Arizona Second Chance Program: Sealing, Set-Asides, and Certificates

Arizona’s second chance program for sealing criminal records is really two separate laws working side by side: record sealing under ARS 13-911, which hides a case from most public background checks, and setting aside a conviction under ARS 13-905, which vacates the guilty judgment and can come with a Certificate of Second Chance that clears the way for professional licensing. Which one fits depends on your offense, how long ago you finished your sentence, and whether you need the record hidden or just officially cleared.

Sealing a Record vs. Setting Aside a Conviction

These two remedies overlap in purpose but do different things. Sealing is the stronger relief. Once a court grants your petition, the record is pulled from public view and standard background checks, and in most situations you can legally tell employers, landlords, and lenders that the conviction never happened.¹ The tradeoff is a mandatory waiting period that can stretch to ten years, and certain serious offenses are permanently excluded.

A set-aside is faster. There is no waiting period after you finish your sentence, but the record stays publicly visible. The court vacates your guilty judgment, dismisses the original charges, and adds a notation that the case was set aside.² Anyone running a background check still sees the conviction, but they also see the court’s order. The set-aside can carry a Certificate of Second Chance, which has its own practical weight for licensing and employment.

You can pursue both. Many people file for a set-aside right after finishing their sentence, then petition to seal once the waiting period runs.

Who Qualifies to Seal a Record

Before you can file a sealing petition, you must have completed every part of your sentence: probation, community service, imprisonment, and full payment of all fines, fees, and restitution.¹ After the court formally discharges you from the nonmonetary terms, the waiting-period clock starts. The clock runs from the discharge date, not the conviction date.

Waiting periods scale with offense severity:¹

Class 2 or 3 felony: 10 years
Class 4, 5, or 6 felony: 5 years
Class 1 misdemeanor: 3 years
Class 2 or 3 misdemeanor: 2 years

These waiting periods are mandatory. No part of the statute lets the court shorten them, no matter how strong the rest of your petition.

Offenses That Cannot Be Sealed

Arizona permanently excludes several categories of conviction from sealing, and the list reaches further than many people expect:¹

Dangerous offenses, meaning any crime in which you used or threatened to use a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument
Dangerous crimes against children under ARS 13-705
Serious, violent, or aggravated felonies under ARS 13-706
Any offense that required use of a deadly weapon or knowing infliction of serious physical injury as an element, even if the charge was not formally classified as “dangerous”
Sex trafficking
Sexual offenses classified as Class 2 through 5 felonies under chapters 14 and 35.1 of the criminal code

If your conviction falls into any of these categories, a set-aside under ARS 13-905 may still be on the table. The set-aside exclusion list is narrower, covering dangerous offenses, convictions requiring sex offender registration, offenses with a finding of sexual motivation, and felonies where the victim was under 15.²

How to File a Sealing Petition

Once your waiting period has passed and all financial obligations are paid, you file a Petition to Seal Criminal Case Records with the court that handled your case.¹ That is not always superior court. For cases that stayed in a justice court or municipal court, you file there. The exception is when a complaint originally filed in justice court was later charged formally in superior court; those get filed in superior court. Convictions in more than one court mean a separate petition in each.

Standardized petition forms are available through the Arizona Judicial Branch and county court self-service centers.³ You will need documentation that you completed every term of your sentence, including proof the monetary obligations were satisfied.

What Happens After You File

The court notifies the original prosecutor and asks the Arizona Department of Public Safety to prepare a report of your full criminal history, including state and federal arrests, prosecutions, and convictions.¹ That report feeds the court’s decision.

The court cannot rule for at least 60 calendar days. That window lets the prosecutor and any victims who requested post-conviction notice review the petition and object. If the prosecutor, a victim, or you request a hearing, the court holds one. Otherwise the judge decides on the written record.¹

The legal standard is whether sealing serves both your best interests and public safety. A denial carries a real cost: you cannot refile for three years from the date of the denial.¹ Prepare the first petition carefully. If you have a pending criminal charge when you file, the court pauses the petition until that charge is resolved.

How to Set Aside a Conviction

The set-aside process is simpler. There is no waiting period. Once probation is done or you have been discharged from imprisonment and have paid all fines and restitution, you can file an application with the court that originally sentenced you.²

The court weighs seven factors:⁴

The nature and circumstances of the original offense
Your compliance with probation, sentencing terms, and any corrections rules
Any prior or subsequent convictions
Victim input and whether restitution has been paid
Time elapsed since completion of your sentence
Your age at the time of conviction
Any other relevant factor

If granted, the court vacates the judgment of guilt, dismisses the charges, and releases you from most penalties and disabilities tied to the conviction. Three narrow exceptions survive: driver’s license actions imposed by the Arizona Department of Transportation, hunting and fishing penalties from the Game and Fish Commission, and any lifetime injunction issued under ARS 13-719.² The record stays visible, but DPS updates your criminal history with a notation reflecting the set-aside.

The Certificate of Second Chance

The Certificate of Second Chance is the piece most directly aimed at helping people get back to work. When the court grants a set-aside, it must include the certificate if the conviction meets certain criteria:⁴

Any misdemeanor: automatic with the set-aside
Class 4, 5, or 6 felony: at least two years must have passed since you completed your sentence
Class 2 or 3 felony: at least five years must have passed since you completed your sentence

The certificate removes barriers and disabilities related to getting an occupational license under Title 32, as long as you are otherwise qualified.² That covers a wide range of professions, from nursing and real estate to contracting and cosmetology. It also gives employers and housing providers certain legal protections for hiring or housing you despite the conviction.

One significant limit: you can only receive one Certificate of Second Chance for a felony conviction. If you received one on a prior felony set-aside, you cannot get another, even for a different felony.⁴ Multiple felonies from the same incident count as one conviction for this purpose. If the court did not include the certificate with your original set-aside and you now meet the time requirements, you can apply for it separately.

Sealing Records When There Was No Conviction

Sealing is not limited to convictions. You can also petition to seal records if your charges were dismissed, you were acquitted at trial, or you were arrested but never formally charged.¹ Those arrest records can show up on background checks for years even when no conviction ever existed.

Where you file depends on how far the case got. If charges were filed and then dismissed or ended in acquittal, you file in the court that handled the case. If charges were never filed but you had an initial appearance, you file in that court. If you were arrested but never appeared and no charges were filed, you file in superior court for the county where the arrest happened.¹ No waiting period applies to non-conviction records.

If You Are Not a U.S. Citizen

Arizona’s sealing and set-aside laws are state remedies, and they do not bind federal agencies. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requires you to disclose every arrest, conviction, and criminal history event, even if the record was sealed, expunged, or pardoned.⁵ That applies to naturalization applications, visa petitions, and other immigration filings.

Failure to disclose can result in denial or revocation of the application, plus a one-year bar from refiling.⁵ A sealed or set-aside conviction can still affect admissibility and eligibility for immigration benefits. If immigration is on your mind, talk to an immigration attorney before relying on state record relief.

If You Can’t Afford the Filing Fee

Filing fees vary by county and are not uniform across Arizona. Courts offer waivers and payment plans based on income. You qualify for a full fee waiver if your gross income falls below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which for a single person in 2026 is about $23,940 per year. You also qualify if you receive Supplemental Security Income, TANF cash assistance, or SNAP food benefits.⁶

If your income falls between 150 and 225 percent of the poverty guidelines, or you can show financial hardship above that range, the court can approve a deferral or payment plan. People receiving legal aid also qualify for a deferral.⁶ File the fee waiver application at the same time as the sealing petition so cost does not slow the case down.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-911 – Sealing of Arrest, Conviction and Sentencing Records
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge
3
Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County. Sealing a Criminal Record
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge
5
USCIS. Duty of Disclosure
6
AZ Court Help. Fee, Waiver, and Deferral Information