Cal. Codes » Penal Code / PART 1. OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS / TITLE 9. OF CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC DECENCY AND GOOD MORALS / CHAPTER 5.5. Sex Offenders
California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 290.3 (2026)

Sex Offenders

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)Every person who is convicted of any offense specified in subdivision (c) of Section 290 shall, in addition to any imprisonment or fine, or both, imposed for commission of the underlying offense, be punished by a fine of three hundred dollars ($300) upon the first conviction or a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) upon the second and each subsequent conviction, unless the court determines that the defendant does not have the ability to pay the fine.

An amount equal to all fines collected pursuant to this subdivision during the preceding month upon conviction of, or upon the forfeiture of bail by, any person arrested for, or convicted of, committing an offense specified in subdivision (c) of Section 290, shall be transferred once a month by the county treasurer to the Controller for deposit in the General Fund. Moneys deposited in the General Fund pursuant to this subdivision shall be transferred by the Controller as provided in subdivision (b).

(b)Except as provided in subdivision (d), out of the moneys deposited pursuant to subdivision (a) as a result of second and subsequent convictions of Section 290, one-third shall first be transferred to the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund, as provided in paragraph (1) of this subdivision. Out of the remainder of all moneys deposited pursuant to subdivision (a), 50 percent shall be transferred to the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund, as provided in paragraph (1), 25 percent shall be transferred to the DNA Identification Fund, as established by Section 76104.6 of the Government Code, and 25 percent shall be allocated equally to counties that maintain a local DNA testing laboratory, as provided in paragraph (2).

(1)Those moneys so designated shall be transferred to the Department of Justice Sexual Habitual Offender Fund created pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 11170 and, when appropriated by the Legislature, shall be used for the purposes of Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 13885) and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 13890) of Title 6 of Part 4 for the purpose of monitoring, apprehending, and prosecuting sexual habitual offenders.

(2)Those moneys so designated shall be allocated equally and distributed quarterly to counties that maintain a local DNA testing laboratory. Before making any allocations under this paragraph, the Controller shall deduct the estimated costs that will be incurred to set up and administer the payment of these funds to the counties. Any funds allocated to a county pursuant to this paragraph shall be used by that county for the exclusive purpose of testing DNA samples for law enforcement purposes.

(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may collect a fine imposed pursuant to this section from a person convicted of a violation of any offense listed in subdivision (c) of Section 290, that results in incarceration in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. All moneys collected by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation under this subdivision shall be transferred, once a month, to the Controller for deposit in the General Fund, as provided in subdivision (a), for transfer by the Controller, as provided in subdivision (b).

(d) An amount equal to one-third of every first conviction fine collected and one-fifth of every second conviction fine collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be transferred to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to help defray the cost of the global positioning system used to monitor sex offender parolees.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 32 cases (15 in the last 5 years), 2013–2026 · leading case: People v. Corrales, 213 Cal. App. 4th 696 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).
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People v. Corrales, 213 Cal. App. 4th 696 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). “The drug program fee is reversed. Upon remittitur issuance, the trial court is to determine defendant’s ability to pay a drug program fee together with the penalties and surcharge in light of all of defendant’s financial circumstances.”
People v. Myers CA3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “) The trial court sentenced defendant to a stipulated three-year state prison term, imposed various fines and fees including an $1,140 Penal Code section 290.3 fine and assessments, and awarded 49 days of presentence credit (43 actual and 6 conduct).”
People v. Daugherty CA1/5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “(b)); a $500 fine (Pen. Code, § 290.3); a $120 court operations assessment (Pen.”
People v. Daugherty CA1/5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “(b)); a $500 fine (Pen. Code, § 290.3); a $120 court operations assessment (Pen.”
P. v. Herrarte CA2/5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “The Sex Offense Fine The trial court imposed a $500 Penal Code section 290.3, subdivision (a) sex offender fine.”
The People v. Villagran CA4/2 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “The Judgment Should Be Modified with Respect to the Sex Offender Fines Under Penal Code Section 290.3 Defendant next contends that the sex offender fine imposed by the court pursuant to Penal Code section 290.”
People v. Yescas CA2/6 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “" At the sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered appellant "to pay a fine of $1,350 pursuant to Penal Code Section 290.3." The court did not explain how it had arrived at this amount.”
People v. Amaya CA2/3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “DISPOSITION The judgment is modified to reduce the sex offender fine (Pen. Code, § 290.3) to $300. In addition, defendant is ordered to pay the following penalty assessments: (1) a $300 state penalty assessment (Pen.”
People v. Young CA3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016). “8 [effective June 27, 2012, Pen. Code, § 290.3 base fine subject to state-only DNA penalty under Gov.”
People v. Balch CA4/1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020). “Code, § 29550), and a $500 sex offender registration fee (Pen. Code, § 290.3). Balch did not object to these fines, fees, and assessments.”
People v. Rich CA1/3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021). “Code, § 70373), and imposed a $300 sex offender registration fine (Pen. Code, § 290.3). The court also imposed a $300 probation revocation restitution fine (id.”
People v. Diaz CA4/3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2021). “(Pen. Code, § 290.3, subd. (a).) And beyond that, Dueñas ruled due process requires the trial court to ascertain a defendant’s present ability to pay before imposing a restitution fine or the type of court fees imposed in this case.”
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