How Does the 10-Year Rule Work for Serious Offenses in Arizona?

You finished your sentence years ago, and you want to hunt again or keep a handgun at home. Someone told you a serious offense means a ten-year wait, and nobody explained what the ten years run from or whether a set aside gets around it. The rule itself is one sentence, and most of the confusion comes from reading it without the two definitions it leans on.

We file Arizona firearm rights applications every week, and record relief is the only work we do. AZ Record Removal is owned and powered by Future First Criminal Law.

What is the 10-year rule for serious offenses in Arizona?

The 10-year rule is one sentence in A.R.S. § 13-910. A person convicted of a serious offense is barred from filing for restoration of the right to possess or carry a firearm for ten years from the date of absolute discharge.

Three things follow from that wording. The wait is a bar on filing, not a wait for a ruling, so an application filed in year nine gets dismissed. The wait reaches firearm rights only, and voting, jury service and public office run on a different track with no ten-year wait. And the end of the ten years makes you eligible to file, nothing more, because A.R.S. § 13-910 leaves restoration in the discretion of the judicial officer. As of 2026, the law reads this way.

Which crimes count as a serious offense in Arizona?

Twelve crimes. The serious offense list sits in Arizona’s sentencing law, and A.R.S. § 13-910 borrows it word for word. A conviction for any of these starts the ten-year clock.

• First degree murder
• Second degree murder
• Manslaughter
• Aggravated assault resulting in serious physical injury, or involving the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument
• Sexual assault
• Any dangerous crime against children
• Arson of an occupied structure
• Armed robbery
• Burglary in the first degree
• Kidnapping
• Sexual conduct with a minor under fifteen
• Child sex trafficking

Notice what is missing. Drug sales, theft, fraud, forgery, aggravated DUI and misdemeanor domestic violence are not serious offenses. Those convictions carry no ten-year wait under A.R.S. § 13-910, and many of them restore firearm rights through a set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 the day you qualify. If you hold more than one conviction, read our guide on how many felonies still allow gun rights restoration.

When does the 10-year clock start?

On the date of your absolute discharge. Not the sentencing date, not the offense date, and not the day you walked out of prison. Absolute discharge is the day the last piece of your sentence ended and the judge or the Department of Corrections released you from all supervision.

That date moves with how you were sentenced. Prison followed by community supervision or parole means the clock starts when that supervision ended. Probation only means the discharge order that closed probation. Prison on one count followed by probation on another means the later of the two.

Unpaid fines and restitution do not stop the clock once you are discharged. A judge reading your application in year eleven sees an unpaid balance and has a ready reason to deny, so pay it down during the wait.

Does a set aside restore gun rights on a serious offense?

No. A set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 sets aside the judgment of guilt, dismisses the charge and releases you from the penalties and disabilities of the conviction. Subsection O then restores the right to possess a firearm, and the same subsection carves out anyone convicted of a serious offense. The judge who grants your set aside has no power to add firearm rights to that order on a serious offense, however long ago the case closed.

A set aside is still worth filing. It builds the record a judge reads later when you ask for firearm rights, and it changes how the conviction reads on a background check. Our page on setting aside an Arizona conviction covers who qualifies. One limit applies first. A.R.S. § 13-905 does not apply to a dangerous offense, to an offense that requires registration under A.R.S. § 13-3821, to an offense with a sexual motivation finding, or to a felony where the victim was under fifteen. Several serious offenses fall in those groups, and a set aside is unavailable for them.

Does the automatic first offender restoration apply to a serious offense?

Not for firearms. A.R.S. § 13-907 restores civil rights automatically after a first felony once you finish probation or receive absolute discharge and pay all victim restitution. Voting, jury service and public office come back with no application. Subsection C of the same section pulls firearm rights out of that automatic restoration for anyone convicted of a serious offense or a dangerous offense.

So a first offender with a manslaughter conviction gets voting rights back the day probation ends and still waits ten years before filing for firearm rights. People miss this because the discharge paperwork says civil rights are restored. That sentence is true, and it does not reach firearms. Our post on how civil rights and gun rights differ in Arizona walks through the split.

What is the difference between a serious offense and a dangerous offense?

A serious offense is a crime on the list above. A dangerous offense is any felony the judge sentenced as dangerous, which under A.R.S. § 13-105 means an offense involving the discharge, use or threatening exhibition of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury on another person.

The two labels overlap, and the difference decides everything. A serious offense carries a ten-year wait under A.R.S. § 13-910. A dangerous offense carries a bar with no end date under the same section. Armed robbery, aggravated assault with a weapon and first degree burglary are serious offenses that prosecutors usually charge as dangerous. Kidnapping, manslaughter and arson of an occupied structure are serious offenses that are often sentenced without a dangerous finding. If your judgment carries the dangerous label, the ten-year rule never comes into play.

How do you find out whether your conviction was sentenced as dangerous?

Read the judgment and sentencing order, not the charging paperwork. Only the sentencing order tells you what the judge entered. Look for the word dangerous or non-dangerous next to each count. Maricopa County orders often read “non-dangerous, non-repetitive” on a plea that dropped the dangerousness allegation, and that phrase is the one you want to see.

Plea agreements drop the dangerous allegation all the time. A prosecutor who charged aggravated assault as dangerous often agrees to a non-dangerous version in exchange for the guilty plea. That trade, made years ago, is what puts you on the ten-year track instead of a permanent bar. If you no longer have the paperwork, we pull it. Start with our page on finding your Arizona criminal record online, and we tell you what the order says before you pay us anything.

What happens after the ten years pass?

You become eligible to file, and the judge decides. A.R.S. § 13-910 puts restoration in the discretion of the judicial officer, with no list of factors and no presumption in your favor. The application goes to the superior court that sentenced you, the prosecutor receives a copy, and the prosecutor gets the chance to object.

A judge deciding a serious offense application wants to see three things. A decade with no new arrests. Every dollar of restitution paid. A reason for wanting the rights back that the judge finds ordinary, such as hunting, home protection or a job. We write the application around those three points, attach the proof, and answer the prosecutor when an objection comes in. Nothing requires the judge to grant it. Our page on restoring your firearm rights in Arizona explains how we build the filing.

Do out-of-state or federal serious offenses follow the same rule?

An out-of-state conviction follows it. A.R.S. § 13-910 applies the ten-year bar to any conviction from another state that would be a serious offense if committed in Arizona. A Texas aggravated robbery or a Nevada kidnapping gets measured against the Arizona list, and the clock runs from the absolute discharge there. Under A.R.S. § 13-908 you file in the superior court of the Arizona county where you live now.

A federal conviction is different. An Arizona judge has no power to lift a firearm bar created by a federal court. Federal firearms law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), bars a felon from possessing a gun, and the federal definition of a conviction looks to the jurisdiction that convicted you. A federal felony needs federal relief. Even on an Arizona conviction, some federal limits remain after a judge restores your rights, and we cover those in what federal gun limits remain after Arizona restores rights.

Can you seal a serious offense conviction while you wait?

No. Sealing under A.R.S. § 13-911 does not apply to a serious offense, a dangerous offense, a dangerous crime against children, or any offense with a deadly weapon or serious physical injury as an element. Time does not change that.

People confuse two different ten-year rules here. A.R.S. § 13-911 makes a class 2 or class 3 felony conviction wait ten years after completion of the sentence before sealing. A.R.S. § 13-910 makes a serious offense wait ten years before a firearm application. The sealing clock covers class 2 and 3 felonies that are not serious offenses. A dismissed count is the opposite case, with no waiting period at all. If the serious charge was dismissed and you pled to a lesser offense off the list, the case follows the rules for the lesser offense. Our sealing records page explains what a seal removes, which is the public court record only, never a news story, a mugshot site or a Google result.

What should you do during the ten years?

Four things, in this order. First, stay away from every firearm, including a spouse’s gun in a shared closet. A.R.S. § 13-3102 makes possession by a prohibited possessor a class 4 felony, and a new conviction means a new discharge date and a new set of rights to restore. Second, pay the restitution and fines to zero and keep the receipts. Third, file what you qualify for now. A set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 and a civil rights application under A.R.S. § 13-908 both build the record a judge reads in year ten, and neither carries the wait. Fourth, keep the paper. Pay stubs, a lease, a program certificate, a letter from an employer. The judge who rules on your firearm application will not know you.

Do not file early to get in line. A.R.S. § 13-910 bars the filing itself, so an early application gets dismissed and tells the prosecutor you did not read the law.

Why should you choose AZ Record Removal?

Arizona record relief is the only work we do. We read the sentencing order before you pay, so you learn whether your conviction carries the dangerous label and the date your ten years end. We file the application, track the court, answer the prosecutor’s objection, and tell you the day the judge rules. We work statewide and handle everything virtually.

AZ Record Removal is owned and powered by Future First Criminal Law. Our founder, Zachary Divelbiss, cleared his own record before he cleared anyone else’s. We hold 250+ five-star Google reviews. The fee is a flat $1,700 per case with no add-ons, and the full breakdown lives on our pricing page. Phones are answered around the clock at 602-900-6240, and we schedule consultations during business hours.

What should you do next?

Find your absolute discharge date, then call us. If the ten years have passed, we read the order and tell you whether the judge sentenced the offense as dangerous, because that one word decides whether you have an application at all. If the ten years have not passed, we tell you the date, file the set aside or civil rights application you qualify for now, and calendar the firearm filing. Take the free eligibility quiz or call 602-900-6240. No judge is required to grant any of this, and putting a complete application in front of the right judge on the right day is what we do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the ten-year wait start at sentencing or at discharge?

At discharge. A.R.S. § 13-910 counts ten years from the date of your absolute discharge, which is the day the last part of your sentence ended and you left all supervision. A sentence entered in 2014 with probation that ended in 2017 opens the filing window in 2027, not 2024. Pull the discharge order and count from that date.

Does a set aside shorten the ten-year wait?

No. A set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 does not restore firearm rights on a serious offense, and it does not move the date in A.R.S. § 13-910. The two filings run on separate tracks. File the set aside as soon as you qualify for its other benefits, then file the firearm application once the ten years have run.

What if my serious offense was also sentenced as dangerous?

Then the ten-year rule does not reach you. A.R.S. § 13-910 bars anyone convicted of a dangerous offense from filing for firearm restoration, with no end date. Check the sentencing order before you assume the worst. Many pleas drop the dangerous allegation, and an order that reads non-dangerous puts you on the ten-year track instead.

Do I have to wait ten years to get my voting rights back?

No. The ten-year wait in A.R.S. § 13-910 applies to firearm rights only. Voting, jury service and public office come back automatically under A.R.S. § 13-907 after a first felony once you finish your sentence and pay restitution. With more than one felony you apply under A.R.S. § 13-908, and the judge decides with no ten-year wait.