The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, DCJS, maintains the Sex Offender Registry under the Sex Offender Registration Act, SORA, and is required by law to keep an online directory of individuals a judge has found to pose a Level 2 or Level 3 risk of re-offense. The state's search service opens with a last name, a county or a ZIP Code, and the DCJS registry overview explains that what the public may see depends on the level: Level 1, low risk, brings limited information with the residence shown only by ZIP Code, while Level 2, moderate risk, and Level 3, high risk, bring the address; a directory entry may include names and aliases, photographs, home and work addresses, the crime of conviction, vehicle information and the conditions of parole or probation. The division works to keep the registry accurate but every entry is reported by other agencies, so it guarantees nothing, and corrections go to the registry by email or by mail to 80 South Swan Street, Albany, NY 12210; a registrant's own questions go by mail with the full name, address and date of birth.
Information about Level 1 registrants, about people whose level a judge has not yet set, and about some Level 2 and 3 registrants kept out of the directory by legal action comes only through the toll free line, 1-800-262-3257, which answers at any hour; the caller must give a name and one identifier, an exact address, a date of birth, a driver license or non driver ID number or a Social Security number, to learn whether the person is a registered sex offender in New York. Anyone who uses registry information to harass or commit a crime against a person faces prosecution. The law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the registrant's residence, which may notify the community, is found through the New York county pages.
- Search: the online directory by last name, county or ZIP Code for Level 2 and 3 registrants; Level 1 and undetermined registrants only by phone at 1-800-262-3257 with a name and one identifier.
- Levels: a judge sets Level 1 low, Level 2 moderate or Level 3 high after a court hearing, and may designate a sexual predator, sexually violent offender or predicate sex offender; level and designation decide how long registration lasts.
- Alerts: NY-Alert sends an email, text, fax or phone notice whenever a Level 2 or 3 registrant moves to or from up to three locations the subscriber registers, by county or municipality, ZIP Code or address.
- Who registers: anyone on parole, probation or incarcerated for a sex offense on January 21, 1996, anyone convicted or sentenced since, and anyone moving in from another state or country with a registrable conviction, who registers within 10 days.
Written by SearchSystems.net from New York's own systems: the New York State search service for the Sex Offender Registry, the Division of Criminal Justice Services Sex Offender Registry overview, the NY-Alert sign up page, the NY-Alert home page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
The three levels and the designations
State law registers a person on release to the community, and the risk level decides what the public may learn and how: Level 1 for a low risk of repeat offense, Level 2 for a moderate risk, and Level 3 for a high risk where a threat to public safety exists, each determined by a judge after a court hearing. The judge also decides whether the person is a sexual predator, a sexually violent offender or a predicate sex offender, and the level and designation together determine the duration of registration.
The directory's glossary explains the entries: incarcerated means held in a local jail or state prison, ICE custody means held for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and in custody means a federal prison in New York; the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction is the one where the registrant lives, which may notify the community; previous convictions requiring registration are listed after the current one; and the supervising agency, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or a county probation department, appears with any special conditions of supervision the division was told of, which that agency enforces.
The map pins only the first address line, drops to the center of the ZIP Code for a post office box or a non standard first line such as a detention center, maps rural routes that follow postal form, and shows no map for someone listed as undomiciled.
NY-Alert: a notice when a registrant moves
Beyond the directory, the division sends sex offender relocation notices through the state's NY-Alert system, so that a New Yorker learns by email, text, fax or telephone whenever a Level 2 or 3 registrant moves to or from a community of interest, a home, a workplace or a child's school. A subscriber registers up to three locations, each by county or municipality, by ZIP Code or by a specific address, in any combination. Signing up runs through a NY.gov ID: an existing account adds NY-Alert, accepts the terms, connects to the application and picks the alert types and contact preferences, and a new account starts with a name and email, a MY NYID username, a verification email, three security questions and a password; the system is free, covers every area of the state, and promises that the contact information is used for notifications only, with support on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Who must register, and the ten days
Anyone who was on parole or probation or incarcerated for a sex offense on January 21, 1996 registers with the division, as does anyone convicted of a sex offense on or after that date or sentenced to probation, jail or prison after it, on returning to the community. A person who moves to New York after a conviction in another state, federal court, the military or another country registers if the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders finds the offense one that requires registration, and must do so no later than 10 days after moving.
Registrants with questions about their own registration write to the registry, since the division answers them only by mail.
Employer, camp and volunteer checks
An employer, camp operator or volunteer organization checks names in two ways. For fewer than 20 names, a request by fax to (518) 485-5805, by mail to the registry at 80 South Swan Street, Albany, New York 12210 or by email carries each person's first and last name with a birth date, Social Security number, driver license number or complete address, plus the organization's name, address, telephone and fax numbers and a contact person; by phone, the same identifiers go to 800-262-3257 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., where registry staff first take the caller's name, address and telephone.
For 20 or more names the request goes only by email with an Excel spreadsheet whose first row reads LastName, FirstName and either Birth_Date as MM/DD/YYYY or SSN as nine digits, with 800 # Search in the subject line and the organization's details in the message.
The numbers by county
The division publishes a download of the adults required to register by county of residence, risk level and other categories, updated October 2, 2026 when read, and the overview page links the Sex Offender Registration Act itself for anyone who wants the statute.
Reading a New York result
A directory entry means a judge has set Level 2 or 3, with the address, photograph, crime and any supervision conditions the division was told of; no entry can mean Level 1, a level not yet set, a legal action that keeps the person off the directory, or no registration at all, and only the 800 number, with a name and an identifier, settles which. The level fixes the duration, NY-Alert follows the next move, and the registry's own mailbox at 80 South Swan Street takes the corrections.
Questions about the New York sex offender registry
Related New York records
The registry is one of the New York records this site covers: the New York arrest records guide explains what a booking makes public, the inmate search guide covers the DOCCS incarcerated lookup, the background check guide covers the Office of Court Administration record search, and the New York county pages list each sheriff and police department.