Offendersearch
Monitoring & alerts · 58 US registries

Get alerted when a sex offender moves nearby

A single search is a snapshot. If what you want is to be told — when a registrant is added near your home, or a specific person appears on a registry — that is monitoring. Set it once and the check keeps running for you.

See monitoring & alerts
800K+
Registered sex offenders in the US (NCMEC)
3 tiers
SORNA registration levels, by offense
58
US registries a monitor watches
Every morning
Your watch is re-checked for changes
The short answer

Watch an area, or watch a person

Set an area monitor on your address and a radius and you are emailed when a registered offender is added nearby or moves in; set a person monitor by name and date of birth to know if someone is ever added to a registry. Both are re-checked for you every morning against continuously updated data across 58 US registries — awareness you receive, not a chore you repeat.

Why monitor at all

Why a one-time check goes out of date

Registries are a moving picture, not a fixed list — and the way registration law works almost guarantees a single search drifts stale.

People move — and re-check dates are far apart

Under SORNA, only the highest tier verifies its address as often as every quarter; lower tiers verify semiannually or once a year. Someone can move onto your street the week after you searched and not re-verify for months. A one-time check tells you about the day you ran it, and nothing after.

Registration status changes both ways

New people are added to registries constantly, existing records change address or tier, and some are removed. The registry you looked at last spring is not the registry near you today — which is the entire reason a standing watch exists.

Not everyone stays compliant

A meaningful share of registrants fall out of compliance or fail to update their address on time, which is exactly why community notification (Megan’s Law) and continuous awareness matter more than a single lookup. A monitor keeps checking so you do not have to remember to.

Registration tiers and verification schedules are set by SORNA; community notification is required under Megan’s Law. NCMEC reports more than 800,000 registered offenders nationwide.

What an alert looks like

The email you actually get

You hear from us only when something changes — never a routine “nothing to report.” Here is the format of an area alert; the data is fictional.

New registrant near your monitored area
Offendersearch Alerts <alerts@offendersearch.app> · to you

A registered offender was added within 1 mile of your monitored address, 123 Maple St, Springfield, IL 62704.

Name
Jordan A. Sample
Distance
0.4 miles
Offense
Registrable offense · Tier II
Registry
Illinois Sex Offender Registry
Change
Added to the registry

View the official registry record →

You receive this because you monitor this address. Manage or cancel it in your dashboard. For personal awareness only — not a consumer report.

Set it up

How to set up a sex offender alert

Two ways to watch, both from the dashboard in a couple of minutes — or over the API.

  • Watch your area. Pick an address and how far to look. An alert names the change — a new registrant, a changed record, or one removed — and links to the official registry entry so you can verify it.
  • Watch a person. Add a name and date of birth in the dashboard’s Notifications section, or over the API with POST /v1/monitors.
  • Start with a search. Not sure what is nearby right now? Search sex offenders near me first, then turn the same address into a standing monitor.
  • Meeting someone new? A person monitor is the standing half of a dating background check — search once, then keep watching.

Full details and setup are on the monitoring & alerts page.

Plans

Two watches, priced to just leave on

Watch an area · $10/mo

An address and a radius. You’re emailed when a registrant is added nearby, moves in, or a nearby record changes — with a link to the official entry. Add family members as recipients.

Watch a person · $3/mo

A name and date of birth. You’re alerted if they’re ever added to a registry or a matching record changes — the standing check for someone you’ve met, hired, or are dating.

See monitoring & alerts

FAQ

Sex offender alerts: common questions

Can I get an alert when a sex offender moves in near me?

Yes. Set an area monitor on your address and a radius, and you are emailed when a registered offender is added nearby, moves in, or a nearby record changes — your watch is re-checked for you every morning against continuously updated data across 58 US registries, so you are told rather than having to keep searching.

Can I monitor one specific person?

Yes. Watch a person by name and date of birth and be alerted if they are ever added to a registry or their record changes. It is set up in the dashboard, or over the API with POST /v1/monitors for teams that want it in their own system.

Why isn’t a one-time search enough?

Registration is a moving picture. New registrants are added continuously, people relocate, and under SORNA an offender’s address may only be verified once or twice a year for lower tiers — so a search is accurate the day you run it and drifts out of date afterward. A monitor closes that gap by re-checking on your behalf.

How much does monitoring cost?

An area monitor is $10/month and a single-person monitor is $3/month. You can add recipients beyond yourself, so a family or a small team all get the same alert. Cancel anytime.

What can I use alerts for — and not for?

Personal awareness and safety. Alerts are not a consumer report and must not be used for FCRA-covered hiring, tenancy or credit decisions. Using registry information to harass, threaten or exclude anyone is a crime in every US state.

Monitoring is for personal awareness and safety. It is not a consumer report and must not be used for FCRA-governed hiring, tenancy or credit decisions.

Be told, not left guessing

Set an area or person monitor and get an email the moment the registry picture changes near you.