Ark. Code Ann. § 12-12-903 (2026)
Definitions
As used in this subchapter:
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“Adjudication of guilt” or other words of similar import mean a:
- Plea of guilty;
- Plea of nolo contendere;
- Negotiated plea;
- Finding of guilt by a judge; or
- Finding of guilt by a jury;
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- “Administration of criminal justice” means performing functions of investigation, apprehension, detention, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders.
- “Administration of criminal justice” also includes criminal identification activities and the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of criminal justice information;
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“Aggravated sex offense” means an offense in the Arkansas Code substantially equivalent to “aggravated sexual abuse” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2241 as it existed on March 1, 2003, which principally encompasses:
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Causing another person to engage in a sexual act:
- By using force against that other person; or
- By threatening or placing or attempting to threaten or place that other person in fear that any person will be subjected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping;
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Knowingly:
- Rendering another person unconscious and then engaging in a sexual act with that other person; or
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Administering to another person by force or threat of force, or without the knowledge or permission of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or similar substance and thereby:
- Substantially impairing the ability of that other person to appraise or control conduct; and
- Engaging or attempting to engage in a sexual act with that other person; or
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Crossing a state line with intent to:
- Engage or attempt to engage in a sexual act with a person who has not attained twelve (12) years of age;
- Knowingly engage or attempt to engage in a sexual act with another person who has not attained twelve (12) years of age; or
- Knowingly engage or attempt to engage in a sexual act under the circumstances described in subdivisions (3)(A) and (B) of this section with another person who has attained twelve (12) years of age but has not attained sixteen (16) years of age and is at least four (4) years younger than the alleged offender;
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Causing another person to engage in a sexual act:
- “Change of address” or other words of similar import mean a change of residence or a change for more than thirty (30) days of temporary domicile, change of location of employment, education or training, or any other change that alters where a sex offender regularly spends a substantial amount of time;
- “Criminal justice agency” means a government agency or any subunit thereof which is authorized by law to perform the administration of criminal justice and which allocates more than one-half (½) of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice;
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“Local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction” means the:
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Chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which a sex offender:
- Resides or expects to reside;
- Is employed; or
- Is attending an institution of training or education; or
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County sheriff, if:
- The municipality does not have a chief law enforcement officer; or
- A sex offender resides or expects to reside, is employed, or is attending an institution of training or education in an unincorporated area of a county;
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Chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which a sex offender:
- “Mental abnormality” means a congenital or acquired condition of a person that affects the emotional or volitional capacity of the person in a manner that predisposes that person to the commission of criminally sexual acts to a degree that makes the person a menace to the health and safety of other persons;
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“Personality disorder” means an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that:
- Deviates markedly from the expectation of the person's culture;
- Is pervasive and inflexible across a broad range of personal and social situations;
- Leads to clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning;
- Is stable over time;
- Has its onset in adolescence or early adulthood;
- Is not better accounted for as a manifestation or consequence of another mental disorder; and
- Is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance or a general medical condition;
- “Predatory” describes an act directed at a stranger or a person with whom a relationship has been established or promoted for the primary purpose of victimization of that person or individuals over whom that person has control;
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- “Residency” means the place where a person lives notwithstanding that there may be an intent to move or return at some future date to another place.
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“Residency” also includes:
- A place of employment;
- A place of training;
- A place of education; or
- A temporary residence or domicile in which a person resides for an aggregate of five (5) or more consecutive days during a calendar year;
- “Sentencing court” means the judge of the court that sentenced the sex offender for the sex offense;
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- “Sex offender” means a person who is adjudicated guilty of a sex offense or acquitted on the grounds of mental disease or defect of a sex offense.
- Unless otherwise specified, “sex offender” includes those individuals classified by the court as a sexually dangerous person;
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“Sex offense” includes, but is not limited to:
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The following offenses:
- Rape, § 5-14-103;
- Sexual indecency with a child, § 5-14-110;
- Sexual assault in the first degree, § 5-14-124;
- Sexual assault in the second degree, § 5-14-125;
- Sexual assault in the third degree, § 5-14-126;
- Sexual assault in the fourth degree, § 5-14-127;
- Incest, § 5-26-202;
- Engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print medium, § 5-27-303;
- Transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct, § 5-27-305;
- Employing or consenting to the use of a child in a sexual performance, § 5-27-402;
- Pandering or possessing visual or print medium depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, § 5-27-304;
- Producing, directing, or promoting a sexual performance by a child, § 5-27-403;
- Promoting prostitution in the first degree, § 5-70-104;
- Stalking, § 5-71-229, when ordered by the sentencing court to register as a sex offender;
- Indecent exposure, § 5-14-112, if a felony level offense;
- Exposing another person to human immunodeficiency virus, § 5-14-123, when ordered by the sentencing court to register as a sex offender;
- Kidnapping pursuant to § 5-11-102(a), when the victim is a minor and the offender is not the parent of the victim;
- False imprisonment in the first degree and false imprisonment in the second degree, §§ 5-11-103 and 5-11-104, when the victim is a minor and the offender is not the parent of the victim;
- Permitting abuse of a minor, § 5-27-221, if the abuse of the minor consisted of sexual intercourse, deviant sexual activity, or sexual contact;
- Computer child pornography, § 5-27-603;
- Computer exploitation of a child, § 5-27-605;
- Permanent detention or restraint, § 5-11-106, when the offender is not the parent of the victim;
- Distributing, possessing, or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, § 5-27-602;
- Internet stalking of a child, § 5-27-306;
- Crime of video voyeurism, § 5-16-101, if a felony level offense;
- Voyeurism, § 5-16-102, if a felony level offense;
- An attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of the offenses enumerated in subdivision (13)(A)(i) of this section;
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An adjudication of guilt for an offense of the law of another state:
- Which is similar to any of the offenses enumerated in subdivision (13)(A)(i) of this section; or
- When that adjudication of guilt requires registration under another state's sex offender registration laws;
- A violation of any former law of this state that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses enumerated in this subdivision (13)(A);
- An adjudication of guilt for an offense in any federal court, the District of Columbia, a United States territory, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or for a military offense:
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The following offenses:
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“Sex offense” includes, but is not limited to:
(a) 18 U.S.C. § 2252C;
(b) 18 U.S.C. § 2424; or
(c) 18 U.S.C. § 2425; or
(vi) An adjudication of guilt for an offense requiring registration under the laws of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or any other foreign country where an independent judiciary enforces a right to a fair trial during the year in which the conviction occurred.
(B)(i) The sentencing court has the authority to order the registration of any offender shown in court to have attempted to commit or to have committed a sex offense even though the offense is not enumerated in subdivision (13)(A)(i) of this section.
(ii) This authority applies to sex offenses enacted, renamed, or amended at a later date by the General Assembly unless the General Assembly expresses its intent not to consider the offense to be a true sex offense for the purposes of this subchapter;
(14)(A) “Sexually dangerous person” means a person who has been adjudicated guilty or acquitted on the grounds of mental disease or defect of a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses.
(B) A person previously classified as a sexually violent predator is now considered a sexually dangerous person;
(15) “Sexually violent offense” means any state, federal, tribal, or military offense which includes a sexual act as defined in 18 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2242 as they existed on March 1, 2003, with another person if the offense is nonconsensual regardless of the age of the victim;
(16)(A) “Social media account” means a personal account with an electronic medium or service in which a user may create, share, or access user-generated content, including without limitation:
(B) “Social media account” includes without limitation an account established with:
(i) Facebook;
(ii) Twitter;
(iii) LinkedIn;
(iv) MySpace;
(v) Instagram;
(vi) Snapchat;
(17) “Social media account information” means information concerning a social media account, including without limitation:
History. Acts 1997, No. 989, § 3; 1999, No. 1353, § 1; 2001, No. 1496, § 3; 2001, No. 1743, § 2; 2003, No. 1390, § 4; 2003 (2nd Ex. Sess.), No. 21, §§ 1-3; 2007, No. 210, § 1; 2007, No. 394, § 2; 2009, No. 165, § 6; 2013, No. 172, § 1; 2013, No. 505, §§ 1, 2; 2013, No. 508, § 1; 2013, No. 1114, § 3; 2015, No. 357, § 1; 2015, No. 1285, § 1; 2017, No. 664, § 7; 2017, No. 916, § 1.
Amendments. The 2009 amendment, in (12)(A)(i), deleted “in the first degree” at the end of (u), deleted (x), which read: “Computer child pornography, § 5-27-603,” deleted (y), which read: “Computer exploitation of a child, § 5-27-605,” redesignated the remaining subdivisions accordingly, and substituted “this subdivision (12)(A)(i)” for “subdivisions (12)(A)(i)(a)-(y) of this section” in (aa).
The 2013 amendment by No. 172 rewrote (10)(B).
The 2013 amendment by No. 505 substituted “a ‘sexually dangerous person’” for “‘sexually violent predators’” in (13) (now (12)); redesignated former (15) as (15)(A) (now (14)(A)); substituted “dangerous person” for “violent predator” in (15)(A) (now (14)(A)); and added (15)(B) (now (14)(B)).
The 2013 amendment by No. 508 rewrote (12)(A)(iii) (now (13)(A)(iii)); and added (12)(A)(v) and (12)(A)(vi) (now (13)(A)(v) and (vi)).
The 2013 amendment by No. 1114 added (12)(A)(i) (bb) (now (13)(A)(i) (bb)
The 2015 amendment by No. 357 added (12)(A)(i) (cc) and (dd) (now (13)(A)(i) (cc) and (dd)
The 2015 amendment by No. 1285 rewrote (12)(A)(i) (s) (now (13)(A)(i) (s)
The 2017 amendment by No. 664 added (13)(A)(i) (ee)
The 2017 amendment by No. 916 added (16) (“Social media account”) and (17) (“Social media account information”).
Research References
ALR.
Validity, Construction, and Application of State Statute Including “Sexually Motivated Offenses” Within Definition of Sex Offense for Purposes of Sentencing or Classification of Defendant as Sex Offender. 30 A.L.R.6th 373.
U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev.
Survey of Legislation, 2001 Arkansas General Assembly, Criminal Law, 24 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 429.
Survey of Legislation, 2001 Arkansas General Assembly, Law Enforcement and Emergency Management, 24 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 501.
Case Notes
Applicability.
Sentencing court had authority to order the registration of a defendant as a sexual offender because the defendant's crime of public sexual indecency was classified as a sexual offense, under § 5-14-111, and because subdivision (13)(B)(ii) of this section did not restrict the sentencing court's authority to order registration for a person's conviction as a sex offender for a sexual offense neither enumerated in subdivision (13)(A)(i) of this section nor included under the provisions of subdivision (13)(B)(ii). Fountain v. State, 103 Ark. App. 15, 285 S.W.3d 706 (2008).
Giving effect to subdivisions (13)(A) and (13)(B) of this section, subdivision (13)(B)(ii) does not restrict a sentencing court's authority to order registration for a person's conviction as a sex offender for a sexual offense neither enumerated in subdivision (13)(A)(i) nor included under the provisions of subdivision (13)(B)(ii). Fountain v. State, 103 Ark. App. 15, 285 S.W.3d 706 (2008).
Adjudication of Guilt.
Defendant could not be certified as an habitual child sex offender since his prior juvenile delinquency adjudication could not be considered a prior conviction under the 1987 version of this subchapter. Snyder v. State, 332 Ark. 279, 965 S.W.2d 121 (1998).
Aggravated Sex Offense.
Defendant's second-degree sexual abuse conviction under former § 5-14-109 did not require defendant's lifetime sex offender registration; the crime was not substantially equivalent to aggravated sexual abuse under 18 U.S.C. § 2241, since second-degree sexual abuse did not require the use of force and required only sexual contact, while aggravated sexual abuse under the federal statute required a sexual act, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2246(2)(D). Myers v. State, 2017 Ark. App. 617, 535 S.W.3d 301 (2017).
Change of Address.
Evidence was sufficient to convict defendant of failure to comply with registration requirements under the Sex Offender Registration Act based on his failure to report a change of address because defendant, who registered as a homeless resident of Marion County, was required to wear an electronic ankle monitor with a GPS tracking system; with the use of the GPS technology, the State introduced documentation that defendant had not been in his usual overnight location in Marion County, or any other location in Marion County, for a period of 13 consecutive days; and, contrary to defendant's argument, the evidence established more than a mere temporary relocation to Boone County to periodically recharge his electronic ankle monitor. Wilson v. State, 2016 Ark. App. 164, 485 S.W.3d 698 (2016).
Construction with Other Law.
Section § 12-12-909 requires sex offenders to report changes in employment 10 days before they occur and this section provides sex offenders with an affirmative defense if they notify authorities no later than five days after changing employment; reading the two statutes together makes it clear that a defendant must notify authorities 10 days prior to changing employment, absent an affirmative defense, and since the loss of employment constitutes a change, § 12-12-904 and this section do not allow a 30-day grace period for reporting a change in employment. Mashburn v. State, 87 Ark. App. 89, 189 S.W.3d 73 (2004).
Definition of “residency” for purposes of registration in this section appears in a different chapter of the Arkansas Code than the residency restriction in § 5-14-128(a), and the definition does not by its terms apply to the criminal statute that makes it unlawful for a sex offender “to reside” within 2000 feet of a school or daycare facility. Weems v. Little Rock Police Dep't, 453 F.3d 1010 (8th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 550 U.S. 917, 127 S. Ct. 2128, 167 L. Ed. 2d 862 (2007).
Illustrative Cases.
Where the Sex Offender Screening and Risk Assessment Committee found that appellant was convicted of two separate sexual assaults on two separate women, admitted that he had been involved in forced sex acts, could not stand rejection, thought about raping, and said that raping made him feel better, there was substantial evidence to support the Committee's assessment of appellant as a level four offender. Because the Committee determined the presence of a mental abnormality or personality disorder by virtue of its review and assessment of appellant as a level four offender, the Committee complied with the provisions of this section. Parkman v. Sex Offender Screening & Risk Assessment Comm., 2009 Ark. 205, 307 S.W.3d 6 (2009).
Permitting Abuse of a Minor.
Circuit court did not err in finding that it was required to order defendant to register as a sex offender because she pleaded guilty to permitting abuse of a minor, which was listed as a sex offense in the sex offender statute, and defendant failed to obtain a ruling from the circuit court on her overbreadth arguments. Pedraza v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 205, 465 S.W.3d 426 (2015) (decided under previous version of statute).
Postconviction Relief Denied.
Denial of postconviction relief under Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1 was proper, because correction of the judgment to reflect the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997 (SORA), § 12-12-901 et seq., did not demonstrate error so fundamental as to render the judgment void and subject to collateral attack pursuant to Ark. R. Crim. P. 37.1; since the petitioner pled guilty to false imprisonment in the first degree of a minor victim, which was a designated crime at the time he was sentenced pursuant to subdivision (13)(A)(i) (r) of this section, he was subject to SORA requirements regardless of whether it was reflected on the original judgment. Justus v. State, 2012 Ark. 91 (2012).
Appellant failed to state a claim for habeas corpus relief, because the trial court had to enter an amended judgment requiring him to register as a child or sexual offender under this section when he entered a plea of guilty to false imprisonment, theft of property, and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child. Justus v. Hobbs, 2013 Ark. 149 (2013).
Sex Offense.
Under subdivision (13)(A)(iii) of this section, once the State showed that defendant had been convicted of a sex offense requiring him to register as a sex offender in North Carolina, the State did not also have to show that the North Carolina offenses were similar to offenses requiring registration in Arkansas in order to support a conviction for failure to register; the statute reads in the disjunctive. Martin v. State, 2018 Ark. App. 143, 545 S.W.3d 785 (2018).
Stalking.
Defendant was required to register as a sex offender where a trial court specifically found him guilty of stalking and ordered the registration. Brawner v. State, 2013 Ark. App. 413, 428 S.W.3d 600 (2013).
Cited: Fleming v. State, 2014 Ark. App. 235 (2014).