How to Expunge Your Criminal Record in Arizona in 2023
It is hard to over-emphasize how important Arizona’s new expunge criminal records law will be to citizens of Arizona.
You will be able to expunge your criminal record in Arizona on January 1, 2023.
The new law is A.R.S. 13-911. (Here)
By far, the most significant benefit of the new statute is after you expunge your criminal record in Arizona, you may say “NO” to the question, “have you ever been arrested for a crime” on most applications.
What Criminal Records Can Be Expunged
The new criminal records expungement law in Arizona makes many Arizona crimes eligible. Both misdemeanors and felonies. Most of my former clients were convicted of DUIs. A DUI (drinking and driving) is a criminal offense and is considered a misdemeanor. Even though it’s only a misdemeanor, it can still benefit you to get it erased.
Additionally, even some Class 2 Felony cases can be expunged. (Class 2 Felonies are the second most serious charges in Arizona)
The differences in expunging your criminal record in Arizona are really in the waiting periods.
Stay up to date on the new records sealing law here: Seal Criminal Record
How Long do You Have to Wait to Expunge Your Criminal Record in Arizona?
The statute defines exactly how long you must wait before filing a motion to expunge your criminal record in Arizona.
On the low end, for Class 2 or 3 misdemeanors (Eg. leaving the scene of hitting a parked car), you must wait two (2) years.
On the high end, for a Class 2 Felony, you must wait ten (10) years.
All the other offenses are generally in the middle.
Note: The new expunge criminal records law allows you to expunge your record even if you have priors.
Note: You must file the Motion to expunge your criminal record in the same Court as your conviction or jurisdiction of your arrest.
And the new statute does not apply to Federal cases.
Who Qualifies for Expungement?
Many Arizona citizens will qualify to seal their criminal record. A handful of crimes are ineligible to seal, but most crimes are eligible.
The requirements under the new law are must have completed all of your penalties when you were sentenced (terms of probation, etc.). For example, did your jail time or house arrest, paid all fines, took classes, and paid all restitution.
Can You Seal a Criminal Record if You Were Not Convicted?
Yes, A.R.S. 13-911 states specifically that you may expunge a criminal record, including;
- Your case was charged but later dismissed, vacated, or you were found not guilty.
- You were arrested but never charged in Court.
Expunge Criminal Records Exceptions
There are some convictions that you cannot get expunged.
These crimes are what you would expect.
For example, you cannot expunge your record if you have a “dangerous” conviction, including a weapon, a dangerous offense against children, or a murder case.
How To Answer “Have You Been Convicted of Crime” on Applications
Approximately 10 to 20 times a year, someone will call me asking to get their record expunged because an old criminal conviction prevented them from getting employment.
These were always people with low-level drug charges, nonviolent disorder conduct cases, etc.
Or even people who were never convicted, or their cases were dismissed but the initial arrest still appeared in background searches.
Come January 1, 2023, you will be able to expunge your criminal conviction in Arizona and then say “No” on job applications, rental applications, and loan applications.
It is unclear how long it will take to update all the technology regarding the different background systems; however, the Arizona statute is clear – you may say “No” on the above applications.
Stay up to date on the new records sealing law here: Seal Criminal Record
Exceptions
There are a handful of exceptions where you must say “Yes” or disclose that you’ve been convicted of a crime even if it has been expunged under the new Arizona statute.
A few notable exceptions are:
- On a fingerprint card application, you must say yes, you have a conviction.
- If you are applying for a position with the courts, police, probation department, etc.
- If you are applying for foster care with the State.
There are also a handful of exceptions that are directly connected to the job you’re applying for.
For example, you have a fraud or theft conviction and you’re applying for a banking job, a burglary or theft conviction applying for a home services job, or a drug conviction applying for a pharmaceutical job.
The Current law to Expunge a Criminal Record in Arizona
The date of this article is September 27, 2022. The new Arizona expunge criminal records law does not take effect until January 1, 2023,
The new expungement law will be much better.*
*If you’re thing about filing a motion to set aside your conviction in 2022, think about waiting until 2023.
Arizona Expungement Statute Now and Previously
In the past, Arizona lawyers could only file a Motion to Set Aside and a Motion to Restore Your Rights under A.R.S. 13-905, A.R.S. 13-906, A.R.S. 13-908, and A.R.S. 13-910.
Unfortunately, these motions did not seal your record. I always explained that this was different from sealing your record as a minor when you turn eighteen.
I explained it was more like telling people you had your old conviction reversed/won on appeal.
Often, after the motion was granted, background checks would show the old criminal conviction as “set aside,” “dismissed,” or “vacated.”
On most job, loan, and rental applications you would have to say “Yes” to the question, “have you been arrested.” Then you could say the case was later dropped.
However, the old Arizona criminal conviction did not disappear.
I’ve been writing about this for years. (see here: How to Erase a Criminal Conviction in Scottsdale, At Last! The Truth About Erasing a Criminal Conviction)
7 Essential Pieces of Information You’ll Need to File Your Motion to Seal
- Full Name and Date of Birth: You’ll need to provide your complete legal name and date of birth for identification purposes.
- Current Mailing Address: Your address is necessary because the may mail you any Minute Entries or Motions
- Jurisdiction: The city where you were arrested and the specific court where your case was heard.
- Case Number: The unique identification number assigned to your case by the court.
- The Offense(s): The name of the crime(s) you were charged with. You don’t need the actual statute because your lawyer can find it.
- Case Type: Was your case a Misdemeanor or Felony?
- Date of Offense: The day you were arrested.
- Date of Conviction: The day you were found guilty or entered a guilty plea.
- The sentence imposed: The penalties the Court imposed. For example, jail time, fines, restitution, classes, etc.
How Much Does Expungement Cost in Arizona?
The Arizona legislators specifically did not want cost to be a barrier for people to file a Motion to Seal a criminal record. Consequently, it is free to file a Motion to Seal in Arizona.
It should be noted that there is likely no fee because the Motion to Seal is a criminal filing in Maricopa County. If it were a civil filing, there would presumably be the standard $333.00.
Legal Fees
If you want to hire a lawyer to file a Motion to Seal your criminal record, the average fee will be from $800.00 to $1,200.00
Summary
This new Arizona Expunge Criminal Record law will start on January 2023. I will continue to talk about this on my mailing list.
This firm focuses on car accident cases, but this new law is very important, and I’ve been filing motions to set aside criminal convictions for twenty-two (22) years.
Stay up to date on the new records sealing law here: Seal Criminal Record
Thank you
Derron Woodfork