The Arizona Revised Statutes are the full collection of laws passed by the Arizona State Legislature, organized into 49 numbered titles that cover subjects from criminal offenses to transportation. You can read them for free at azleg.gov. One caveat worth knowing before you rely on anything you find there: the legislature’s site warns that its online version is maintained primarily for legislative drafting and reflects law effective on January 1 of the year after the most recent session, while the official version is published by Thomson Reuters.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes
How a Citation Works
Arizona groups its laws in a four-level hierarchy. Titles sit at the top, each tied to a broad subject and assigned a number. Title 13 is the Criminal Code. Title 28 is Transportation.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes – Title 28 Transportation Each Title is divided into Chapters, then Articles, and finally Sections. The Section is the smallest unit and contains the actual rule.
Citations use a Title-Section format. A reference to 13-1204 means Title 13, Section 1204, which covers aggravated assault.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-1204 – Aggravated Assault Classification Definitions Every section has a unique identifier, so you can jump straight to the provision you need without reading anything around it.
Where to Read the Statutes
The Arizona State Legislature hosts a free, searchable version at azleg.gov that reflects changes from the most recent legislative session.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Legislature For everyday research this is enough. If you’re preparing court filings or anything else where the exact text matters legally, remember that the version carrying the “official” designation is the print edition published by Thomson Reuters.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes
For hard copies or access to paid legal research databases, Arizona’s county law libraries are the usual starting point. They sit near county superior courts and are open to the public. The State of Arizona Research Library also carries the statutes in print and offers electronic research tools.5Arizona State University College of Law. Free and Low-Cost Legal Research – Section: Arizona Law Libraries
How to Search When You Don’t Have a Citation
If you already have a citation, type it into azleg.gov and go. You can also navigate by title, chapter, and section from any title page. Title 10, for instance, lets you browse straight from its landing page down to the specific corporations provision you need.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes – Title 10 Corporations and Associations
Without a citation, keyword search is the next option. A phrase like “tenant rights” or “small claims” will return every section that uses those words. Results get noisy because legal text reuses common words, so adding a title number narrows things considerably. The Table of Contents view is also worth browsing when you know the general subject but not the title number; the chapter and article headings often turn up provisions you wouldn’t have thought to search for.
One habit to build early: follow cross-references. A penalty section might say “as provided in Section 13-701” without restating the rule, and misreading a statute because you skipped the cross-reference is one of the most common mistakes people make with Arizona law. Click through to the cited section rather than guessing what it says.
Where Statutes Sit in Arizona Law
The Arizona Revised Statutes aren’t the whole legal picture. The Arizona Constitution sits above them, and administrative rules sit below. When a statute conflicts with a provision of the state constitution, courts can strike the statute down regardless of how the legislature voted. When an administrative rule conflicts with the statute that authorized it, the statute controls.
State agencies write administrative rules to fill in the operational detail that statutes leave out. A statute may direct the Department of Environmental Quality to regulate air pollution; the agency then writes rules specifying acceptable emission levels and reporting procedures. Those rules are compiled in the Arizona Administrative Code, maintained by the Secretary of State’s office, and they carry legal force only to the extent the authorizing statute allows.
Titles People Look Up Most
The 49 titles cover everything from Trade and Commerce (Title 44) to Public Health and Safety (Title 36). Three come up constantly in daily life.
Title 13: Criminal Code
Title 13 defines criminal offenses and their penalties. Felonies run from Class 1 (first- and second-degree murder) down to Class 6, followed by three classes of misdemeanor and petty offenses. Misdemeanor fines cap at $2,500 for a Class 1, $750 for a Class 2, and $500 for a Class 3.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-802 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Petty Offenses
Title 25: Marital and Domestic Relations
Title 25 covers marriage, divorce, child custody, and support. It’s where the rules on dividing community property and setting parenting time live.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes – Title 25 Marital and Domestic Relations Section 25-408, for example, sets out each parent’s rights to parenting time, to relocate a child, and to access records.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 25-408 – Rights of Each Parent Parenting Time Relocation of Child Arizona is a community property state, so marital assets are generally split equally unless the couple agrees otherwise or a court finds reason to deviate.
Title 28: Transportation
Title 28 handles vehicle registration, driver licensing, rules of the road, and impaired driving.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes – Title 28 Transportation Section 28-1381 is the standard DUI statute, carrying a minimum of ten consecutive days in jail on a first offense (with most of that time suspendable if you complete a court-ordered treatment program), a fine of at least $250, two additional $500 assessments, and a mandatory ignition interlock on any vehicle you drive.10Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1381 – Driving or Actual Physical Control While Under the Influence On the administrative side, the Department of Transportation can suspend your license for 90 consecutive days, or 30 days followed by 60 days of restricted driving if you qualify as a first offender.11Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 28-1385 – Administrative License Suspension for Driving Under the Influence
Deadlines Built Into the Statutes
Every legal claim has a deadline, and missing it ends the case regardless of its merits. The civil deadlines live in Sections 12-541 through 12-550.12Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes – Title 12 Courts and Civil Proceedings The clock usually starts when the injury or breach occurs, with a discovery rule for fraud. The common ones:
- One year: defamation, wrongful termination, breach of an employment contract, and claims based on a right created by statute.
- Two years: personal injury (including medical malpractice), property damage, and conversion of personal property.
- Three years: oral contracts and claims based on fraud or mistake.
- Four years: any action not covered by a more specific deadline.
- Six years: written contracts for debt executed in Arizona.
The two-year personal injury deadline catches people out more than any other. If you’ve been hurt and you’re thinking about a claim, the clock is already running.
Criminal deadlines are in Section 13-107 and run from when the state discovers (or reasonably should have discovered) the offense. Homicide, Class 2 felony sex offenses, violent sexual assault, misuse of public money, and falsifying public records have no time limit. Other felonies carry a seven-year limit, misdemeanors one year, and petty offenses six months. If a prosecution is filed on time but then dismissed, the state has an additional six months to refile even if the original deadline has passed.13Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-107 – Time Limitations
How Statutes Get Added or Changed
Most new statutes start as bills introduced during the legislature’s annual session. After both chambers pass a bill, the Governor either signs it or vetoes it. A vetoed bill still becomes law if three-fourths of the members elected to each chamber vote to override.
Under the Arizona Constitution, a new statute does not take effect until 90 days after the legislature adjourns. That window exists so citizens can file a referendum petition and challenge the new law at the ballot box. The legislature can skip the wait with an emergency clause, but it takes a two-thirds vote of each chamber, a separate section in the bill explaining why immediate effect is needed, and the Governor’s signature.14Arizona Legislature. Arizona Constitution Article 4 Part 1 Section 1 – Legislative Authority Initiative and Referendum This 90-day timing is also why the azleg.gov text generally reflects law effective January 1 of the year after the latest session.
Voters can create statutes too, through the initiative process run by the Secretary of State.15Arizona Secretary of State. Initiatives A statute enacted by voter initiative is harder to change than a legislative one: the legislature can only amend it in ways that further the measure’s original purpose, and even then only by a three-fourths vote of each chamber. When you’re reading a statute and wondering why the legislature hasn’t fixed something that seems obviously broken, this rule is often the answer.