# US Dept. of Justice NSOPW App

> Official national sex offender registry search by location and name. (iPhone/iPad app by The Institute for Intergovernmental Research, Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/us-dept-of-justice-nsopw-app/id991873782 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [The Institute for Intergovernmental Research, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/920318464)
- Category: Reference
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 2,666 App Store ratings · 64 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 8.0 · 42 MB
- Released: 2016-02-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/us-dept-of-justice-nsopw-app/id991873782/reviews.md

## What is US Dept. of Justice NSOPW App?

This is the official U.S. Department of Justice national sex offender search app.  This app is funded through a grant from the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (“SMART”), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. SMART is responsible for The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), a public safety resource that provides the public with free access to sex offender data nationwide. This application is designed to provide additional access to NSOPW.
 
This app provides users with information about registered sex offenders that have residential, employment, or school addresses that are within a close proximity of the mobile device running the app.  Searches can be conducted nationally using a ¼ mile, ½ mile, or 1 mile radius or by offender name.  The initial search will be performed based upon the location of the mobile device, but searches can be run from other locations by tapping those locations on the map.  In the event that the registering jurisdiction (state, territory, Indian tribe, or District of Columbia) for the user’s area does not allow searching by geographic coordinates for registered sex offender addresses, a zip code search will be used to find matching offenders and the results can be viewed by tapping the status message at the top of the app.  NSOPW is actively working with all jurisdictions to allow searching by geographic coordinates and will modify the app searching capabilities as improvements become available.
 
Please be aware that when you tap the “More Information” button when viewing the details of a matching record you will be directed to the details about the particular registered sex offender on the registering jurisdiction’s public sex offender website.  These websites are outside of NSOPW’s control and may not be mobile device friendly.
 
The purpose of this app is solely to provide users with the ability to search for registered sex offender by location and name.  If you would like sexual abuse education and prevention information or have questions about sex offender registration in general please visit NSOPW at nsopw.gov.

## Key features

- Nationwide sex offender search
- Search by proximity (radius)
- Search by offender name
- Location-based search
- View offender details
- Links to jurisdiction websites

## Chart rankings

- #127 in Top Free · Reference (US App Store)

## What do users think of US Dept. of Justice NSOPW App?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 Useful app for finding sex offenders
- 🚀 Fast and accurate search results
- 🔒 Helps keep family safe
- 💡 Innovative concept

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 🔍 Limited search capabilities
- 📍 Lack of location-based mapping
- ❌ Doesn't work in certain jurisdictions
- 💰 Paid app with poor functionality

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Search results not loading or timing out
- Incorrect or missing offender information
- Compatibility issues on certain devices
- Errors when trying to access certain areas

**Most requested features**

- Improve search options (by name, city, zip code, etc.)
- Enhance mapping features to show offender locations
- Expand coverage to all states and jurisdictions
- Provide more detailed offender information
- Add option to set default search radius

## Recent user reviews (10 of 64)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/us-dept-of-justice-nsopw-app/id991873782/reviews.md

### 1/5 — dont bother

*2026-07-11, version 2.2.0*

it wont let me pick another mile radius to see other people in the area. not worth it

### 1/5 — Terrible

*2026-04-12, version 2.2.0*

No pictures of offenders load so you don’t know what the offender looks like ,  guess we gotta go walk up to everyone and ask their name

### 2/5 — Doesn’t work

*2026-03-18, version 2.2.0*

It glitches and crashes/times out

### 5/5 — Love It!

*2026-01-09, version 2.2.0*

Great App to use before you move

### 1/5 — .

*2025-09-21, version 2.2.0*

doesn’t show a picture. when u click on more info it’ll take you to megan’s law.com but it’ll say error and won’t show you the info.

### 2/5 — It won’t work for my area

*2025-08-06, version 2.2.0*

In de you can to search by zip code but a message saying “there are too many matching offenders for this search, please perform a name search instead” like what the heck does that mean there’s too many in the area to pinpoint???!! How’s that supposed to help.

### 1/5 — Jurisdiction offline

*2025-06-15, version 2.2.0*

Unable to search in other locations—please fix this. Thank you ✨

### 3/5 — Update?

*2025-01-10, version 2.2.0*

Hey, can you guys please update this app? It would be great if we could see the whole screen.

### 5/5 — Best money move ever

*2024-12-28*

Y’all hurting for bread there’s a dummy near you 😈

### 5/5 — It makes me and my family feel safe

*2024-10-21, version 2.2.0*

I love the app

## Frequently asked questions about US Dept. of Justice NSOPW App

### What does the US Dept. of Justice NSOPW App do?

This app is the official U.S. Department of Justice application for searching the national sex offender registry. It allows users to find information about registered sex offenders based on their proximity to a given location or by searching for a specific offender's name.

### How can I search for sex offenders using this app?

You can search for registered sex offenders by using your mobile device's current location with adjustable radius options (¼ mile, ½ mile, 1 mile). Alternatively, you can conduct a national search by offender name or by tapping on a different location on the map. If geographic coordinate searches are not supported by a jurisdiction, a zip code search will be performed.

### Is there a cost to use the US Dept. of Justice NSOPW App?

No, this application is completely free to use. It is funded through a grant from the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) within the U.S. Department of Justice.

### What information is available about offenders?

The app provides information about registered sex offenders that have residential, employment, or school addresses within a specified proximity. When you tap the 'More Information' button for a matching record, you will be directed to the specific registering jurisdiction's public sex offender website for more detailed information.

### What if I need information about sexual abuse prevention?

This app's purpose is solely to provide access to sex offender search data. For sexual abuse education and prevention information, or for general questions about sex offender registration, please visit the official NSOPW website at nsopw.gov.

## Version history (last 5 of 5)

### 2.2.0 — 2022-06-01

User interface improvements

### 2.1.3 — 2020-12-09

This release addresses an issue where the app would sometimes fail to launch.

### 2.1.2 — 2020-12-08

This version fixes a text rendering issue.

### 2.1.0 — 2020-12-06

Bug fixes and stability improvements

### 2.0.1 — 2020-02-03

Bug fixes and stability improvements

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-24.*