By rssfeeds-admin 
The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) announced this week that it has filed a federal class-action lawsuit in the Southern District of West Virginia, claiming that the fee, which will be enforced starting in January 2026, is an “unconstitutional punitive fine rather than a legitimate administrative cost.”
The fee is $125 for anyone who is required to register as a sex offender in West Virginia and is expected to generate $800,000 for the state, according to a release from NARSOL. The lawsuit claims that because none of the revenue from the fee will be used costs related to the registry, it is a fine instead of a fee, and therefore, unconstitutional.
The lawsuit asks that the amendment to W.Va. Code § 15-12-2(o) be made unenforceable.
The WV Sex Offender Registry is a database of convicted offenders who are required to report their information to the public that is maintained by the West Virginia State Police. The registry is kept in the interest of public safety, but it does not limit an offender on where they can live. An offender who failed to register as a sex offender when they have been ordered to by a court faces a misdemeanor charge and up to a year in jail on the first offense and a felony and up to five years in prison for a repeat offense, according to West Virginia Code.
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