Why does the new Arizona Expungement Law A.R.S. 13-911 Matter to Individuals in Arizona Seeking a Fresh Start?

Who is Eligible to Have Their Records Sealed?

A person may apply to the court to have their arrest and sentencing records sealed if they have been charged with a criminal offense and either the charges were dismissed, they were acquitted of the charges, or the charges were reduced to a lesser offense that is eligible for sealing.

The person may also apply to have their records sealed if they were convicted of a misdemeanor offense and have completed the sentence, including any probation or parole, and have not been convicted of any other offense except for a misdemeanor violation included in Title 28. 

However, excluding a conviction for violating sections 28-1381 or 28-1382, 28-1383 regarding DUI, extreme DUI, and aggravated DUI.

A person may petition the court for the sealing of records if the following time has passed since they completed the conditions of probation or the sentence was discharged by the court:

• Ten years for a class 2 or 3 felony
• Five years for a class 4, 5, or 6 felony
• Three years for a class 1 misdemeanor
• Two years for a class 2 or 3 misdemeanors.

If the person has a historical felony conviction, that person may also file a petition for that offense after an additional five years.

When a person is convicted of multiple offenses, a person may not petition the court until the prescribed period has passed for each conviction.

Additionally, a person may apply to have their records sealed if they were convicted of a felony offense that is eligible for sealing, they have completed their sentence, including any probation or parole, and have not been convicted of any other offense for seven years since the completion of their sentence.

Not all offenses are eligible for sealing.

Some offenses, such as violent or aggravated felonies, sex trafficking, the use or threat with a deadly weapon or instrument, knowingly infliction of bodily harm to another, and offenses involving children, are not eligible for sealing, or if the court has deemed the petitioner a dangerous offender as defined in 13-704.

If the court grants the petition, the records will be sealed and treated as confidential.

The person may then deny the existence of the records, except in certain circumstances, such as when applying for a job with a law enforcement agency or a job that requires a fingerprint clearance card.

When the petitioner’s records are sealed, they may state that they have never been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a crime when responding to questions about employment, housing, financial aid, or loan applications.

If the person is granted a petition to seal their records, they may then apply to have their fingerprints and photographs destroyed by the arresting agency and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The Exceptions to This Are:

1. If the person is submitting an application that requires fingerprint clearance
2. The sealed case records involved a violation of Chapter 34 (relating to drug offenses)
3. The sealed records involved burglary or theft from residential and nonresidential structures, and the person is applying for a job that requires them to enter and perform services inside of a residential structure
4. The sealed records involved child abuse or aggravated assault, and the petitioner is applying for a job involving supervising, educating, or administering care to a minor.
5. The sealed records involve the abuse of a vulnerable adult. The person is applying for a job that involves supervising or administering care to a vulnerable adult or person at least 65.
6. The sealed records contain a violation of DUI, extreme DUI, second offense DUI, or theft of transportation charges. The person is applying for a commercial or private job involving a motor vehicle, boat, or aircraft operation. These can be found in sections: 5-395.01, 5-396, 5-397, 13-1814, 28-1381, 28-1382, 28-1383, 28-8282, 28-8284, 28-8286, 28-8287, 28-8288.
7. Sealed records include theft of means of transportation, forgery, or taking the identity of another by way of fraud, schemes, or artifices. They are applying for a job involving accounting, overseeing, transporting, handling of, or managing another person’s financial assets.
8. The petitioner is applying for a job with a law enforcement agency, a prosecutor’s office, a court, a probation department, a child welfare agency (defined in section 8-501), a department of child safety, a department of juvenile corrections or the state department of corrections.
9. The person is undergoing a background check with the Department of Child Safety for placing a child in the department’s custody with the petitioner.
10. State or federal law requires disclosure.
11. The disclosure is required with Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal healthcare programs with integrity provisions.
12. The person’s employer is not required to or liable for hiring or contracting with a person under section 12-558.03 about hiring employees with prior convictions.

It is important to note that sealing a criminal record is not the same as expunging it.

Sealing means that the records are no longer available to the general public, but they may still be accessed by law enforcement agencies and used in certain legal proceedings.

For example, they may be:

• Alleged as an element of an offense
• Considered a historical prior for a felony conviction
• Admissible for impeaching any party or witness in a subsequent trial or to enhance a subsequent felony
• Used to enhance the sentences (28-1381 & 28-1382)
• Pleaded and proved in any subsequent prosecution
• Used as a conviction if the conviction would be admissible if it was not sealed.