Arizona Diversion Programs: Types, Eligibility, and Requirements

Arizona diversion programs are prosecutor-run alternatives to criminal prosecution that let eligible defendants complete requirements like counseling, education, drug testing, or community service in exchange for a dismissed charge. The prosecutor’s office controls access to these programs entirely, and eligibility depends on the charge, your criminal history, and the county where your case is filed.¹ Finish every requirement and the state dismisses the charge with no conviction on your record. Fail, and prosecution resumes where it left off, often from a weaker position than when you started.

How the Programs Are Structured

There is no single statewide diversion statute in Arizona. City prosecutors can create diversion programs under A.R.S. 9-500.22, and county attorneys operate their own programs under separate authority. Maricopa County, which handles the largest criminal caseload in the state, runs its programs under A.R.S. 11-361.² Specific rules, eligible offenses, and requirements vary from one jurisdiction to the next.

What every Arizona diversion program shares is that the prosecutor has sole discretion to offer it.¹ You cannot demand diversion. Your defense attorney can request it, but the prosecutor decides. Even if you check every box on paper, the offer can be declined without explanation.

The Main Types of Diversion

Misdemeanor Diversion

Most county and city programs target minor, non-violent misdemeanors. In Maricopa County the eligible charges are narrowly defined and include minor in possession of alcohol, shoplifting without monetary loss, disorderly conduct without physical contact or threats, trespassing against a business, driving on a suspended license, drug paraphernalia possession, and certain non-moving traffic offenses.³ Other victimless misdemeanors can sometimes qualify with supervisor approval. These programs tend to be short, often just a single educational seminar or class.

Felony Drug Diversion Through TASC

The Treatment Assessment Screening Center (TASC) program is Arizona’s main diversion track for felony drug possession charges. It runs through the county attorney’s office and splits into two tracks depending on the substance:²

Marijuana possession: up to six months. Participants complete a drug education seminar and submit to random drug testing. A positive test for any illegal substance may trigger additional counseling.
Narcotics or dangerous drugs: at least one year. In addition to the drug education seminar, participants complete substance abuse counseling, attend 12-step meetings such as Narcotics Anonymous, maintain monthly contact with a case manager, and pass random drug tests throughout.

Both tracks exist as an alternative to a felony conviction, which is what makes them worth the effort. Successful completion means the felony charge is dismissed.

Domestic Violence Diversion

Maricopa County runs domestic violence diversion at the justice court level for lower-level charges. Participants complete counseling focused on the specific dynamics of the case, and successful completion results in dismissal.² Cases involving serious physical injury or repeat offenders are excluded.

Who Qualifies

Each jurisdiction sets its own rules, but the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office publishes detailed criteria that reflect the general Arizona pattern. All of the following generally must be true:³

No prior felony convictions.
No misdemeanor convictions within the past five years.
No prior participation in any diversion program, at any time.
No prior convictions for any offense classified as “serious” under A.R.S. 13-706 or any dangerous crime against children.⁴
No other pending criminal cases.
Generally only one charge on the complaint, or at most one closely related additional charge that also meets diversion criteria.

State law adds a hard bar: any crime involving the discharge, use, or threatening display of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument is statutorily disqualified from diversion.¹ Even a willing prosecutor cannot get around that exclusion.

The prior-diversion rule catches people off guard. Unlike the five-year lookback for misdemeanor convictions, there is no time limit on the diversion disqualifier. A shoplifting diversion completed ten years ago blocks you from diversion on a new charge in Maricopa County today.

How You Actually Get In

Diversion usually comes up early in a case. Your defense attorney can raise it at the first court appearance, or the prosecutor’s office may flag your case during initial review. There is no application you can file directly. Everything flows through the prosecutor.

Once diversion is offered, you go through a screening and assessment to confirm eligibility and identify any treatment needs. For drug cases, this determines the appropriate TASC track. For misdemeanors the screening is faster.

Acceptance requires signing a participation agreement. Arizona law lets prosecutors structure diversion either before or after a guilty plea.¹ Many programs have participants stipulate to a set of facts or enter a guilty plea that the court holds in abeyance during the program. Signing also means putting your case on hold, which waives your right to a speedy trial for the duration.

What the Program Will Ask of You

What you have to do depends on the offense. Misdemeanor programs can be light. Felony drug programs run for months or longer and are far more demanding.

Common requirements across programs:

Educational classes, such as anti-theft seminars for shoplifting, drug education seminars for possession, or behavioral courses depending on the charge.
Counseling. Substance abuse counseling is standard for drug offenses; domestic violence programs require targeted counseling as well.
Random drug testing for TASC participants. A positive test for any illegal substance, including unprescribed pharmaceuticals, can trigger additional counseling or termination.
12-step or self-help meetings for the narcotics TASC track.
Full victim restitution where the offense caused a financial loss. Maricopa County policy explicitly bars diverting any case with outstanding restitution.³
Community service hours in some programs, particularly for property offenses.

Costs add up. Participants pay administrative fees, testing fees, counseling fees, and class fees. Counseling through contracted providers can run roughly $44 to $80 per session, with potential discounts based on financial eligibility. Drug and alcohol screenings carry separate weekly charges. AHCCCS (Arizona’s Medicaid) coverage may pick up some treatment costs, and hardship discounts are sometimes available.

What Happens If You Fail

Missing appointments, failing a drug test, picking up new charges, or otherwise violating conditions can get you terminated from the program. New criminal charges while enrolled will almost always result in immediate removal.

Termination reopens the suspended prosecution. The case picks up where it left off, and any statements or factual admissions you made during the diversion process can be used against you. Programs that required a guilty plea at entry pose the greatest risk, because that plea is already sitting in the file. You return to the case in a weaker position than you had at charging.

What Successful Completion Gets You

Satisfy every requirement, including all fees, restitution, classes, testing, and counseling, and the prosecutor notifies the court that you have completed the program. The court then enters an order dismissing the charge, and no conviction is ever entered against you.²

That dismissal is a cleaner outcome than post-conviction relief. Setting aside a conviction under A.R.S. 13-905 comes only after a conviction has already been entered and carries lingering restrictions.⁵ Diversion avoids the conviction entirely.

Sealing the Record

Even after dismissal, the arrest and original charge still appear in court records and background checks. A.R.S. 13-911, effective December 31, 2022, lets anyone whose criminal charge was dismissed petition the court to seal all records related to the case.⁶ If the court grants the petition, the record disappears from public view, and you can lawfully state on employment, housing, and financial aid applications that you were never arrested for or charged with that crime.⁷ The petition is filed in the court where the charge was dismissed. It is not automatic; you have to file for it.

A Warning for Non-Citizens

Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction,” and it does not always match what happens in state court. Under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)(A), a conviction for immigration purposes exists when a person admits guilt or pleads guilty and a court imposes some form of punishment or restraint on liberty, even if the state court never formally enters a conviction.⁸

Some Arizona diversion programs require a guilty plea or admission of facts as a condition of entry. USCIS guidance indicates that pre-trial diversion with no admission or finding of guilt may not count as a conviction for immigration purposes, while deferred adjudication that includes a confession of guilt and imposed conditions generally does.⁹

If you are not a U.S. citizen and a diversion offer requires you to plead guilty or admit to the factual basis of the charge, consult an immigration attorney before signing. A program that looks like a win in state court can trigger deportation. The structure of the specific program matters, and the wrong choice can be irreversible.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 9-500.22 – Prosecution Diversion Programs
2
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Diversion Programs
3
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. MCAO Diversion Policies and Procedures
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-706 – Serious, Violent or Aggravated Offenders
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-911 – Sealing of Arrest, Conviction and Sentencing Records
7
Arizona Judicial Branch. Sealing Records
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 12 – Part F – Chapter 2