Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler

"From Alabama to Zion National Park"

Before I wrecked my life and ended up on Florida’s Sex Offender registry I always intended to travel in my retirement. Now, after prison and probation, I am in fact retired, and “free,” and have not given up my dream of seeing natural wonders and historic sites, visiting great cities, traveling to as many places as possible within the restrictions placed on me as a registered citizen.

While I may attempt traveling the world in the future, everything I’ve heard and read about International Megan’s Law requirements makes it sound difficult and even dangerous for a registered person. I therefore decided that my own home country is a pretty big place that, so far at least, nobody can keep my out of. Including all of its states and territories the United States spans half the globe and extends from the arctic to the equator. A guy could spend his whole retirement traveling this great land and never really see all of it.

As many of you may have discovered, however, interstate travel as a registered citizen isn’t as simple as getting in your car and driving away. Unless you don’t mind the prospect of inadvertently violating the registry laws of either your own state or whatever state you’re in at the time and ending up back in prison for a registry violation, it’s crucial to be conversant with and obey the registry laws of every state you plan to pass thru, which for me is every US state and territory.

However, all of this research – whether the state laws themselves, written responses to letters, or the oral responses by a random person in a state SOR office – may bear no relation at all to what you or I may experience if pulled over by an over-eager redneck sheriff’s deputy because you have a blown tail light. Do you want to be the first person to test the limits of any of this? I’ll bet the answer to that is NO.

So be careful out there, and safe travels! - Bruce Hossfield, a.k.a. Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler.

Legal Disclaimer

I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY. THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALIFIED LEGAL ADVICE.

Because sex offender laws are frequently revised by legislatures and reviewed by courts, the most current version of the applicable laws should be consulted and can generally be found by using your search engine to locate the statutes referenced on this site. This website does not include all laws that may apply to registrants in any particular state.

NEW! Updated 4/25! State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws Guide

Click HERE. It'll pop up on your screen in a separate window.

NEW! Updated 6/25! Research on Local Restrictions

Derek Logue of OnceFallen is conducting research on local registry restrictions around the US, prioritizing the states with the worst local restrictions first. Be sure to check this site out if you are concerned about local laws.

Click HERE to see this research.

Updated 9/24! State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws for FORMER & LONG-TERM Registrants

MANY REGISTRANTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND that most states have registration laws that apply to out-of-state visitors even if you have served your registration duty in your state of offense and are no longer required to register there. Violating these states' laws during your visit can get you caught in these states' registries or even incarcerated EVEN THOUGH you have been removed from your own state's registry!

Furthermore, you may be surprised to learn that some states' registration laws may not apply to visiting registrants who have, in your state of offense, served your registration duty for the number of years specified by law in the state you are visiting - even if you are still on the registry in your state of offense.

Because confusion surrounding this issue will be a growing problem as more and more Americans (including myself) become long-term or former registrants, I have researched the registration laws of every U.S. state and territory related to this issue.

Click HERE to see this new research.

Recorded 10/24: My 2024 ACSOL conference domestic travel presentation

I have given several presentations on domestic travel at NARSOL and other national conferences. My presentation at the 2024 ACSOL conference was recorded and is now available as a You Tube video.

This is about an hour long but contains a lot of information about domestic travel, so Click HERE to watch.

The Traveling Registrant

The Once Fallen website offers this must-read information for all registrants planning to travel. Click here: http://www.oncefallen.com/travel.html

Unwelcome Images

My personal story of prison, probation and ... redemption? is posted on Medium. If you're interested you can click here:

https://therabbitisin.com/unwelcome-images-c06a3760b11a

Your first hurdle:

Permission to leave town

My state of offense (Florida) has a registry law that, like those of many other states, is completely silent on the question of what notice I as a registered person have to provide in the event that I intend to travel out of state temporarily but have no intention of establishing any “permanent residence,” “temporary residence” or “transient residence” in any other state. Instead, Florida’s SOR law reads as follows:

“A sexual offender who intends to establish a permanent, temporary, or transient residence in another state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida shall report in person to the sheriff of the county of current residence within 48 hours before the date he or she intends to leave this state to establish residence in another state or jurisdiction … The sexual offender shall provide to the sheriff the address, municipality, county, [and] state … of intended residence … The department shall notify the statewide law enforcement agency, or a comparable agency, in the intended state [or] jurisdiction … of the sexual offender’s intended residence. The failure of a sexual offender to provide his or her intended place of residence is punishable as [a third degree felony].”

943.0435(7) FS.

Apparently, the drafters of Florida’s SOR law – and the many similarly worded statutes of other US states – never anticipated that a registered person would ever leave their state for any other reason than to establish a “permanent residence,” “temporary residence” or “transient residence” wherever they're going. Therefore I assume that I and many of you could legitimately assume we would be within our legal rights to just leave our state without telling anybody as long as you have no intention of, and scrupulously avoid, establishing any kind of residence that would violate your state’s statutes.

However, I DO NOT recommend doing this under any circumstances.

Why? Because there’s a 120% chance that your local sheriff’s department believes you have to tell them you’re leaving and where you’re going no matter what your state’s SOR law says or doesn’t say. Suppose you get pulled over somewhere for having a blown tail light. The sheriff’s deputy looks you up and discovers you’re an out-of-state registered offender. Next, he calls local law enforcement in your home state and asks, “Hey, did y’all know this guy was here?” They of course will say “No, we didn’t even know he left our state and we think that’s a registry violation – he is an ABSCONDER!” at which point you’ll be arrested, handcuffed and sent back to prison.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I want to spend my vacation.

Therefore I strongly suggest that you visit your local sheriff’s department or registry office and inform them of your intention to travel. I did this for the first time in October 2020, and have traveled out of state frequently since then, each time making sure to do so “within 48 hours before the date he or she intends to leave this state.”

Having gained some experience with traveling while registered I offer you the following advice:

Always notify your local law enforcement of your intention to travel and provide as much detail as possible about your travel plans. In particular, it helps to have at least one specific destination for your trip. Your local law enforcement is expecting you to have a destination. You probably do have at least one destination, and if it’s not a friend or relative’s home you probably had to make some kind of reservation ahead of time. Either way you know at least one address where you’ll be, so give it to the staff person behind the glass. They will feel more comfortable with this even if your plans include extended time to get to and return from the specific destination(s), during which you’ll be enjoying yourself.

I have found that if I give a general description of your travel, like some of the states you’ll be passing through, the staff person will happily enter that onto whatever form their filling out as “additional notes.” This may actually help you in case you get pulled over someplace because when the sheriff’s deputy calls your home state it’s all right there in the computer.

Recently I established a summer home in Iowa. Unlike Florida and many other states, Iowa’s registry law explicitly, but clumsily, addresses out-of-state travel. It says:

“[A] sex offender, within five business days of a change, shall also appear in person to notify the sheriff of the county of principal residence [i.e. the principle residence in Iowa], of any location in which the offender is staying when away from the principal residence of the offender for more than five days, by identifying the location and the period of time the offender is staying in such location.” 692A.105 IS.

While I was at my new Iowa sheriff’s department registering, getting photographed, fingerprinted and providing a DNA sample, I took the opportunity to ask how travel was going to work in my new state. I pointed out that although I can always provide a destination when traveling, there is no way I’ll be able provide locations and addresses ahead of time for every campground or motel room I might be staying at along the way.

The lady behind the bullet-proof glass stated that their policy for this type of travel is that I will need to keep a travel log for each trip, which I will need to turn in upon my return. This just shows how local sheriff’s departments come up with some policy to deal with these situations. As you know from reading elsewhere on this blog, I recommend you always keep a travel log as well as all receipts just in case you need to prove your whereabouts, so this sheriff’s department requirement, while ridiculous, turns out not to be a problem for me or anyone following my recommendations.

Friday, June 12, 2026

COMMENTARY

“THE WORST OF THE WORST” ALWAYS MEANS EVERYBODY

The straight line from America’s registry system to ICE detention centers

Is it just me? Does anybody else see the direct connection between our experience as people on America’s offender registries, and our nation’s latest boogeymen, immigrants? Let me get this straight: The vast majority of those being swept up off our streets and warehoused in the most disgusting concentration camps America has ever seen have committed no crime, not even a speeding ticket. Many are arrested when they show up for appointments meant to straighten out their immigration paperwork. Many more have been arrested even though they have Green Cards or other established protected status. Some aren’t even immigrants.

Gee whiz, gang, I sure hope all this sounds familiar, because it’s exactly the kind of viscous campaign the police have been carrying out against us for decades.

We shake our heads and say, How can this even happen in America?

To answer this question we need to talk about “The Worst of the Worst,” because that’s where it always starts. It’s where it started for us, and it’s where it started with immigrants. “We’re only doing what Americans rightly demand – we’re going after the Worst of the Worst.” Americans all nod their heads and say “Oh yes, that’s what we want!” And then the police, or ICE agents or whoever, use that mandate to go arrest everybody.

We shake our heads again and say, How can this even happen in America? Here’s how:

The original premise sounds good – among society there is a group that most consider to be “Bad People.” Us. Immigrants. Gays. Non-Christians. Good citizens are concerned and afraid. Demagogs step in and say, “Your concerns and fears are justified. We will respond to your fears by going after the Worst of the Worst of these Bad People.”

But of course that’s not enough, because now you have created three groups – the Bad People, the Worst People, and the Worst of the Worst People. Once you do that, Americans will rightly ask, “Hey wait! Why are you only going after the Worst of the Worst? We also fear the Worst People, and even the Bad People. You have to go after them too!” Mission creep.

Then there’s the failure to define who the Bad People really are, which means you can’t possibly know who the Worst are, or the Worst of the Worst. That’s how you get CP cases as Tier 3 in California’s so-called “tiered registry” (and several other states).

Are so-called “violent” SO’s the Worst of the Worst, where so-called “hands on” SO’s are the Worst and all other SO’s the Bad People …? Or are ALL SO’s the Worst of the Worst, where other offenders are the Worst, and Democrats are the Bad People …? (Remember, Q Anon says the Democratic Party is a nest of pedophiles, AND that they love illegal immigrants).

More mission creep. Pretty soon the police are engaged in registry sweeps to scoop up otherwise law abiding PFR’s, ICE is sending otherwise law abiding immigrants to concentration camps, and Donald Trump is continuing his campaign of retribution against his enemies list. Welcome to America.

But there is one more issue to address – the difference between America’s reaction to ICE detention sweeps against law abiding immigrants vs. police registry sweeps against otherwise law abiding registrants. It seems that many Americans are, after all, able to differentiate and say about law abiding immigrants, “Wait a minute – not only aren’t these folks the ‘Worst of the Worst,’ they’re not even the Bad People!”

Sadly, nearly all Americans seem unable to reach a similar conclusion about otherwise law abiding registrants. That’s because nearly all Americans have been conditioned from an early age to believe that every PFR is a determined reoffender hiding behind the nearest bush waiting to strike.

What, if anything, can we do to force Americans to see us differently? I’m not sure, but simply appealing to statistical studies and reason isn’t going to work. We see this in the battle against inhuman treatment of immigrants – every study shows that immigrants are in fact more law abiding and pay higher taxes than other Americans, yet none of that means anything to xenophobes.

What, if anything, can we do to force Americans to see us differently? I’m not sure.

Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler

Friday, June 12, 2026

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