The
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act is a federal statute that was signed into law by
U.S. President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006. The Walsh Act organizes
sex offenders into three tiers according to the crime committed, and mandates that Tier 3 offenders (the most serious tier) update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime registration requirements. Tier 2 offenders must update their whereabouts every six months with 25 years of registration, and Tier 1 offenders must update their whereabouts every year with 15 years of registration. Failure to register and update information is a
felony under the law. States are required to publicly disclose information of Tier 2 and Tier 3 offenders, at minimum. It also contains
civil commitment provisions for
sexually dangerous people.