DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS SERIES
Tennessee/Nashville/Memphis
From the 50 State Visitor Guide :
Tenn. Code Ann. 2019 §§40-39-201
through 40-39-306
AWA Compliant
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
48 hours for initial
reg. and updates, but “within 48 hours” is defined to not include weekends and
holidays. §40-39-202(32).
Visitors must register “within 48 hours” of entering
state. Per Tenn. SOR office, the 48 hour clock starts upon crossing the state
line but will be interrupted from midnight to midnight on weekends and
holidays. Also, per SOR office there is no limit on number of repeat visits per
week, month or year.
“Primary residence”
established after 5 consecutive days. “Secondary residence” means any residence
for 14 or more aggregate days in a calendar year, or 4 or more days in a
month. “Residence” means physical
presence. §§40-39-202, 40-39-203.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence &
Employment Restriction: 1,000 ft. from school, day care center, child
care facility, public park, playground, recreation center or athletic field, or
the offender’s victim or victim’s family. §40-39-211. In
2019 TN applied new restrictions to residence with any minor; these
restrictions are under a Temporary
Restraining Order
pending trial (see NARSOL Digest 8/19 p. 5).
Residence
restriction: Violent offenders and those with convictions
against minors may not reside in on-campus housing of any institution of higher
education.
Presence
restriction: 1,000 ft. from
school, day care center, child care facility, public park, playground,
recreation center or athletic field, with exceptions. §40-39-211. Tennessee libraries have authority to
restrict access by Registrants. §40-39-216.
Per Tenn. SOR
office, these restrictions DO apply to visitors during the 48 hour grace
period.
Duration & updates:
Life. Petition to remove – 10 years from end of
probation. §163A.125.
Violent offenders update quarterly; all others annually. §40-39-207
Kentucky – From the 50 State Visitor Guide :
K.R.S. 2019 §§17.500
through 17.580. 502
K.A.R. 31:020
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
K.R.S. §17.510 states 5 working days for initial registration and
updates. Registrants employed in the
state must register if present for a period of 14 consecutive days or 30 days
in a calendar year. Per Kentucky SOR
office, visitors are not required to register unless present for 14 consecutive
days, or 30 days in a calendar year.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence
restriction: 1,000 ft. of
schools, day care facilities, and publicly owned playgrounds; must move out of
residence within 90 days if a new facility opens. §17.545. The
state notes that the Kentucky Supreme Court forbid retroactive application of
this law to those who committed offenses prior to July 12, 2006 and states “The Kentucky State Police do not evaluate or
approve particular locations for compliance with sex offender residence
restrictions. If you have any questions concerning whether you are subject to
the residence restrictions in KRS 17.545 or whether you may legally reside at a
particular location you may wish to consult an attorney.”
Presence
restriction: May not be present on grounds of school or
daycare without advanced written permission.
K.R.S. §17.545. Registrants are
prohibited from using certain social media and chat rooms, and are forbidden to
photograph or videotape minors without parental consent. §17.546.
Per Kentucky SOR
office, a procedure is available for removal from registry after departure.
Duration & updates:
20 years or lifetime, depending on offense. §17.520. Updates annual or every 90 days, depending on offense. §17.520. No tiers.
How can I go to my business/vacation/family obligation in Tennessee/Nashville without inadvertently committing a registry violation?
(For travel guidance on Great Smokey Mtns. Nat. Park and Land Between the Lakes Nat. Rec. Area, use my search box to find separate blog entries).
I am often asked by worried registrants if they should be
concerned about an upcoming business, vacation or family obligation in Tennessee
(often Nashville).
Tennessee is a very tough state if you get caught up in their registry. As noted above, they have a long list of residency, employment and presence restrictions. If you do end up on their registry it’s lifetime, although you can petition to be removed starting ten years from the end of your probation. I don’t know about you, but when they say you can petition, I hear they can turn you down. I don’t like that.
According to the SOR office, a procedure is available for removal from registry after departure, but it’s cumbersome & time consuming. Once you’ve returned to your home state, you write or email them providing documentation that you’re back home and why you shouldn’t be on their registry – and supposedly they’ll take you off. But the nice lady at the SOR office pointed out that your request for removal has to go through their attorney – which sounds to me like a place where your request can get indefinitely delayed or turned down. Better to avoid getting on in the first place!
Forty-eight hours is a very short time period to be allowed in any state. Per the Tennessee SOR office, the 48 hour clock starts upon crossing the state line but will be interrupted from midnight to midnight on weekends and holidays. So pay attention to your time, keep receipts to prove your whereabouts if you get pulled over, and if you plan to linger long enough to visit the Smokies, Dollywood, Opryland or Graceland, my advice would be to arrive on a Friday and leave on a Monday – or Tuesday if your weekend includes a holiday. Be careful of local sheriffs & police departments!
However, per the Tennessee SOR office there is no limit on number of repeat visits per week, month or year. Supposedly you could hop in & out of Tennessee, overnighting in surrounding states having much longer visitor periods, e.g. Kentucky, North Carolina or Georgia. Of course in doing that you’d have to keep track of your days or partial days in those surrounding states too. Then cross back into Tennessee and start the 48-hour clock all over again.
In this blog post I’m going to suggest you avoid confusing either Tennessee or your own local registry office, especially in the case of Nashville or Memphis, by establishing a single out of state “temporary residence” and commuting daily into the city.
Also, regarding all those onerous residency, employment and presence restrictions, in 2021 the man who I talked to at the Tennessee SOR office said yeah, actually they DO apply to visitors. No schools, state or local public parks, playgrounds, recreation centers or athletic fields for you, registered visitor! And you’d better stay 1000 feet away from them too! If you think about it, that’s not going to be easy in cities like Nashville and Memphis.
Therefore my advice is to be extra careful if your travel plans take you to Tennessee.
Where to “reside” (Nashville): I-65 Kentucky Exit 2 (Franklin)
The good news about Tennessee is that it’s long and skinny, and Nashville is a lot closer to Kentucky than to any other state. I-65 KY Exit 2 is 35 miles north of downtown Nashville, which is a long commute but doable. In October 2025 while returning to Iowa rom the NARSOL Conference I decided to make a reconnaissance mission to report what this commute is like and what services are available at Exit 2.
Answer: Exit 2 has as much of everything as you could ask for. However, be advised that Nashville traffic is a nightmare even on a good day. The NARSOL conference ended Sunday morning, so I was passing through downtown Nashville on a Sunday afternoon. Even so it took 45 minutes to go the 35 miles to Exit 2, including a bear of a construction zone.
Nevertheless, I recommend commuting from Exit 2 instead of trying to find anyplace in Tennessee for several reasons:
1. Tennessee’s residence and presence restrictions are so egregious that it would be difficult to know for sure if any lodging you might find would be registry compliant. You do not want to report any such “temporary address” to your local registry office because they will send that address to TN. There is at least anecdotal evidence that some local police have come to speak to noncompliant visitors. You don’t want that.
2. Kentucky’s residency and presence restrictions are, only by comparison of course, relatively humane, and after scoping out Exit 2 I am happy to report no schools, day care facilities, or publicly owned playgrounds in sight.
3. By establishing your “temporary residence” in a place that puts your mind more at ease you will be better able to focus on the many presence restrictions you face as you go about your business in Nashville. These include staying at least 1,000 ft. from any school, day care center, child care facility, public park, playground, recreation center or athletic field. This can’t be easy in an urban area like Nashville or Memphis. Tennesseans that I have spoken to say you just have to stay mindful and do the best you can.
4. When you report your travel at your local registry office, the destination address you will give them is your hotel in Kentucky, NOT anyplace in Tennessee. Therefore only Kentucky gets notified that you’re coming. Your main concern while making your daily commute to Nashville is to follow the rules and stay safe in case something bizarre happens.
Stay out of TN on Wednesdays – Go see Mammoth Cave instead
Now let’s see how your Tennessee/Nashville trip lays out if you follow my advice. Because you are “residing” at KY Exit 2, you will never be in Tennessee nearly long enough to exceed their 48 hour limit. Every morning you restart TN’s clock, and according to the SOR office you can do that as many times as you like. Weekends and holidays are included free.
Still, I would never recommend putting all of your reliance on this system. I don’t trust local police enough to think that if they figured out what you’re doing they wouldn’t accuse you of cheating. Therefore I suggest that you stay out of Tennessee on Wednesdays. That way each week of your forays into TN is divided into two groups, Mon-Tues & Thurs-Fri, each of which is less than 48 hours even if you add them together.
As for Wednesday, Mammoth Cave is nearly the same distance from Exit 2 as Nashville, so go enjoy one of the world’s great natural wonders.
Where to “reside” (Memphis): Arkansas and/or Mississippi
Arkansas – From the 50 State Visitor Guide :
A.C.A. 2019 §§ 5-14-128 through 5-14-134, §9-27-356, §§
12-12-901 through
12-12-926, §12-12-1513, 004 00
C.A.R.R. 002, 172 00 C.A.R.R. 014.
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
“Residency” includes 5 or more
aggregate days in a calendar year.
§12-12-903(10) & state policy. If relocating within state, register
10 days before or 3 business days after an eviction or natural disaster. Homeless registrants report every 30 days. §§12-12-904,
12-12-909.
Sexually Violent
Offenders report every 3 mo. All others report every 6 mo. §§12-12-909, 12-12-919.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence
restriction: L3
& L4 offenders: 2,000 ft. of
elementary or secondary school, public park, day care center, youth center,
also 2,000 ft. of victim.
L4 offenders: 2,000 ft. of a
church.
Presence restriction: L3 & L4
offenders: may not knowingly enter a swimming area, water park, or playground
in a state park. §15-14-134. May not
enter schools in certain circumstances. §§5-14-132 through 5-14-134.
NOTE: Per
Arkansas SOR office, visitors aren’t bound by these restrictions until required
to register – because that’s when they will assign an offense level.
NOTE: Visiting Registrants once placed on
state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED. (per Rolfe Survey and confirmed by state SOR office). $250 one time
registry fee.
Duration & updates:
Life. Petition after 15 yrs. except SVP
You’ll need to be careful about your “temporary residence” in Arkansas because you only get five days aggregate per calendar year before you have to register. Furthermore, if you re-read the language above you’ll see that it says “‘residency’ includes 5 or more aggregate days in a calendar year.” In other words, the 5th day triggers the registration requirement, so you really only get four days, and that includes weekends and holidays. And as always, one should always assume that partial days will count toward the total.
The silver lining is that, because Arkansas’ onerous presence and residency requirements apply only to “Level 3 & 4” registrants, and because these tier levels are only assigned after registration, they can’t very well apply them to you as a short term (four days or less) visitor, now can they? This was also confirmed for me by the nice lady at the SOR office.
Therefore, if visiting Memphis, your first choice for a “temporary residence” should be nearby Arkansas, and this should be the address you should report to your local registry office – but if your trip lasts more than four calendar days you will have to move yourself to Mississippi.
Layover in Tennessee? – However, you might want to consider stretching your visit by two nights and one day but less than 48 continuous hours by “residing” at a rural Tennessee I-40 exit as far away from any problematic neighbors as possible before proceeding to Mississippi. I have not yet conducted a research mission to recommend any specific exit but I promise to get around to that and report back. If you do so I suggest that you NOT report this as a “temporary address” to your local registry office. You are not required to report every stop on your journey. Only report the AK and MS addresses.
Mississippi – From the 50 State Visitor Guide :
Miss. Code Ann. 2019
§§45-33-21 through 45-33-61
AWA Compliant
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
Initial
registration: 3 business
days §45-33-27(1). New
residents must notify DPS 10 days before first residing in or returning to
state and changes to address §45-33-29(1),
then 3 business days to register
with county sheriff §45-33-27(5) and 10 days to register at the “Driver’s
License station.” 3 business days for most other changes. §45-33-29.
Visitors: “Temporary residence” defined as “resides
for a period of 7 or more consecutive days.”
§45-33-23(i). However, per Mississippi
SOR office, registration
required for visits of 4 days in a month, whether or not consecutive, and 14 or
more days in a calendar year. Also, SOR office claims
to interpret “day” as beginning when you spend a night.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence
restriction: 3000 ft. of school; child care facility;
“residential child-caring agency;” a children’s group home; or playground,
ballpark, or other recreational facility used by children. §45-33-25(4)(a).
Presence restriction: loitering w/in 500 ft. of school, and may not enter school
without permission; exceptions apply to both. §45-33-26.
Per Rolfe Survey, visiting registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.
Duration & updates:
Life. Petition to
remove – Tier 1 – 15 yrs; Tier 2 – 25 yrs.
Updates: Registrants who are electronically monitored – annually. §45-33-31. All others quarterly, in person at the Drivers’ License station to obtain a new “sex offender card.” §45-33-31.
The problem with extending your Memphis visit by staying in Mississippi is that their registry rules are at least as horrible as Tennessee! And despite what its state law says, the friendly lady at the state SOR office informed me that if you stay four or more days (including partial days) in any calendar month, whether or not consecutive, you must register. I’m sure that like me, you don’t want to have to do that! Since the SOR lady says “four or more days,” that means you only get three.
During your whopping three days in Mississippi you will have to contend with a long list of residence and presence restrictions. Wherever you spend the night you’ll have to be at least 3000 feet from the usual ridiculous list of child centered establishments. Fortunately since the northwest corner of Mississippi is mainly rural, most Interstate motels, truck stops and National Forest campgrounds can meet this standard.
I used to travel through Memphis on my way from Iowa to Florida, but in those days I wasn’t paying much attention to it as a difficult destination. I will have to include a reconnaissance mission along that route next time and report back.
Layover in Tennessee? – If you have exhausted your allowable days in both AK and MS and your first TN layover, but still need more time, you can extend your visit by another two nights and one day but less than 48 continuous hours by “residing” at the same rural Tennessee I-40 exit as on your previous layover. That’s because TN does allow return visits that restart their clock. If you do so I again suggest that you NOT report this as a “temporary address” to your local registry office. Treat it as just another stop on your way home from your AK and MS destination(s).
Just remember! – However you get back to your home state is up to you – but you can’t stay overnight in either AK or MS because you’ve already used up all the days you’re allowed!
So how many days is that?
Now let’s total up the number of days you can squeeze out of this assemblage of temporary residences:
AK 4 days (including partial days)
TN #1 1 day (your 48 hours starts on the evening you enter from AK, and
ends when you enter MS two days later but earlier in the afternoon so you don’t exceed 48 hours all together)
MS 2 days (unfortunately, when you enter from TN in the afternoon that
becomes MS Partial Day 1)
TN #2 1 1/2 days (because you’ll have to leave TN early enough in the
day to get somewhere other than AK or MS)
TOTAL 8 1/2 days
BUT !! If you schedule your stay(s) in Tennessee so as to include
weekends,
Do not become “employed” in Tennessee/Nashville/Memphis
If you have to report employment information in your home state you already know that being “employed” in a place will land you on the registry as surely as “residing” there.
You can compliantly go to Tennessee/Nashville/Memphis to perform a business obligation without becoming “employed” there. I knew a guy whose job was to maintain and repair the asphalt furnaces his company manufactured for road building projects across America. He had to stay for days at a time to get those things fixed but his employer was in Florida. That’s where the paychecks came from so that’s where he was “employed.” You can receive payment for services but just make sure you never receive anything that looks like a paycheck from an employer with a Tennessee address.
Previous Tennessee visit: April 2022
With all those precautions in mind, my 2022 Deep South Tour included an opportunity not only to visit southeastern Tennessee but to take advantage of their rule which excludes weekend days from the 48 hour visitors’ time clock. Entering the state from Alabama at mid-morning on a Sunday, I was able to visit some of Chattanooga’s sights that day and find a National Forest campground before the 48 hour clock started at 12:01 AM Monday.
As a retired city planner, I consider downtown Chattanooga to be one of America’s best small city downtown revitalization success stories. There was a farmer’s market in full swing right outside the Tennessee Aquarium – one of the Southeast’s best. However, be careful not to go near the riverfront park or the beautiful pedestrian bridge over the Tennessee River because – that’s right, they are public parks and you’re not invited. Just outside the city are Rock City, Ruby Falls and Lookout Mountain, all of which private attractions. I have been to all of them in the past and love them, but on this trip I wanted to try something new.
Of the downtown attractions, my least favorite is the Chattanooga Choo-Choo which is hokey tourist trap. However, just a few miles east of the city is an actual historic train ride, the Tennessee Valley Railroad, where I managed to snag the last ride of the afternoon before proceeding to my campsite.
The good news is that, like a lot of other states where registered visitors cannot go to public parks, Tennessee has numerous national forests and they by definition aren’t parks. Plus they are under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service, not the state, so they are a safe refuge. My campground was in Cherokee National Forest and was well equipped with hot water showers.
As the 48 hour clock ticked away on my second day in Tennessee I drove the mountainous country roads of the national forest, stopping to see Tuckaleechee Caverns and the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. The Heritage Center was well worth the stop. It includes a Heritage Village with like houses, barns, blacksmith shop, grocery store, church, etc. all of which are authentic in the sense that they aren’t reconstructions, but the original buildings which were moved from their former locations to become part of this village at the Heritage Center.
Afterwards I doubled back and
stayed at the same national forest campground as the night before. The next morning I slept in but, with the
time clock still ticking, decided to take no chances and continue on my way
into Georgia.
