Yes, you can refuse a field sobriety test in Arizona. These roadside exercises are voluntary, no statute penalizes you for declining them, and refusal does not trigger the automatic license suspension that comes with refusing a post-arrest chemical test. That is the short answer. The longer answer matters, because refusing does not end the stop, does not prevent an arrest, and does not stop a prosecutor from mentioning your refusal at trial.
What the Officer Is Asking You to Do
Field sobriety tests are physical and mental exercises performed on the shoulder of the road while the officer watches for signs of impairment. Arizona officers typically use the three standardized tests developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- Horizontal gaze nystagmus, where the officer moves a pen or finger across your field of vision and watches your eyes for involuntary jerking.
- Walk-and-turn, where you take heel-to-toe steps along a line, turn, and walk back while the officer counts clues.
- One-leg stand, where you hold one foot about six inches off the ground for roughly 30 seconds while counting aloud.
They sound simple. In practice they are graded on a checklist of “clues” most drivers never see, and a single misstep can be recorded as a sign of impairment.
Why These Tests Are Unreliable on the Roadside
NHTSA validation studies found the full three-test battery led to correct arrest decisions about 93% of the time under controlled conditions, but individual tests performed much worse in isolation: the walk-and-turn was accurate roughly 68% of the time, the one-leg stand about 65%.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus – The Science and the Law Officers sometimes rely on only one or two tests rather than the full battery.
Real stops are also nothing like a research setting. Uneven pavement, gravel, a sloped shoulder, poor lighting, wind, rain, or cold can throw off balance regardless of sobriety. Footwear matters. So does what your body is dealing with: inner ear issues, leg or back injuries, neurological conditions, fatigue, anxiety, age, and weight can all produce the same clues officers are trained to count against you. An officer is supposed to ask about medical conditions first, but the question is often brief and a nervous driver may not think to mention what is relevant.
How to Refuse and What You Still Have to Do
When an officer asks you to step out and perform balance or coordination exercises, that is a request. A calm, polite refusal is enough: something like “I respectfully decline to perform field sobriety tests.” You do not need to argue or explain.
Arizona law does require some things during a traffic stop. You must stop when signaled, and you must display your driver’s license on demand.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1595 – Failure to Stop or Provide Driver License or Evidence of Identity If you are unlicensed, you must provide your full name, date of birth, and a physical description. You also need proof of insurance in the vehicle and must produce it on request.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-4135 – Financial Responsibility Performing physical exercises on the shoulder is not on that list.
What the Officer Can Still Do After You Refuse
Refusing the tests does not end the encounter. The officer still has eyes, ears, and a nose. Bloodshot eyes, the smell of alcohol, slurred speech, an open container, the driving that prompted the stop, or an admission that you had a couple of drinks can supply probable cause for an arrest without a single field sobriety test in the mix.
If the case goes to trial, a prosecutor is allowed to tell the jury you refused. The argument is that you declined because you knew you would fail. Courts call this “consciousness of guilt,” and jurors sometimes give it real weight. Whether that weight outweighs the risk of handing the prosecution a video of you stumbling on an uneven shoulder is the judgment you have to make in the moment. Many Arizona DUI defense attorneys take the position that refusing removes a large piece of subjective evidence the state would otherwise use.
The Preliminary Breath Test Is a Different Ask
If the officer pulls out a small handheld device and asks you to blow into it before any arrest, that is a preliminary breath test, not a field sobriety test and not the formal chemical test. ARS 28-1322 authorizes an officer with reasonable suspicion of DUI to request one at the roadside.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1322 – Preliminary Breath Tests The results are used primarily to help establish probable cause for arrest rather than as standalone proof of your BAC at trial. Because it is specifically authorized by statute and uses a measuring device, it occupies different legal ground than walking a line, and you should recognize it as a distinct request.
The Line That Changes Everything: Chemical Tests After Arrest
The moment you are lawfully arrested for DUI, the calculus flips. Field sobriety tests are voluntary; the chemical test that follows a lawful arrest is not.
Under ARS 28-1321, anyone who drives in Arizona has already consented, by the act of driving, to submit to a test of blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substance if lawfully arrested for DUI.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1321 – Implied Consent The officer picks the type of test. You do not.
Refusing that chemical test triggers an administrative license suspension separate from any criminal DUI penalties:
- First refusal: 12-month suspension.
- Second or subsequent refusal within 84 months: 24-month suspension.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1321 – Implied Consent
The refusal itself is also admissible as evidence at trial. ARS 28-1388 treats the fact of refusal as a question for the jury.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1388 – Blood and Breath Tests; Admissible Evidence And refusing does not guarantee the state walks away empty-handed. The same statute allows an officer to seek a search warrant for a blood draw. If a judge signs the warrant, your blood will be drawn anyway, and you will still face the administrative suspension for having refused.
Keep the two decisions separate in your head. Declining the roadside exercises before arrest is a right with no automatic license consequence. Declining the chemical test after a lawful arrest carries a mandatory suspension and gets used against you at trial.
A Note for CDL Holders
If you hold a commercial driver’s license, the chemical test decision is even heavier. Federal law imposes a minimum one-year CDL disqualification for a first refusal and a lifetime disqualification for a second, and these apply whether or not you were in a commercial vehicle when stopped. A refusal in your personal car still costs you the CDL. For a driver whose income depends on that license, the consequences of refusing a chemical test after arrest are career-defining, and worth weighing well before you are ever pulled over.