Arizona Cell Phone Law While Driving: Fines, Points, and Exemptions

Under Arizona’s cell phone law while driving, codified at ARS § 28-914, you cannot hold or physically support a phone or other portable electronic device with any part of your body while your vehicle is moving or stopped in traffic.¹ Hands-free use is fine. A first ticket costs $75 to $149, and a second or later violation runs $150 to $250.

What Counts as a Violation

The rule has two parts. First, no holding. That means no phone in your hand, no phone wedged between your shoulder and ear, no device balanced on your lap. It applies to phones, tablets, and any stand-alone device that stores audio or video.¹

Second, no writing, sending, or reading text-based communication while driving. Text messages, emails, instant messages, and internet data are all covered.² The Arizona Department of Public Safety reads the statute to also reach scrolling social media, watching videos, and recording video from behind the wheel.³ A quick glance at a notification counts if you’re interacting with the device.

What You Can Still Do

Phone calls aren’t banned. You can talk while driving as long as you’re using a hands-free setup: a Bluetooth earpiece, headphones with a microphone, a smartwatch, or your car’s built-in system. The statute permits any method that lets you communicate “without the use of either of the driver’s hands.”¹ Pressing a single button to answer, end, or activate a feature is also allowed, so steering-wheel call controls are fine.

Voice-to-text is legal because you’re dictating rather than typing. GPS and navigation apps are permitted when the device is mounted on your dash or windshield instead of in your hand.² Type in destinations before you pull out, or stop first.

When You Can Pick Up the Phone

The prohibition applies while your vehicle is in motion or stopped in active traffic. If you’re parked, or fully stopped at a red light, you can handle your phone normally.¹ Put it down before the light changes.

You can also hold your phone to call 911 or report a crime, even while driving. The emergency exception is written into the statute so drivers don’t hesitate to call for help.²

Who Is Exempt

Several categories of drivers fall outside the ban under ARS § 28-914(C):¹

Operators of authorized emergency, law enforcement, or probation vehicles acting in an official capacity.
FCC-licensed operators using radio frequency devices other than cell phones.
Fleet drivers and CDL holders using two-way radios or private land mobile radio systems for work.
Drivers using a mounted device to communicate with a dispatcher or digital network, such as rideshare and delivery app drivers on the job.

The rideshare carve-out is narrower than many drivers assume. It covers only device use that relays occupational information through the app. Checking personal texts between rides is still a violation.

Fines and Insurance Costs

The civil penalties set by statute are $75 to $149 for a first violation and $150 to $250 for a second or subsequent violation.¹ The exact amount within each range is set by the court. The statute doesn’t specify a lookback period, so an older conviction can still push you into the higher range.

The insurance hit typically outweighs the ticket. One national analysis estimated that a texting-while-driving violation raises annual premiums by about 17% on average, and that increase generally sticks around for several years.

Points and Your License

Arizona assigns points to moving violation convictions. Accumulating eight or more points in any 12-month period can trigger a Traffic Survival School requirement or a license suspension of up to 12 months.⁴ Some courts allow eligible drivers to dismiss a single violation through defensive driving school, though whether a cell phone ticket qualifies depends on the court’s own list.

When a Ticket Becomes a Criminal Charge

A standard cell phone citation is civil. Cause a crash while using your phone, and the exposure changes. If someone dies, prosecutors can bring a negligent homicide charge under ARS § 13-1102, a class 4 felony carrying potential prison time. Serious-injury crashes can also draw criminal charges. These cases turn on whether the distraction met the criminal negligence standard, and prosecutors increasingly argue it does when the driver was knowingly violating the hands-free law at the moment of the collision.

Stricter Rules for Commercial Drivers

If you hold a CDL, federal regulation 49 CFR § 392.82 layers on top of state law and flatly prohibits any handheld phone use while driving a commercial motor vehicle. Unlike Arizona’s law, the federal rule doesn’t let you use the phone while stopped at a light or in traffic. You have to pull off the road to a safe location first.⁵

Fines reach $2,750 per violation for the driver and up to $11,000 for employers who allow or require handheld use. Multiple violations can disqualify the CDL. The only exception is contacting emergency services.

Local Ordinances No Longer Apply

Before ARS § 28-914 took effect, several Arizona cities had their own cell phone rules. The state law preempted all of them as of December 31, 2020, and any local ordinance on the subject is void.² The same rules apply in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, and every other city and county in the state.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 28 Section 28-914
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-914 – Use of Portable Wireless Communication Device While Driving
3
Department of Public Safety. Hands Free
4
Arizona Department of Transportation. Points Assessment
5
eCFR. 49 CFR 392.82 – Using a Hand-Held Mobile Telephone