(a) Lifetime registration is required for a sex offender who:

(1) Was found to have committed an aggravated sex offense;

(2) Was determined by the court to be or assessed as a Level 4 sexually dangerous person;

(3) Has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or been found guilty of a second or subsequent sex offense under a separate case number, not multiple counts on the same charge; or

(4) Was convicted of rape by forcible compulsion, § 5-14-103(a)(1), or other substantially similar offense in another jurisdiction.

(b) (1) (A) (i) Any other sex offender required to register under this subchapter may apply for an order terminating the obligation to register to the sentencing court fifteen (15) years after release from incarceration or other institution or fifteen (15) years after having been placed on probation or any other form of community supervision by the court.

(ii) A sex offender sentenced in another state but permanently residing in Arkansas may apply for an order terminating the obligation to register to the court of the county in which the sex offender resides.

(B)

(i) The court shall hold a hearing on the application at which the applicant and any interested persons may present witnesses and other evidence.

(ii) No less than twenty (20) days before the date of the hearing on the application, a copy of the application for termination of the obligation to register shall be served on:

(a) The prosecutor of the county in which the adjudication of guilt triggering registration was obtained if the sex offender was convicted in this state; or

(b) The prosecutor of the county where a sex offender resides if the sex offender was convicted in another state.

(iii) A copy also shall be served to the Arkansas Sex Offender Registry in the Arkansas Crime Information Center and to Community Notification Assessment at least twenty (20) days before the hearing.

(2) The court shall grant an order terminating the obligation to register upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(A) The applicant, for a period of fifteen (15) years after the applicant was released from prison or other institution, placed on parole, supervised release, or probation has not been adjudicated guilty of a sex offense; and

(B) The applicant is not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others.

(3)

(A) A sex offender required to register as a result of a conviction for permitting the physical abuse of a minor under § 5-27-221 may apply for termination of the obligation to register at any time after July 22, 2015.

(B) The court shall grant an order under this subdivision (b)(3) terminating the obligation to register upon proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the facts underlying the offense for which the sex offender is required to register no longer support a requirement to register.

(c) If a court denies a petition to terminate the obligation to register under this section, the sex offender may not file a new petition to terminate the obligation to register under this section before one (1) year from the date the order denying the previous petition was filed.

(d) The center shall remove a sex offender from the registry upon receipt by the center of adequate proof that the sex offender has died.