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.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Montana

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

Mont. Code Ann. 2021 §§46-23-504 through 46-23-520.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Three business days for initial registration and updates; transients shall register within 3 business days of entering state.

Visitors: Must register within 3 business days of entering the state for a temporary residence of 10 days or more, or for an aggregate period of 30 days in calendar year. §§46-23-504, 46-23-505.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None

Duration & updates:

Life. Petition to remove – T1 - 10 yrs; T2 – 25 yrs.

Updates by mail: T1 – annual; T2 – 6 months; T3 –90 days; Transients in person- 30 days. §§46-23-504, 56-23-506.

Most recent visit - August 2026

at the , Bozeman MT

For registered visitors Montana is a relative safe haven among Northwestern states. While it’s true that anyone moving to this state must register within three business days, if you are only visiting you get nine consecutive days to visit (because the tenth day triggers your obligation to register) and return visits are permitted up to 30 days aggregate per calendar year. Furthermore, there are no residency or presence restrictions to be concerned about, at least at the state level.

All this means that Montana is your best staging point for a visit to Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming, where most of Yellowstone is located, allows you only two consecutive business days in-state (because the third day triggers). So stage yourself in nearby Montana on a Thursday, enter Yellowstone early on Friday (in both states any partial day in-state is going to count toward your total, so make the most of those first and last partial days), enjoy America’s most famous national park over the weekend, and return to Montana late on Monday.

I visited Montana twice in 2025, first in July when I visited Yellowstone over a weekend as described above. See my Yellowstone/Wyoming blog entry. The second time was in early September, when I camped at Ft. Peck Recreation area. On that trip I also visited the Nakota/Dakota Nation (Ft. Peck reservation). See my Lakota Nations blog entry.

In August 2026 I spent five days, including two partial days, traveling through Montana as part of my 2026 Pacific Northwest road trip. Partial Day 1 I entered Montana from Wyoming on I-90 and easily found a campsite – with no reservation on a Wednesday night – at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, which is within the Crow Nation. See Crow Nation under “Montana’s Native Nations” below.

Day 2 I traveled north on US 87 and US 191, passing through the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. This enormous NWR also includes many recreation opportunities. In 2025 I had camped at Ft. Peck Recreation area, over 100 miles to the east, while visiting the Nakota/Dakota Nation (Ft. Peck reservation). To the west, Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is also part of this complex.

and Phillips County Museum

That day I also visited Great Plains Dinosaur Museum and Phillips County Museum (which also has dinosaurs). They are next door to each other in Malta, MT. That night I found a motel in Harlem, the anglo town just outside Fort Belknap Aaniih & Nakota Nation, which I visited the next morning. See my Lakota Nations blog entry.

Day 3 I continued west on US 2 with my only aim being my reserved campsite at Red Eagle Campground in the Blackfeet Nation. See Blackfeet Nation under “Montana’s Native Nations” below. Day 4 was Glacier National Park.

Mountains shrouded in clouds at Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park & World Heritage Site is one of the most spectacular places in North America, and most of it is in Montana. A smaller part is in Alberta.

Siyeh Creek, Glacier National Park

However, as you can see in its name, it’s an International Peace Park, which I visited on Day 4 in Montana. In addition to having a great day in a national park I researched the Canada-flirting opportunities available to visitors. I will be reporting on all that in my next blog post as part of my Flirting With Canada Series. That evening I had a reserved campsite in Kootenai National Forest, west of Glacier

Partial Day 5 I was on my way to Washington State, but on my way I stopped to have a look at a couple of small towns:

Small town notes

Eureka – A little better than average. A lot of mobile homes, but well-maintained.

Libby – I have to say, the Eagle at their main intersection is impressive (see photo). However, what was originally supposed to be a grand promenade through the neighborhood is neither grand nor promenady. You know what I’m talking about, Libby.

Roundup – Prosperous anglo agricultural town named after a dangerous chemical.

Chester – Another prosperous anglo agricultural town, this time named after fast food chicken franchise.

Montana's Native Nations

Crow Nation

I have visited the Crow Nation twice, most recently in August 2026. I entered Montana from Wyoming on I-90 and easily found a campsite – with no reservation on a Wednesday night – at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, which is within the Crow Nation. Bighorn Canyon NRA is part of the Yellowtail Dam Hydroelectric Project. I hope they got a favorable deal on electricity in return for drowning the Bighorn Canyon.

The little dam town of Fort Smith is a prim and proper anglo town. The following morning I took a look around. As usual, the agricultural economy is similar to it’s surroundings, which in this case appears to be adequate. The principle tribal town is Crow Agency. It is a picture of reservation poverty. So is Lodge Grass.

Native memorial at Little Big Horn National Monument, Crow Reservation

The Crow Nation does have a couple of things going for it. Ready access to electric power is one. I-90 going right through their nation is another. Just east of I-90 on US 212, the Crow Nation is the home of , which I visited in 2023. This monument was established not by the Crow, but by the American government. Therefore most of the original monuments and displays were pretty tone deaf to any native point of view.

Fortunately most of that cowboys & indians mentality has been removed over time. There is a memorial honoring the tribal warriors who fought and died here (and celebrating the victory).

Blackfeet Nation

August 2026 was my second time visiting the Blackfeet Nation, and my second time staying at Red Eagle Campground, which is in the Blackfeet Nation on SR 49 about 45 minutes from the east entrance to Glacier National Park. Also, the second time I had to settle for that crappy little drive thru restaurant in Browning because there are so few food options there.

Museum of the Plains Indian at Blackfeet Nation

Browning is the Tribal Headquarters town and has all the facilities and symbolism you would expect there. It also has the Museum of the Plains Indian and I would have liked to have seen that but unfortunately it was already closed for the night. Browning is also another case of reservation poverty. On the other hand, as usual, the ranchland economy of this large native nation appears in good shape.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Flathead

In 2023 I traveled through the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Flathead Nation. Being curious, I stopped in the little tribal town of Hot Springs to see if there was really a hot spring there, which there is but unfortunately it was long ago privatized and incorporated into what’s by now a fleabag hotel.

National Bison Range, Flathead Nation

The principle town of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Flathead Nation is Polson, but it’s not really a tribal town. It’s really an anglo enclave town with all manner of commercial chains, hotels, fast food and recreation infrastructure geared around Flathead Lake, which despite its name has nothing to do with the Flathead Nation. It’s a lake created by a hydro-electric dam.

My last stop at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Flathead Nation was the National Bison Range, which redeemed every other disappointment of the day. It’s great! It was unclear which “nation” is referred to in the name, but I do hope it’s the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation and not the United States.

Nakota/Dakota Nation (Ft. Peck reservation) and Fort Belknap Aaniih & Nakota Nation

See my Lakota Nations blog entry.

Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler

Thursday, September 3, 2026

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