An Arizona criminal restitution order (CRO) is a judgment a sentencing court enters that turns a convicted defendant’s restitution obligation into a debt enforceable like a civil judgment. Once entered, it never expires, accrues interest until paid, can be collected through liens and garnishment, and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Victims and the state both hold CROs: victims for their unpaid economic losses, the state for unpaid fines, fees, and assessments.
When the Court Enters a Criminal Restitution Order
The restitution order and the CRO are two different things. The restitution order is imposed at sentencing under ARS 13-603 and sets the dollar amount the defendant owes for the victim’s economic loss.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-603 – Authorized Disposition of Offenders The CRO is the formal judgment that makes the unpaid balance enforceable outside the criminal case.
Under ARS 13-805, the court may enter a CRO at the time it initially orders restitution, covering whatever balance remains unpaid.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-805 – Jurisdiction If the court does not do so at sentencing, it must enter one when the defendant completes probation, finishes the sentence, or absconds. At that point two separate CROs are entered: one in favor of the state for unpaid fines, costs, fees, surcharges, and assessments, and one in favor of each victim for the unpaid restitution balance. The clerk of the court notifies each person entitled to restitution when a CRO is entered.
How the Amount and Payment Terms Are Set
ARS 13-804 requires the court to order restitution in the full amount of the victim’s economic loss caused by the offenses of conviction.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-804 – Restitution for Offense Causing Economic Loss Economic loss includes stolen or damaged property, medical bills, lost wages, and similar out-of-pocket costs. The court is not permitted to consider the defendant’s financial situation when fixing the amount. Two defendants who caused the same loss owe the same restitution regardless of income.
Finances enter the picture only at the next step, when the court sets the manner of payment. There the court, or a designated staff member such as a probation officer, examines the defendant’s assets and income, including workers’ compensation and Social Security benefits, and builds a payment schedule. Any victim who has requested notice must be given a reasonable chance to be heard before the payment terms are finalized.
If the record is thin, the court can hold a separate hearing and compel the defendant to testify and produce financial information. The written order must state the total owed to all victims, the amount owed to each victim individually, and how payments will be made.
Where a victim has already received partial reimbursement from insurance or a state compensation program, restitution runs first to the victim for the unreimbursed portion and then to the entity that paid. If the victim was fully reimbursed, the defendant pays the insurer or compensation program directly.
Enforcement Tools Once a CRO Is Entered
The sentencing court keeps jurisdiction to order, modify, and enforce payments until restitution is paid in full or the defendant’s sentence expires.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-805 – Jurisdiction Once the CRO exists, collection extends well past the criminal file itself.
Enforcement as a Civil Judgment
A CRO can be recorded and enforced like a civil judgment, which opens up wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. Two features set it apart from an ordinary civil judgment. It never has to be renewed and remains enforceable indefinitely until paid, and no filing or recording fees apply.
Restitution Liens
ARS 13-806 lets either the prosecutor or a victim holding a court-ordered restitution right file a restitution lien against the defendant’s property, with no filing or recording fee.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-806 – Restitution Lien Real property liens go to the county recorder where the property sits. Personal property liens go to the Secretary of State, except that titled vehicles run through the motor vehicle division.
The lien reaches property the defendant owns now and property acquired later, which makes it hard to accumulate assets while ignoring the debt. A prosecutor can file a preconviction restitution lien after a complaint, information, or indictment is filed. Victims can file their own liens once restitution is ordered at sentencing.
Interest
Interest runs on unpaid CROs. When a victim (or someone acting on the victim’s behalf) enforces a CRO, the rate is 10 percent per year. When the state enforces its own CRO for unpaid fines, fees, and similar obligations, the rate is 4 percent per year.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-805 – Jurisdiction Because the order never expires, interest keeps accruing indefinitely.
State Offset
Money the state owes a defendant who is behind on restitution can be intercepted. Any funds owed by the state, including tax refunds, must be applied first to satisfy the outstanding restitution order.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-804 – Restitution for Offense Causing Economic Loss
What Happens When a Defendant Doesn’t Pay
ARS 13-810 handles default. When a defendant misses a restitution installment, the court can require the defendant to appear and explain why the default should not be treated as contempt, using a summons or an arrest warrant to compel that appearance.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-810 – Consequences of Nonpayment of Fines, Surcharges, Fees The prosecutor, the victim, or the court on its own can start the process.
The outcome turns on willfulness. If the court finds the defendant deliberately refused to pay or intentionally avoided making a good-faith effort to earn the money, the default is contempt. The court can then:
- Incarcerate the defendant in county jail until some or all of the restitution is paid
- Refer the defendant for revocation of probation, parole, or community supervision
- Order community restitution (community service)
- Authorize levy or execution against the defendant’s assets
If the default was not willful and the defendant genuinely cannot pay despite good-faith efforts, the court has more flexibility. It can modify the payment schedule, enter other reasonable orders to encourage compliance, or pursue asset-based collection. Inability to pay alone does not produce jail time. The court must find willfulness before imposing incarceration for contempt.
Modifying Payment Terms
The total balance is not open for renegotiation, but the manner of payment is. Under ARS 13-804, the defendant, the state, or any person entitled to restitution can petition the court at any time to modify how payments are made.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-804 – Restitution for Offense Causing Economic Loss Before changing anything, the court must give notice and an opportunity to be heard to the defendant, the state, and any victim who has requested it.
A defendant who loses a job or faces a medical crisis can ask for a restructured schedule with smaller monthly payments or different due dates. The court will not reduce the total owed. The victim’s right to full economic recovery is unaffected by the defendant’s changed circumstances.
Bankruptcy Does Not Discharge Restitution
Filing bankruptcy does not eliminate a criminal restitution obligation. ARS 13-603 classifies restitution as a criminal penalty for bankruptcy purposes.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-603 – Authorized Disposition of Offenders Federal law reaches the same result: 11 U.S.C. ยง 1328(a)(3) excepts “restitution, or a criminal fine, included in a sentence on the debtor’s conviction of a crime” from the debts a completed Chapter 13 plan can discharge.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 1328 – Discharge
The practical effect is that a defendant who goes through bankruptcy comes out still owing every dollar of restitution, with interest continuing to run. Victims do not need to file a claim in the bankruptcy case to protect their right to collect, because the debt was never at risk of being wiped out.