How Long Does a Misdemeanor Stay on Your Record in Arizona?

A misdemeanor stays on your record in Arizona forever unless you take action to remove it. The state does not automatically clear or expire criminal convictions after any number of years, and federal law lets background check companies report convictions with no time limit. Since December 31, 2022, though, Arizona law has allowed eligible people to petition the court to seal a misdemeanor, which hides it from most background checks and lets you legally deny the conviction ever happened.¹

Why the Record Never Falls Off on Its Own

Arizona maintains criminal records through the Department of Public Safety, and they carry no built-in expiration date. A misdemeanor from twenty years ago appears on a records search the same way one from last month does. Federal law reinforces that permanence. The Fair Credit Reporting Act carves criminal convictions out of its usual seven-year limit on reporting negative information, so a background screening company can include a misdemeanor conviction no matter how old it is.² Debts and civil judgments age off eventually. An unsealed Arizona misdemeanor does not.

That makes sealing the only reliable way to stop a misdemeanor from showing up on employment and housing screenings.

When You Can Petition to Seal

Two conditions have to line up before you can file. You must finish the non-monetary parts of your sentence (probation, jail time, community service) and be formally discharged by the court, and you must wait a set period after that discharge. The required waiting periods are:¹

Class 1 misdemeanor: 3 years after discharge
Class 2 or Class 3 misdemeanor: 2 years after discharge

All fines, fees, and restitution must be paid by the time you actually file. That distinction matters. If you were discharged from probation but still owe money, the waiting clock is already running; you just have to clear the balance before you submit the petition.¹

Guidance from the Arizona Judicial Branch adds that eligibility generally requires no other criminal convictions, apart from minor traffic violations (DUI does not count as minor). If a prior petition to seal was denied, you have to wait three years before filing another.³

Misdemeanors That Cannot Be Sealed

Some offenses are permanently ineligible no matter how much time passes. Most are felonies, but two of the exclusions reach into misdemeanor territory: any offense that includes the use of or threatening with a deadly weapon as an element, and any offense that includes knowingly inflicting serious physical injury as an element.¹ Certain misdemeanor assault or endangerment charges can fall into those categories. Check how the offense was formally charged before assuming you qualify.

The other ineligible categories (dangerous offenses, dangerous crimes against children, serious or violent or aggravated felonies, sex trafficking, and Class 2 through 5 felony sex crimes or sexual exploitation of children) are felony-level and will not affect a typical misdemeanor petition.

How to File the Petition

Use the “Petition to Seal Criminal Case Records” form from the court that handled your case. The petition asks for your full name and any name used at the time of the case, the case number, the court name, the offense, the conviction date, and confirmation that you have completed all sentence conditions and paid all financial obligations.⁴ If you cannot locate the details, request your case file from the court clerk. The Judicial Branch recommends supplying as much supporting information as you can, including arresting agency, arrest location, citation number, and department report number, so the court can find every record tied to the case.³

File with the clerk of the court that handled the original case. In superior court the filing fee is $30.⁵ Justice and municipal courts set their own amounts.

After filing, serve a copy on the prosecuting agency. The prosecutor then has 60 days to respond. If no one objects and the petition meets the legal requirements, the judge can sign the sealing order without holding a hearing. If the prosecutor or a victim objects, either side can ask for a hearing and the judge will rule after argument. A denial locks you out of refiling for three years, so it is worth making sure the petition is complete and accurate the first time.³

What a Sealed Record Does for You

A sealed record is shielded from public access rather than erased. Law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, probation, corrections, the Department of Child Safety, and child welfare agencies retain access for official purposes. Sealed convictions can still be used to enhance sentences for future offenses and can still be raised for impeachment at trial.¹

For everyday purposes, sealing changes what you have to tell employers, landlords, and lenders. You can legally answer “no” when asked about past arrests or convictions, with a short list of exceptions tied to the type of job and the nature of the offense:¹

A sealed child-abuse conviction when applying to supervise or care for children
A sealed DUI when applying for a job operating a motor vehicle, boat, or airplane
A sealed fraud or financial-crime conviction when applying for a job handling money
A sealed vulnerable-adult-abuse conviction when applying for a caregiving role
Any application for work with a law enforcement agency, prosecutor’s office, court, corrections department, or child welfare agency
Any application requiring a fingerprint clearance card under Arizona law
Any situation where another state or federal law independently requires disclosure

Outside those narrow situations, sealing gives you real legal cover to leave the conviction off applications and to say the arrest and conviction never happened.

If You Don’t Qualify to Seal, Consider Setting Aside

Arizona has a separate remedy under ARS 13-905 called setting aside a conviction. A set aside updates the court file to show the judgment of guilt was vacated and the charges dismissed, but the arrest and conviction stay visible on background checks. It is a notation on your record rather than a removal of it. There is no filing fee, and the court weighs the nature of the offense, your compliance with sentence terms, time elapsed, and your age at the time of conviction.⁶

Setting aside is the fallback when the offense cannot be sealed, or an interim step while you wait out the sealing period. When sealing is available, it is the stronger option by a wide margin.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-911 – Sealing of Arrest, Conviction and Sentencing Records
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
3
Arizona Judicial Branch. Completing the Petition to Seal Criminal Case Records
4
Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County. Instructions for Petition to Seal Criminal Case Records
5
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-284 – Fees
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge