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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina House Bill 827 establishes an annual fee for individuals on the sex offender registry
Last action · April 9, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Paul Scott and 2 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina requires individuals on the state sex offender registry to pay an annual fee equal to 1.25% of the federal poverty level for a single-person household, effective January 1, 2026. County sheriffs collect the fee during annual verifications to support local registry maintenance, and sheriffs can choose annually whether to collect it in their county. Incarcerated individuals, those under community supervision, or those determined by the sheriff are exempt from the fee.
Registered sex offenders must pay an annual fee to local sheriff offices unless they qualify for an indigency waiver or statutory exemption, while sheriff offices retain fee collections to supplement local operating funds.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
individuals required to register under G.S. 14-208.7
Registrants must pay an annual fee during their verification unless granted an indigency waiver or statutory exemption.
county sheriffs
Sheriffs decide annually whether to collect the fee in their county, collect the fee from registrants, issue indigency determinations, and retain proceeds to supplement local office funds.
Department of Adult Correction, Division of Community Supervision and Reentry
Individuals under its supervision are automatically deemed indigent and exempt from the annual fee.
Key Facts
- Each person required to register under G.S. 14-208.7 must pay an annual fee equal to 1.25% of the current federal poverty level guidelines for a one-person household.
- The annual fee is collected each year by the sheriff to whom the registrant returns their verification following the anniversary of their initial registration date.
- Proceeds from the annual fee are retained by the collecting sheriff's office to supplement local funds for registrant verification, record retention, maintenance, and dissemination.
- Each sheriff determines on January 1 of each year whether to collect the annual fee within their county, defaulting to collection if no specific determination is made.
Show all 8 facts
- Failure to pay the annual fee does not affect a registrant's ability to register or verify information, but counties may seek collection of unpaid fees as a claimant agency under Chapter 105A.
- Registrants may request an indigency waiver, which the sheriff must evaluate and record in written findings within 10 business days.
- Registrants who are incarcerated or under the supervision of the Department of Adult Correction, Division of Community Supervision and Reentry, are automatically deemed indigent and exempt from the fee.
- The act becomes effective on January 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the annual sex offender registry fee?
Who collects the annual registry fee?
Are there exemptions from paying the fee?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 9, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 9, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 8, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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