Guides · Updated August 31, 2026
West Virginia Sex Offender Registry: How to Search It
Get a clear answer on West Virginia's sex offender registry: search by name or address, confirm the right person, and know what a listing leaves out.
The West Virginia sex offender registry is run by the West Virginia State Police, and it covers people required to register in the state under West Virginia law. Before you can search, you have to read and accept the site's terms of use screen, which explains how the information can be used.
Once you accept those terms, you're taken to the search itself. This guide walks through what a listing on the registry actually tells you, how to confirm you have the right person, and where to check if someone may have moved out of state.
West Virginia registry: which search or office to use
Match your situation to the right tool so you are not stuck guessing which search box to fill in.
| What you're trying to find out | Where to check | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| A specific person by name | Name search on the West Virginia State Police registry | The state site accepts a name and returns matching registrants |
| Someone who might live near a specific address | NSOPW's address radius search (filter to West Virginia for a state-only search) | Enter the street address and city, then set the state filter to West Virginia for a state-specific result; leave it on all states if you're not sure they still live there |
| Someone who may have moved out of West Virginia | NSOPW national registry search | The federal site searches every state and territory at once |
| A suspected registration violation | West Virginia State Police | West Virginia State Police is the direct contact for reporting a suspected violation |
Where to actually run the search
West Virginia's sex offender registry sits behind a conditions-of-use screen on the State Police's site at apps.wv.gov/StatePolice/SexOffender/Disclaimer, and you have to click through it before the search opens. If you already have a full name, that's the site to search first. If what you actually have is an address or a general area and no confirmed name, the national registry search run by the Department of Justice is built to work across every state and is the better starting point. Either way, don't stop at the name on the results screen; the sections below cover exactly what to check next.
What the law requires people on the registry to do
West Virginia sets the registration period at either 10 years or life, depending on the underlying offense, under West Virginia Code §15-12.
Anyone on the registry must report a change of address to the West Virginia State Police within ten business days, under §15-12-3 of that same statute. That duty runs for the length of the registration term, but the public record can still be out of date if a move was not reported.
Which convictions make someone show up publicly
West Virginia publishes a listing when the offense is sexually violent, involved a minor, is a repeat conviction, or led to a court finding that the person is a sexually violent predator, a determination covered under §15-12-2a of the same code.
A sexually violent predator finding isn't automatic since a court, not the State Police, has to make that determination under §15-12-2a before someone is listed that way on the registry.
What a listing tells you, and what it leaves out
A listing shows an offense and a reported address, but a name alone doesn't confirm you have the right person. A name match by itself is never confirmation: compare every identifier the listing displays against what you already know about the person, and treat any single mismatch as a reason to keep checking, not as a verdict. Send anything consequential to the original court record before you act on it.
An address mismatch calls for more checking, not a conclusion. An address can go stale if someone moves without reporting the change to the State Police, so a different address doesn't rule out a match on its own.
West Virginia State Police's conditions of use state plainly that the agency has no authority to direct where a listed person lives. Absent a specific court order, someone on the registry is free to live wherever and with whomever they choose, and the department does not evaluate any individual's risk of reoffending. The same conditions describe the registry as a record of past convictions and a reported address, not a current risk score.
When a name returns nothing or you can't confirm a match
A no-result search doesn't clear anyone. West Virginia's own conditions of use say the site doesn't guarantee the information is complete or current, since a listing can be outdated if someone moved without reporting the change to the State Police.
If the person you're checking may have left West Virginia, the national registry search run by the Department of Justice covers every state and territory in one lookup.
If all you have is a name, age, and city, and you're not sure the person still lives in West Virginia or the spelling is close but not exact, TheTeaReport can help you check the match with a sex-offender registry check alongside identity and public-record context in one report. The state registry stays the authoritative source for anyone actually listed in West Virginia.
What you can do with what you find, and who to call about a problem
You can use a registry result to make your own decisions about someone, but the registry's own terms are clear that you can't use what you find to threaten, intimidate, or harass the person listed, and violations get investigated by the West Virginia State Police.
If you think someone's registration is out of date or you suspect a violation, report it to West Virginia State Police. Passing that along keeps the record accurate for the next person who searches it.
Sources and further reading
- West Virginia State Police registry search: The official West Virginia State Police registry search; you accept the site's conditions of use on this screen before the name search opens.
- West Virginia registry conditions of use: Official conditions explaining the public-safety purpose of the registry and the rule against threatening or harassing anyone listed.
- West Virginia Code §15-12: Covers who must register, the 10-year-or-life registration duration tiers, the ten-business-day address-change reporting rule, and the public-disclosure criteria for who appears on the registry.
- NSOPW national registry directory: The U.S. Department of Justice directory linking to state, territory, and tribal registry sites, including West Virginia.
West Virginia sex offender registry: quick answers
Is West Virginia's sex offender registry public record?
Yes. West Virginia Code §15-12 authorizes the West Virginia State Police to release this information to the public, and the state's own registry site cites that law as its legal basis. You still have to read and accept the site's terms of use before you can search, since the law limits how the information can be used.
Can I search by address instead of a name?
The West Virginia State Police registry is reached through a terms-of-use screen at apps.wv.gov. For an address-based lookup, use the NSOPW address search, which takes a street address and city and includes West Virginia when you filter to the state.
What ongoing rules do people on the West Virginia registry have to follow?
Under West Virginia Code §15-12, registration lasts 10 years or life depending on the underlying offense. Anyone listed also has to report any change of address to the West Virginia State Police within ten business days, a duty that runs for the whole registration period, not just once at release.
Stop guessing. Start vetting.
Criminal records, marriage history, and sex-offender registry checks. All the tea you deserve before you invest your time, energy, and trust.