Arizona’s duty to report child abuse, set out in Arizona Revised Statutes section 13-3620, requires doctors, teachers, parents, clergy, peace officers, caregivers, and their supervisors to report suspected abuse, neglect, or non-accidental injury of a child immediately to law enforcement, the Department of Child Safety, or a tribal agency. Failing to report is a class 1 misdemeanor. When the suspected conduct is a sexual offense against a minor or another “reportable offense,” the charge becomes a class 6 felony.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
Who Must Report
The statute reaches well beyond the professions people usually picture. Six categories carry the duty:
- Healthcare providers, including doctors, physician assistants, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, podiatrists, behavioral health professionals, nurses, psychologists, counselors, and social workers, when the belief forms while treating a patient.
- Peace officers, child welfare investigators, child safety workers, clergy, priests, and Christian Science practitioners.
- A parent, stepparent, or guardian of the child.
- Teachers, substitute teachers, domestic violence victim advocates, and sexual assault victim advocates, when the belief forms during their work.
- Anyone else responsible for the care or treatment of the child.
- The immediate or next-higher-level supervisor of anyone in the categories above, if the supervisor develops a reasonable belief through the supervisory role.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
That last category catches people off guard. A principal who hears about a bruise from a teacher, or a clinic director who hears a nurse’s concern, carries an independent reporting duty. The supervisor cannot assume the frontline employee already handled it, unless the supervisor reasonably believes a report has already been made by someone with direct knowledge.
When the Duty Is Triggered
The trigger is “reasonable belief” that a child is or has been the victim of physical injury, abuse, a reportable offense, or non-accidental neglect. The statute also reaches situations where someone reasonably believes a child has been denied necessary medical or surgical care with the intent to cause or allow the death of a protected infant.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
Reasonable belief is not certainty, and it is not a gut feeling. It is the point at which the facts you have observed or learned in your work would lead a reasonable person to suspect abuse or neglect. You do not have to investigate first. Waiting to gather more evidence is exactly what the statute is written to prevent.
How and Where to File a Report
Reports must be made immediately, by telephone or electronically. Immediately means when the reasonable belief forms, not at the end of a shift and not after a weekend.
You have three places to direct the report:
- A peace officer, meaning local police or the sheriff’s department.
- The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS).
- A tribal law enforcement or social services agency, for any Indian child who resides on an Indian reservation.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
One routing rule matters. If the suspected abuser does not have care, custody, or control of the child, the report goes to a peace officer only, not to DCS.
The DCS Child Abuse Hotline is 1-888-SOS-CHILD (1-888-767-2445). For non-emergency reports, mandated reporters can also file electronically through the DCS Guardian Portal, a secure online system. If a child faces immediate risk of serious harm, use the hotline or call law enforcement directly rather than the online portal.2Arizona Department of Child Safety. Report Child Abuse or Neglect
What the Report Should Contain
Provide what you know:
- The child’s name, address, and age.
- The names and addresses of the child’s parents or the person with custody.
- The nature and extent of the suspected abuse, neglect, or injury, including any evidence of previous harm.
- Any other information that might help establish the cause of the injury or identify the person responsible.
Missing information is not a reason to hold back. Not knowing the child’s last name or exact address does not excuse the report. File with what you have and let investigators work from there.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
Narrow Exceptions to the Duty
The statute recognizes a small number of situations where a report is not required. Each has specific conditions, and all of them have to be met.
Consensual Conduct Between Older Minors
A report is not required for conduct that would otherwise fall under Arizona’s sexual conduct statutes (sections 13-1404 and 13-1405) if it involves only minors aged fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen and nothing suggests the conduct was anything other than consensual. Any sign of coercion, exploitation, or adult involvement removes the exception.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
Routine Playground Injuries
No report is required when an elementary school child is accidentally injured during ordinary playground activity, the injury happens on school grounds during a regular school day, the school notifies the parent or legal guardian, and the school keeps a written record of the incident. All four conditions have to be present.
Sex Offender Treatment Providers
A physician, psychologist, or behavioral health professional providing sex offender treatment that is not court-ordered, and not delivered while the offender is incarcerated, may withhold reporting of a statement made by someone other than the child’s parent, stepparent, guardian, or custodian, if the provider determines that withholding is reasonable and necessary to accomplish the goals of treatment. This is discretionary, and it applies only to statements received during treatment, not to direct observations of a child.
Clergy Confessions and Confidential Communications
Clergy, priests, and Christian Science practitioners who receive a confidential communication or confession may withhold reporting of that communication if they determine it is reasonable and necessary within the concepts of their religion. The privilege covers only what was said in the confession or confidential communication. If the clergy member personally observes signs of abuse on the child, the privilege does not cover those observations and the duty to report applies.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
Penalties for Failing to Report
A violation of the reporting duty is a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-707 – Misdemeanors; Sentencing4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-802 – Fines for Misdemeanors
The charge becomes a class 6 felony when the failure involves a “reportable offense.” Arizona defines reportable offense to include:
- Any crime listed in Chapter 14 (sexual offenses) or Chapter 35.1 (sexual exploitation of children) of Title 13, and furnishing harmful items to minors under section 13-3506.
- Surreptitious photographing, videotaping, or digital recording of a child under section 13-3019.
- Child sex trafficking under section 13-3212.
- Incest under section 13-3608.
- Unlawful mutilation under section 13-1214.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
For a first-time felony offender, a class 6 felony carries a presumptive prison term of one year, with a range from four months (mitigated) up to two years (aggravated).5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders; Sentencing; Definition
A felony conviction can also end a professional career, trigger license revocation, and appear permanently on a background check.
Protections for People Who Report
Arizona grants immunity from both civil and criminal liability to anyone who files a report, provides information, or takes part in an investigation or judicial proceeding that results from a report. Two limits apply: the immunity does not cover a person who acted with malice, and it does not cover someone who has been charged with or is suspected of abusing the child in question.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3620 – Duty to Report Abuse, Physical Injury, Neglect and Denial or Deprivation of Medical or Surgical Care or Nourishment of Minors
A teacher who reports a bruise that turns out to be innocent cannot be sued by the parents for making a good-faith report. That immunity exists because fear of being wrong is the main reason people hesitate.
Medical Records
Anyone holding a child’s medical records must turn them over on written request from a peace officer, child welfare investigator, or child safety worker. Those records are confidential and can only be used in judicial or administrative proceedings tied to the report.