Arizona Expungement Law: Set Aside, Seal, or Restore Rights

Arizona expungement law works differently from most states: a criminal record is never fully erased. Instead, Arizona gives you three tools to limit what a conviction does to your life. You can ask a court to set aside the conviction under A.R.S. § 13-905, seal the record under A.R.S. § 13-911, or, for certain pre-2020 marijuana offenses, expunge the record under Proposition 207. Each does something different, and many people use more than one.

Setting Aside a Conviction

A set-aside is the older and faster option. When a court grants it, the guilty judgment is vacated, the charges are dismissed, and you’re released from most penalties tied to the conviction. The conviction still shows up on your record, but with a notation that it was set aside. A background check will see both.

There is no waiting period. Once you have completed every condition of your sentence, whether prison, probation, or parole, and paid all fines and restitution, you can file.¹ Misdemeanor or felony, the timing rule is the same. There’s no filing fee either.

The court has discretion. Judges look at the nature of the offense, how well you complied with your sentence, your rehabilitation, and whether you’ve picked up any new convictions. A set-aside is not automatic, and the more serious the original crime, the harder the argument.

Certificate of Second Chance

When the court grants a set-aside, it must also issue a “certificate of second chance” if enough time has passed since discharge. The certificate blocks certain licensing boards from denying an application based solely on the set-aside conviction. The timing:

Misdemeanors: issued immediately with the set-aside.
Class 4, 5, or 6 felonies: at least two years since discharge.
Class 2 or 3 felonies: at least five years since discharge.

If you file before the certificate waiting period is up, the court can still grant the set-aside itself and add the certificate later once you qualify.¹

Convictions That Cannot Be Set Aside

Some convictions are permanently ineligible regardless of time or rehabilitation:

Dangerous offenses involving the use or threatening display of a deadly weapon, or that caused serious physical injury.
Any conviction that required sex offender registration.
Offenses where the court found a sexual motivation.
Any felony where the victim was under 15 years old.

If your conviction falls in any of these categories, a set-aside is off the table.¹

Sealing a Criminal Record

Sealing is the stronger remedy. Arizona’s sealing law took effect December 31, 2022. Once a record is sealed, it disappears from standard background checks by employers, landlords, and financial aid offices, and you can legally answer “no” when asked whether you were arrested, charged, or convicted of that offense on most applications.²

Sealing also reaches further than a set-aside. It covers convictions, dismissed charges, and arrests that never led to charges at all. For dismissed cases and unfiled arrests, there is no waiting period once the case is resolved.

Sealing Waiting Periods

For convictions, the waiting period runs from the date you completed the non-monetary conditions of your sentence and were discharged:

Class 2 or 3 misdemeanor: two years
Class 1 misdemeanor: three years
Class 4, 5, or 6 felony: five years
Class 2 or 3 felony: ten years

You must also have paid every dollar of fines, fees, and restitution, and you must have no later criminal convictions. Minor traffic offenses that don’t include DUI are the only exception to the clean-record rule.² That subsequent-conviction requirement is what stops most applicants.³

Convictions That Cannot Be Sealed

The ineligibility list for sealing is broader than for a set-aside. Under A.R.S. § 13-911, these can never be sealed:

Dangerous offenses involving a deadly weapon or serious physical injury.
Dangerous crimes against children as defined in A.R.S. § 13-705.
Serious offenses, violent felonies, and aggravated felonies as defined in A.R.S. § 13-706.
Offenses involving the discharge, use, or display of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument as an element of the crime, or the knowing infliction of serious physical injury.
Sex trafficking.
Class 2 through 5 sexual offenses and offenses against children under chapters 14 and 35.1 of the criminal code.

Because this list is broader than the set-aside exclusions, some convictions can be set aside but never sealed.³

What Sealing Does Not Do

Sealed records are hidden, not destroyed. Law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, and certain licensing agencies keep access. A sealed conviction can still be used against you as a prior offense to enhance sentencing in a later case, as impeachment evidence at trial, or as a historical prior felony.³

Two other limits: if the court denies your sealing petition, you must wait three years before filing again. And anything already published before the sealing order, like news articles or court documents in circulation, is unaffected.²

Combining a Set-Aside With Sealing

The two remedies are not mutually exclusive. Many people get a set-aside first because it carries no waiting period, then come back years later and petition to seal the same record once the class-based waiting period has run. That sequence gives you partial relief right away and full relief later.

Marijuana Records Under Proposition 207

Proposition 207, passed in 2020, created a separate expungement track for certain marijuana offenses committed before November 30, 2020. It’s governed by A.R.S. § 36-2862 and is distinct from both the set-aside and general sealing statutes.

Only these offenses qualify:

Possessing, consuming, or transporting two and a half ounces or less of marijuana, with no more than 12.5 grams as concentrate.
Possessing, transporting, cultivating, or processing no more than six marijuana plants at your primary residence for personal use.
Possessing, using, or transporting paraphernalia related to marijuana consumption or cultivation.

If you were arrested, charged, acquitted, or convicted for one of these based on pre-November 2020 conduct, you can petition to have the record sealed. Forms are available through the Arizona Judicial Branch and differ by the court that handled your case.⁴ The court must grant the petition unless the prosecutor proves by clear and convincing evidence that you are ineligible.

Civil Rights After a Felony

A felony conviction in Arizona costs you the right to vote, serve on a jury, and hold public office. Civil rights restoration runs on its own track.

If you’re a first-time felony offender, your civil rights are restored automatically once you complete probation or are discharged from prison, as long as you have paid all victim restitution. No application is needed.⁵ With more than one felony conviction, automatic restoration doesn’t apply and you must petition the court under A.R.S. § 13-908. Getting a set-aside doesn’t automatically restore civil rights, and restoring civil rights doesn’t set aside a conviction.

Firearm Rights

Firearm rights sit at the intersection of state and federal law, and the two don’t always match.

Under Arizona law, a set-aside restores your right to possess a firearm. The exception is a conviction for a “serious offense” as defined in A.R.S. § 13-706, which includes first- and second-degree murder, sexual assault, and other violent felonies.¹ First-time felony offenders whose civil rights are automatically restored under A.R.S. § 13-907 also get firearm rights back, unless the conviction was for a dangerous or serious offense. If automatic restoration doesn’t reach your firearm rights, you can petition under A.R.S. § 13-910.⁵

Federal law is separate. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison is prohibited from possessing firearms.⁶ Whether an Arizona set-aside removes the federal prohibition depends on whether state law also fully restores firearm rights. Talk to a firearms attorney before relying on a state order alone.

Immigration Consequences

Non-citizens should know that a set-aside or sealed record in Arizona probably won’t help with immigration. USCIS treats a conviction as still valid when it was vacated for rehabilitative reasons rather than because of a legal defect in the original proceedings. Arizona’s set-aside is a rehabilitative remedy.⁷ A conviction only comes off for immigration purposes if it was vacated because of constitutional or statutory defects, or errors that occurred before the conviction and affected the finding of guilt. If immigration status matters, get an immigration attorney’s read before assuming a set-aside or sealing solves the problem.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge
2
Arizona Judicial Branch. Completing the Petition to Seal Criminal Case Records
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-911 – Sealing of Arrest, Conviction and Sentencing Records
4
Arizona Judicial Branch. Prop 207
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-907 – Automatic Restoration of Civil Rights for First Offenders
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors