The Registration Calendar
ORC 2950.05 — the twenty days that run before a move, not after
Registration is a calendar, and the calendar is where people who are trying to comply get caught. Two of its dates run in opposite directions, and almost everybody assumes both run the same way.
Who handles this in Ohio: Ohio State Bar Association lawyer referral; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
A move is registered before it happens, not after. A change of residence address has to be registered at least twenty days before the address changes. Not three days after, not on the day, not once the boxes are unpacked. Twenty days ahead. The same twenty days applies to a change of school or of an institution of higher education. A person who finds somewhere to live on the first and moves on the fifth has already missed it.
A change of workplace is the other direction. A change of place of employment is registered not later than three days after it changes. So the two rules a registrant lives under point opposite ways: the home address ahead of time, the work address afterwards. Reading one and applying it to the other is the single easiest way to commit this offense while trying not to.
A move out of state has its own timing. The new state's own registration law applies, and the section sets the deadline as the earlier of the period that state requires or at least seven days before the address changes.
| Tier | How long the duty lasts | How often you verify in person |
|---|---|---|
| TierTier I | How long the duty lasts15 years | How often you verify in personOnce a year |
| TierTier II | How long the duty lasts25 years | How often you verify in personEvery 180 days |
| TierTier III | How long the duty lastsLife | How often you verify in personEvery 90 days |
Failing to register is charged at the level of the original offense. The penalty section ties the new charge to the old one. Where the offense that created the duty was a felony of the first, second, third or fourth degree, failing to register is a felony of that same degree. Where it was a felony of the fifth degree, or a misdemeanor, failing to register is a felony of the fourth degree, which means a misdemeanor conviction can produce a felony years later purely through a missed date. A later failure carries a mandatory three year prison term.
Verification is done in person with the sheriff rather than by post or online, and the clock runs from the initial registration date rather than from the start of a calendar year. Two registrants in the same tier can therefore have verification dates months apart.
“Which date is next, and does it run before the move or after it.”
Tier classification is set by the offense and by the court rather than chosen, and the rules that applied to somebody classified under an older version of this chapter may not be the rules on this page. Juvenile registrants, out of state convictions, federal convictions and reclassification each run under further provisions not covered here. Which tier applies, when a duty began, and whether a particular date was missed are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney, and a public defender's office can be asked about a case it handled.
Sources for this section (5)
- ORC 2950.05 — Notice of a residence address change, and how far ahead it has to be given
- ORC 2950.06 — Periodic verification of a current residence address
- ORC 2950.07 — How long the duty to register lasts
- ORC 2950.99 — The penalty for failing to register or verify
- ORC 2950.04 — The duty to register, and with which sheriff
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.