intention exists. However,
                if the sex offender failed to inform the registration jurisdiction
                (albeit on short notice) once he intended to travel, 18 U.S.C. 2250(c)
                would not excuse that failure, because the preventing circumstance--
                absence of an intent to travel abroad--would no longer exist.
                 (b) Supervision condition. For a sex offender convicted of a
                Federal offense, compliance with SORNA is a mandatory condition of
                probation, supervised release, and parole. The release of such an
                offender who does not comply with SORNA may be revoked.
                 Dated: July 15, 2020.
                William P. Barr,
                Attorney General.
                [FR Doc. 2020-15804 Filed 8-12-20; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 4410-18-P
                

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