Aggravated domestic violence in Arizona is a Class 5 felony under ARS 13-3601.02, charged when someone commits a third or later domestic violence offense within an 84-month window. The case moves out of municipal or justice court into Superior Court, and conviction carries a mandatory jail term that no judge can waive, a permanent loss of firearm rights, and a felony record that reaches into employment, housing, licensing, and immigration status for years afterward.
The 84-Month Three-Strike Trigger
The statute treats domestic violence as a pattern crime. The charge applies when a third domestic violence offense is committed within 84 months (seven years) of the earlier offenses. The clock runs from the dates the offenses were committed, not the dates of conviction or sentencing. A first offense in March 2020 puts every qualifying offense through March 2027 inside the window.
The priors do not need to share a victim, a charge, or a courthouse. An assault involving an ex-spouse and a disorderly conduct involving a current partner both count, as long as each meets Arizona’s domestic violence definition. Only convictions for offenses committed on or after January 1, 1999 can be counted.
Priors from outside Arizona qualify too. Domestic violence convictions from other states, federal court, or tribal court all count as strikes, provided the underlying conduct would have been a domestic violence offense under Arizona law. Someone moving to Arizona with two out-of-state DV convictions can face this felony charge on a first Arizona offense.
What Counts as a Domestic Violence Offense
Not every crime between family members qualifies. ARS 13-3601 defines domestic violence as specific criminal offenses committed against someone in a qualifying relationship. The offense list is broad: assault, threatening or intimidating, criminal damage, disorderly conduct, harassment, stalking, custodial interference, unlawful imprisonment, and in some circumstances cruelty to animals. More serious crimes such as aggravated assault, kidnapping, and sexual assault also qualify.
The relationship side is equally wide. The offense counts as domestic violence if the parties are or were married, live or lived together, share a child, are in a current or former romantic or sexual relationship, are pregnant by each other, or are related by blood or marriage as parents, grandparents, siblings, or in-laws.
Mandatory Jail Time You Cannot Avoid
The mandatory minimum jail sentences are the sharpest part of this statute. A judge has no discretion to reduce them.
- With two prior DV convictions inside 84 months: at least four months in jail before the defendant is eligible for probation, pardon, commutation, or release on any other basis.
- With three or more prior DV convictions inside 84 months: at least eight months in jail under the same conditions.
Read the language carefully. The statute does not just require jail as part of a sentence; it bars every form of release until the minimum term is served. No good-behavior early release. No house arrest substitute. No work-release swap. You sit in county jail for the full four or eight months before anything else happens. Only after that jail time can the court place you on supervised probation.
Prison Range if the Court Does Not Grant Probation
Because aggravated domestic violence is a Class 5 felony, ARS 13-702 sets the sentencing range for a first-time felony offender who receives prison rather than probation-with-jail:
- Mitigated: 6 months (requires at least two statutory mitigating factors)
- Minimum: 9 months
- Presumptive: 1.5 years
- Maximum: 2 years
- Aggravated: 2.5 years (requires at least two statutory aggravating factors)
Prison time is served in the Arizona Department of Corrections, not the county jail. Most defendants who accept plea agreements end up on probation after finishing the mandatory jail minimum, but the prison option stays on the table and gives prosecutors real leverage. Probation for a Class 5 felony can run up to three years, typically with regular check-ins, random drug testing, no-contact orders, and mandatory treatment.
Treatment is not optional. Arizona requires convicted domestic violence offenders to complete a court-approved program, and because an aggravated charge involves a third or later offense, the minimum is 52 sessions. Group sessions run at least 90 minutes each and the program must be finished within 12 months. You pay for it. Failing to complete it violates probation and can send you to prison.
Permanent Loss of Firearm Rights
Conviction triggers an immediate firearms ban under both state and federal law.
Under ARS 13-3101, any felony conviction makes you a “prohibited possessor.” Possessing a firearm or ammunition as a prohibited possessor is a separate Class 4 felony under ARS 13-3102, with a presumptive prison term of 2.5 years for a first offense. A single round of ammunition can add years to your exposure.
Federal law compounds this. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), both convicted felons and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are barred from possessing firearms or ammunition. The federal ban applies whether or not Arizona ever restores your state rights. Courts typically require surrender of all firearms to law enforcement or a designated third party at sentencing.
Immigration Consequences if You Are Not a Citizen
For non-citizens, this conviction can be catastrophic. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E), a “crime of domestic violence” makes any non-citizen deportable, regardless of how long they have lived in the country or their current status. The federal definition covers violence against a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or anyone protected under state domestic violence law.
A felony DV conviction also typically qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude, which separately bars re-entry after travel abroad and can block adjustment of status, naturalization, and most discretionary relief. If you are not a citizen, the immigration exposure may outweigh the criminal exposure.
Other Lasting Consequences
A felony conviction under ARS 13-904 suspends your right to vote. If this is your first felony, voting rights are restored automatically once you finish probation or are discharged from prison and pay all victim restitution. A prior felony makes restoration discretionary with the Superior Court under ARS 13-908.
Employers run background checks, and a domestic violence felony is one of the hardest convictions to explain in a hiring process. Professional licensing boards in healthcare, education, law, real estate, and finance investigate felony convictions and can deny, suspend, or revoke licenses. The Arizona Board of Nursing, for example, treats a felony conviction as grounds for disciplinary review.
Housing gets harder. Blanket “no felons” policies violate HUD guidance, but a violent felony gives a landlord a defensible basis to deny an application when they tie the conviction to resident safety. International travel narrows too. Canada treats most domestic violence offenses as potentially indictable crimes and can refuse entry; getting in requires a Temporary Resident Permit, a Rehabilitation application, or waiting ten years for “deemed rehabilitation.” Trusted Traveler Programs like Global Entry are generally unavailable.
Setting the Conviction Aside Later
ARS 13-905 lets a person who has completed all conditions of a sentence apply to have the judgment of guilt set aside. This is not expungement. The conviction still exists, but the court releases you from its penalties and disabilities.
Aggravated domestic violence is not on the statute’s exclusion list. Set-asides are barred for dangerous offenses (those involving a deadly weapon or serious physical injury), sex offenses requiring registration, offenses with a finding of sexual motivation, and felonies against children under 15. Whether your case carried a “dangerous offense” designation depends on the facts. The court weighs the nature of the offense, your compliance with probation, time since completing the sentence, and the victim’s input.
If granted, the court can also issue a “certificate of second chance” for a Class 5 felony, but only after two years have passed since you completed your sentence. Under ARS 13-905(O), a successful set-aside restores state firearm rights unless the conviction qualifies as a “serious offense” under ARS 13-706. The federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) can still apply independently.