What is the Megan's Law notice in a California home sale contract?

You’re reading a California home sale contract and come across a notice about a registered sex offender database. What is that paragraph doing in the agreement, and does it tell you anything about the property?

The Megan’s Law notice tells you that a public statewide database exists. Civil Code 2079.10a requires the notice in covered residential sale contracts. It is not a statement about a specific property, and the section does not require the seller or broker to search the database for you.

The distinction matters when you’re sorting through contract language and disclosures. Start with what the notice actually says.

What is the Megan’s Law notice?

The Megan’s Law notice is contract language that directs buyers to a public database maintained by the California Department of Justice.

Civil Code 2079.10a supplies the requirement and the wording. The notice refers to Penal Code Section 290.46 and gives the database website, www.meganslaw.ca.gov. Under subdivision (b), the information in the notice is deemed adequate to inform a buyer about the existence of a statewide database of the locations of registered sex offenders and information from that database regarding those locations.

Read it as a notice about an available public resource. The paragraph does not say that anyone has conducted a search in connection with your purchase.

It also makes no claim about the home you’re buying. Finding this language in a contract means you’re reading a notice required for covered transactions; the language itself provides no property-specific finding.

Which sale contracts must contain it?

The requirement covers contracts for the sale of residential real property with one to four dwelling units entered into on or after July 1, 1999.

Civil Code 2079.10a(a) also sets a minimum type size. The notice must appear in at least 8-point type. Both the requirement to include it and the minimum size come directly from the statute.

For a sale contract, keep these details together: the residential property has one to four dwelling units, the contract falls within the stated dates, and the required notice belongs in the contract.

The section also covers certain leases and rental agreements. For your home sale paperwork, though, the relevant rule is the one governing the sale contract. If you need help determining how it applies to a particular agreement, ask your agent or an attorney.

What does the current notice say?

For contracts entered into by the parties on or after April 1, 2006, the statute specifies the following notice:

Notice: Pursuant to Section 290.46 of the Penal Code, information about specified registered sex offenders is made available to the public via an Internet Web site maintained by the Department of Justice at www.meganslaw.ca.gov. Depending on an offender’s criminal history, this information will include either the address at which the offender resides or the community of residence and ZIP Code in which the offender resides.

Those are the words to focus on when reading the paragraph. The notice identifies the Department of Justice, names the website, and describes the location information in the terms quoted above.

It does not explain search procedures or website features. Nor does the current notice give an update schedule. Civil Code 2079.10a does not establish whether the database is complete or current; those points are uncertain from this section alone.

Avoid filling those gaps with assumptions. The notice has a defined scope, and its wording is the starting point for understanding it.

Does the seller or broker have to search?

Civil Code 2079.10a does not require the seller or broker to search the database or report search results to you.

Subdivision (b) addresses what happens after delivery. Subject to subdivision (c), once the notice has been delivered, the seller or broker is not required to provide information beyond the notice regarding proximity.

That is a specific rule about additional proximity information. It is not a statement that a search has already happened, and delivery of the notice should not be read as a report of search results.

For a buyer, the practical distinction is between receiving the required paragraph and receiving information from a database search. The statute requires the former. It does not require the latter.

For a seller, the same distinction helps keep the obligation clear. Including and delivering the notice is the requirement described here. Questions about a separate disclosure obligation belong under the other applicable duties preserved by subdivision (c).

Does it replace other seller disclosures?

No, the notice does not replace or change existing disclosure duties under other statutes or decisional law.

Subdivision (c) expressly preserves those duties. It includes duties under other statutes and the seller and broker duties under Article 1.5 of the Civil Code, beginning with Section 1102.

This qualification belongs alongside the delivery rule. Reading subdivision (b) alone would leave out the statute’s express statement that other duties remain in place.

If you’re reviewing the broader disclosure paperwork, the California seller disclosure guide provides a related place to continue. Keep the question about this notice precise: what does Section 2079.10a require, and is there a separate duty that needs attention?

This is general information and not legal advice.

For a question about how another disclosure duty applies to your transaction, ask your agent or an attorney. The Megan’s Law paragraph alone does not answer every disclosure question in a sale.

How should you review the paragraph in your paperwork?

Review the paragraph against the statutory wording, the contract date, and the minimum type size.

Begin with the agreement you’re actually reading. For a contract entered into on or after April 1, 2006, the notice quoted above is the version specified by Section 2079.10a. If you cannot identify the notice in your paperwork, ask your agent or an attorney to point it out.

Its location in a particular purchase form is a separate question from what the statute requires. Ask about that form directly instead of assuming the paragraph appears in a particular place.

You can also keep a separate question for each document you receive. If HOA documents are part of your review, the California HOA disclosure guide addresses that set of paperwork. For an NHD report, see the guide to NHD reports.

A useful question stays concrete: “Where is the required notice in this agreement?” That lets you confirm the language without treating the paragraph as a property report.

Does the contract date change the wording?

Yes, Section 2079.10a specifies different notice versions for earlier contract periods.

The requirement began with contracts entered into on or after July 1, 1999. An earlier version applied from that date to before September 1, 2005. Either version applied for contracts entered into from September 1, 2005, to before April 1, 2006.

For contracts entered into on or after April 1, 2006, use the wording quoted above. The date of the agreement matters when reviewing an older contract, so don’t assume every historical version should match today’s wording.

The statute was also amended by Stats. 2018, Chapter 907, known as AB 1289, effective January 1, 2019. That amendment date and the contract dates stated in the notice provisions are separate details. If you’re trying to interpret archived paperwork, ask an attorney which provision applies.

The short version

The Megan’s Law notice tells you about a public statewide database; it does not make a claim about the property you’re buying or selling.

Civil Code 2079.10a requires the notice in covered residential sale contracts and sets an 8-point minimum type size. After delivery, the seller or broker need not provide additional proximity information under this section, subject to the other duties preserved by subdivision (c).

Read the notice for what it says. If a question concerns another disclosure obligation, ask your agent or an attorney about that obligation directly.

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