How Much Probation Must You Finish Before Applying in Arizona?

You are on probation, you have done everything asked of you, and the end date still sits a year or more away. Every month on probation is another month of check-ins, fees, travel permission, and a case that stays open on your record. You want to know how soon you are allowed to ask the judge to end it.

We file requests to end probation early in courts across Arizona, and AZ Record Removal is owned and powered by Future First Criminal Law. Here is how the timing works.

How much of your probation must you finish before you apply?

The law sets no minimum. As of 2026, A.R.S. § 13-901 lets a judge end probation early at any point, and nothing in the text names a percentage, a month count, or a halfway mark. The half-the-term figure you have heard comes from practice. When you file, the judge asks your probation officer for a recommendation, and most Arizona probation departments will not recommend early termination until you have served around half the term, paid every dollar, and finished every class. Judges lean on that recommendation, and over the years half became the unwritten benchmark.

The benchmark bends. Arizona’s Adult Probation Services division sets standards for the fifteen county departments, but the halfway practice is local and unposted. Some officers want two thirds served. Some judges on DUI calendars will not look at a request until the interlock period ends. Our page on how to terminate probation early in Arizona covers the filing itself. This post covers when to file it.

What does A.R.S. § 13-901 say about ending probation early?

Subsection G of A.R.S. § 13-901 holds the whole rule, and it is short. The judge, on the judge’s own initiative or on your application, after notice to the prosecutor and to the victim if the victim asks, is allowed to end probation and discharge you earlier than the date first set when two things are true. The ends of justice are served, and your conduct on probation warrants it.

Neither test says a word about time served. Conduct on probation is where time enters, since a judge needs enough months of your behavior to weigh it. The same subsection adds one hard bar. No early termination for anyone convicted on or after January 1, 2027 of a dangerous crime against children. Every other probationer in Arizona is eligible to ask.

Do not confuse this with A.R.S. § 13-901.01, the Prop 200 drug sentencing law. It is a different rule and not the early termination section.

How long is probation in Arizona to begin with?

Before you find the halfway point, you need the full term. A.R.S. § 13-902 sets the maximum by class, and your sentencing minute entry shows what the judge gave you, which is often less than the maximum.

Offense class	Maximum probation under A.R.S. § 13-902	Halfway point
Class 2 felony	7 years	3 years, 6 months
Class 3 felony	5 years	2 years, 6 months
Class 4 felony	4 years	2 years
Class 5 or 6 felony	3 years	18 months
Class 1 misdemeanor	3 years	18 months
Class 2 misdemeanor	2 years	12 months
Class 3 misdemeanor	1 year	6 months

If the judge gave you two years on a class 6 felony instead of the three-year maximum, your halfway point is one year, not eighteen months. Intensive probation follows the same limits. Read the full text of A.R.S. § 13-902 to check the numbers against your minute entry.

Does the halfway point work differently for a DUI?

Yes, because DUI probation runs longer and carries conditions tied to the calendar. A.R.S. § 13-902 allows up to five years of probation for a DUI under A.R.S. § 28-1381 or A.R.S. § 28-1382, and up to ten years for an aggravated DUI under A.R.S. § 28-1383. Half of five years is thirty months, longer than the full term on most other misdemeanors.

Judges on DUI cases also want the pieces only time delivers. The interlock period has to be finished. The screening and classes have to be complete. If a judge gave you three years of probation on a misdemeanor DUI with a twelve-month interlock, filing at month eighteen with the interlock done and everything paid is a realistic request. Filing at month eight with the interlock still on your car gives the judge no reason to grant it. Our breakdown of how a DUI fits Arizona record relief covers what comes after probation ends.

Does your time count if you had a violation?

Time counts, but a violation resets the clock in the judge’s mind. If you had a probation violation eighteen months ago, got reinstated, and have been clean since, judges tend to measure your conduct from the reinstatement date, not the original sentencing date. A.R.S. § 13-901 does not say that. It is how the conduct test in subsection G gets applied, since the judge weighs the record in front of them.

One missed appointment your officer handled without a hearing is a different thing from a formal violation with a disposition hearing. The first rarely hurts a request. The second usually means waiting until you have a long stretch of clean reports behind you, often a year or more. We pull every client’s probation file and read the officer’s reports before we say whether to wait.

Do you have to pay everything off before you apply?

Pay it first. Arizona judges rarely end probation while restitution is owed, and most will not do it with unpaid fines or fees either. A.R.S. § 13-902 lets the judge extend probation past the normal maximum when restitution is still unpaid, by up to five years on a felony and up to two years on a misdemeanor. A judge who holds the power to lengthen probation over unpaid restitution is not going to shorten it with that balance open.

Fines and fees are a softer wall. Some judges will end probation and convert the balance to a civil judgment. Many will not, and the prosecutor will point to the balance as a reason to object. If paying it is within reach, pay it before filing. If it is not, say so in the application and attach the payment history, since steady monthly payments read differently from a balance nobody touched.

Does earned time credit change the math?

For some felony probationers, yes. Arizona has an earned time credit rule that trims days off a felony probation term for each month of full compliance, as long as you are current on restitution and making progress on your case plan. It does not cover every felony class, it does not cover misdemeanor-only probation, and it leaves out anyone required to register as a sex offender. A violation wipes the credits.

The credit does not land on its own. The probation department tracks it and the judge signs off before the term changes, so ask your officer where you stand. Earned credit and early termination are also separate tools. Credit shortens the term by formula. Early termination asks the judge to end it now. If you qualify for credit, your halfway point moves closer, which makes the early termination request stronger.

Are you allowed to apply before the halfway point?

Nothing stops you. A.R.S. § 13-901 sets no floor, and the clerk will accept the filing at month three. Whether you should file is a different question. An early filing the judge denies stays in the file. When you file again at month twenty, the judge sees the first denial and asks what changed.

Some cases call for filing early. A job offer in another state. A military enlistment with a hard deadline. A medical condition that makes reporting a hardship. In those cases the application has to carry a reason the judge is able to act on, with documents attached, and your officer’s written support matters more than at any other point. Judges do grant early requests when the reason is concrete and the record is spotless. Without a reason like that, waiting for the halfway point costs you a few months and buys you a much stronger application.

How do you count your probation time?

Start with your sentencing minute entry. Under A.R.S. § 13-903, probation begins the day the judge imposes it unless the judge sets a different start date. Jail ordered as a condition of probation runs inside the probation term. Prison or jail served on a different conviction before probation starts does not count toward it, so probation on a split sentence begins when you are released. Time spent absconding pauses the clock.

Then find the expiration date. Your probation officer and the minute entry both have it. Divide the total months by two and add that to the start date. If you had an extension for unpaid restitution or a reinstatement after a violation, the expiration date moved, so use the current one. If you are on probation in more than one case, each case has its own term and its own judge, and each needs its own request. Our record search service pulls the case records and shows you what the court has on file, including the dates.

What happens to your other filings when probation ends early?

Discharge is the door every later filing walks through. On an undesignated class 6 felony, A.R.S. § 13-604 requires the judge to designate the offense a misdemeanor when you complete probation and are discharged, so we file the request to designate the felony to a misdemeanor with the early termination request and ask for both in one order.

A set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 opens up once you are discharged, so an early discharge moves that date up by the same amount of time it saves. The waiting period for sealing a record under A.R.S. § 13-911 runs from the day you complete your sentence and pay everything owed, so the day of discharge is the day the sealing clock starts. None of these follow from the discharge order on their own. Each is a separate filing, and each has to be granted by the judge.

Why should you choose AZ Record Removal?

Because Arizona record relief is the only work we do, and ending probation early is where many of our clients start. We are owned and powered by Future First Criminal Law. Our founder, Zachary Divelbiss, cleared his own six-conviction record before he built a firm around doing it for other people.

We pull your probation file and your court record before you pay a dollar, and we tell you whether the timing is right. We draft the application, gather the proof of finished classes and payments, and serve the prosecutor. We track the judge’s calendar and tell you the day a ruling comes in. The fee is flat at $1,700 for the early termination request, with no court fees on top, and the numbers sit on our pricing page. Our post on what it costs to get off probation early in Arizona breaks the fee down. We have 250+ five-star Google reviews.

What should you do next?

Find your probation start date and your expiration date, and count. If you are at or past the halfway point with everything paid and every class done, the time to file is now. If you are short of it, call anyway, because the months you spend building a clean record are months we spend getting your paperwork ready. Take the free eligibility quiz to see which filings your case qualifies for, or call 602-900-6240. Phones are answered around the clock, and consultations are scheduled during business hours. No judge is required to grant an early termination request. Putting a complete, well-timed request in front of the right judge is the part we control.

Once you have enough time served, read what Arizona judges look for before ending probation early so your application answers the questions the judge will ask.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a legal minimum amount of probation to serve before early termination in Arizona?

No. A.R.S. § 13-901 allows a judge to end probation early whenever the ends of justice are served and your conduct on probation warrants it, with no percentage or month count written into the law. The halfway benchmark most people hear about comes from how probation departments and judges handle requests in practice. It is a strong norm, not a rule.

Does the halfway point count from sentencing or from when you got out of jail?

From sentencing, in most cases. Under A.R.S. § 13-903, probation begins the day it is imposed unless the judge sets another date, and jail ordered as a condition of probation runs inside the term. If probation follows a prison sentence on a separate conviction, that custody does not count, and probation starts on release. Your minute entry and your probation officer both have the exact dates.

Should you ask to end probation early if you still owe fines?

Not until the balance is handled, in most cases. Judges rarely end probation with restitution owed, and A.R.S. § 13-902 lets a judge extend probation for unpaid restitution instead. Unpaid fines and fees draw an objection from the prosecutor. Pay the balance first when you are able, or show a steady payment history and ask the judge to convert the rest to a civil judgment.

What happens if the judge denies your request to end probation early?

Probation continues on its original schedule, and nothing else changes. There is no waiting period in the law before you file again, though most judges want to see something new, such as more time served, a paid balance, or a finished program. We read the denial, find the gap, and refile once that gap is closed.