Are Criminal Records Public in Arizona? Sealing Your Past

Yes. Most criminal records in Arizona are public by default. Court case files, convictions, and most arrest records are open to anyone who knows where to look. Employers, landlords, and background check companies pull them each day. If you have an old case, that record speaks for you until you take a legal step to seal it. Arizona’s sealing law, A.R.S. § 13-911, gives most people a path to do that. This post explains what the public sees, who sees it, and how a sealing order changes the answer.

An old case has a way of showing up at the worst moment. A job offer stalls after the background check. A rental application goes quiet. You did what the judge ordered years ago, and the record still speaks louder than anything you have done since. We hear this each week. We file sealing applications in courts across Arizona each day, and AZ Record Removal is owned and powered by Future First Criminal Law.

If you are ready to find out what your record shows and what we do about it, hire AZ Record Removal today.

Which Arizona criminal records are public?

Arizona keeps criminal records in four places. Each one answers the public question a little differently.

Court records are the most open. The Arizona Judicial Branch runs a free Public Access to Court Information site covering 177 of Arizona’s 184 courts. Maricopa County and Pima County superior courts run their own searches. Type a name and you see the charges, the plea, the sentence, the hearing dates, and whether the case ended in a conviction or a dismissal. Felony and misdemeanor cases both appear.

Arrest records live with the police agency. A police report and a booking record exist whether or not the prosecutor ever filed a charge. Arizona’s public records law treats most of these as public, with victim and witness details redacted. Mugshot websites copy booking photos from these feeds, which is why an arrest with no charge still shows up online years later.

Your state criminal history sits with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. DPS collects fingerprints and dispositions from each arrest and each court in Arizona. This file is not open to the public. You see your own copy by submitting fingerprints. Licensing boards, schools, and employers who require a fingerprint clearance card see it under rules the law sets for them.

Private background check companies make up the fourth place. They buy or copy court data, store it, and sell it to employers and landlords. Their copy of your record does not update itself when the court changes something. That gap matters later in this post.

Are felonies and misdemeanors both public record?

Both are public. Arizona does not hide a case because the charge was minor. A class 1 misdemeanor and a class 2 felony appear in the same court search and on the same background check. The class of the offense matters for how long you wait to seal the record, not for whether the public sees it today.

DUI is the example people ask about most. A first DUI under A.R.S. § 28-1381 is a class 1 misdemeanor, and the court record is public like any other misdemeanor. An aggravated DUI under A.R.S. § 28-1383 is a class 4 or class 6 felony and is public in the same way. The MVD driving record is a separate file with its own access rules, so a DUI reaches an employer two ways.

Does Arizona have a seven-year rule?

No. Arizona has no law that removes a criminal record after seven years. The seven-year idea comes from the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which governs private background check companies, not the courts. Under that law, an arrest that did not end in a conviction drops off most consumer reports after seven years. A conviction never drops off. The court record itself is untouched by either rule. Time alone clears nothing in Arizona. A sealing order does.

How does sealing a record work under A.R.S. § 13-911?

Arizona had no general sealing law until January 1, 2023. The legislature rewrote the law in 2024, and the version in force today took effect September 13, 2024. Our complete guide to sealing criminal records in Arizona walks through each step. Here is the short version.

You qualify to apply if one of three things happened. You were arrested and no charge was filed. You were charged and the case was dismissed or ended in a not guilty verdict. Or you were convicted and finished each term of your sentence.

There is no waiting period on a dismissal, a not guilty verdict, an arrest that never became a charge, or a conviction the judge vacated. You file as soon as the case is closed. If your case was dismissed, read can dismissed charges be sealed in Arizona for the specifics.

A conviction carries a waiting period based on the class of the offense:

• 10 years for a class 2 or class 3 felony.
• 5 years for a class 4, 5 or 6 felony.
• 3 years for a class 1 misdemeanor.
• 2 years for a class 2 or class 3 misdemeanor.

The clock starts when you finish the nonmonetary terms of your sentence and the judge discharges you. Each fine, fee, and dollar of restitution must be paid before you file. If you still owe the court money, you are not eligible yet.

You file the application in the court where the case was heard. The clerk sends a copy to the prosecutor, who has the right to object and request a hearing. The judge may not rule until 60 calendar days after the application is filed unless the prosecutor and the victim both say they do not object. The judge grants the application when sealing serves your best interests and public safety. If the judge denies it, you are barred from filing again for three years.

What does a sealed record hide, and what stays visible?

A sealing order removes the public court record. The clerk pulls the case from the public access site. DPS marks the record sealed and tells state and federal law enforcement. The police agency and the prosecutor flag their files. Background check companies that pull fresh court data no longer find the case.

You then have a legal right to say you were never arrested for, charged with, or convicted of that offense. That right covers job, housing, financial aid, and loan applications. The law lists exceptions: fingerprint clearance card applications, law enforcement and court jobs, jobs working with children or vulnerable adults where the case involved abuse, driving jobs where the case was a DUI, and any disclosure a state or federal law requires.

Sealing does not reach outside the court system. A Google result, a news story, or a mugshot website keeps whatever it already copied. A background check company that cached your case years ago keeps its stale copy until you dispute it. The sealing order gives you the paper to force those corrections. It does not make them for you.

Which offenses are not eligible for sealing?

The law excludes a short list. A dangerous offense. A dangerous crime against children. A serious offense or a violent or aggravated felony as the law defines those terms. Any offense with the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon as an element, or the knowing infliction of serious physical injury. Sex trafficking. And most felony sex offenses. If your case falls in one of these groups, the court record stays public no matter how much time has passed. A set aside is still worth a look for some of these cases.

How is a set aside different from sealing?

A set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 was the only tool Arizona offered before 2023. When the judge grants a set aside, the judgment of guilt is set aside and the charge is dismissed. The record stays public. Anyone who pulls the case sees the conviction and, next to it, the set aside order. Many people still want one because it shows the judge found they completed their sentence and earned the dismissal. There is no clerk filing fee on a set aside application.

Set aside and sealing are separate applications with separate standards. Many of our clients file both. The set aside restores rights and reframes the conviction. The seal removes the public record. One does not replace the other.

Arizona has no general expungement. The one exception is marijuana. A.R.S. § 36-2862 lets you petition to expunge an arrest, charge, or conviction for possessing two and one-half ounces or less of marijuana, growing six or fewer plants at home, or possessing paraphernalia. If you searched for expungement and your case was anything else, sealing is the tool you want.

Why hire a sealing lawyer instead of filing alone?

The forms look simple. The rules are not. You file in the right court for each case, prove the waiting period ran, show a zero balance with the clerk, and give the prosecutor proper notice. One miss and the judge dismisses the application without a hearing. A denial locks you out for three years. We read your DPS history before we file, so we know what the prosecutor will see. When the prosecutor objects, we argue the application in front of the judge. Our clients have left 250+ five-star Google reviews. Call 602-900-6240 to find out whether your case qualifies today.

Frequently asked questions

How can I see if someone is a felon in AZ?

Search the Arizona Judicial Branch Public Access to Court Information site by name, then check the Maricopa County or Pima County superior court search if the case happened there. Felonies are filed in superior court. Read the disposition line, not the charge line. A felony charge that ended in a dismissal or a plea to a misdemeanor is not a felony conviction. Our post on how to check if someone has a felony record in Arizona walks through each search step by step.

Are arrest records public in Arizona?

Yes. The police report and booking record exist from the moment of arrest, and Arizona’s public records law treats most of them as public with victim details redacted. If the prosecutor never files a charge, no court record exists, but the police record and any mugshot site copy remain. A.R.S. § 13-911 lets you apply to seal an arrest that never became a charge, with no waiting period.

Are DUIs public record?

Yes. A DUI case appears in the public court record like any other misdemeanor or felony, and the conviction also appears on your MVD driving record. A first offense DUI under A.R.S. § 28-1381 is a class 1 misdemeanor, so you wait three years after discharge to apply for sealing. Even after a seal, you must still disclose the DUI when you apply for a job driving a commercial or private vehicle, boat, or airplane.

Who has access to sealed court records?

You and your lawyer. The victim, if the victim exercised victims’ rights in the case. Law enforcement, prosecutors, probation departments, courts, the Department of Child Safety, the Department of Juvenile Corrections, the Department of Corrections, and the clerk, each for official duties or internal hiring. The prosecutor also keeps the right to use a sealed conviction as a prior in a later case. Employers, landlords, and background check companies are not on the list.

Are misdemeanors public record?

Yes. A misdemeanor conviction from a city court or a county precinct court feeds the same statewide public access site as a felony. The difference is the sealing wait. A class 1 misdemeanor is eligible three years after discharge. A class 2 or class 3 misdemeanor is eligible after two years. A petty offense is eligible right away.

Are police reports public record in Arizona?

Mostly yes. Arizona’s public records law presumes a police report is open, and agencies release reports on request with victim, witness, and juvenile information redacted. A report tied to an open investigation is often withheld until the case closes. After a sealing order, the arresting agency must mark the report sealed and release it only to the agencies the law names.

Your record is public today. It does not have to stay that way. We check your eligibility, pull your DPS history, and file the application in the right court. Hire AZ Record Removal today or call 602-900-6240.