To become a licensed fiduciary in Arizona, you apply through the Arizona Supreme Court’s fiduciary program, meet the statutory qualifications, pass state and federal background checks, complete the required initial training, post a $10,000 bond, pay the licensing and examination fees, and pass the licensing exam. The license is what allows a superior court to appoint you as a paid, non-family guardian, conservator, or personal representative anywhere in the state.
Who the License Is For
The licensing requirement is aimed at paid professionals, not family caregivers. You need a license if any of the following describes you:
- You serve as a court-appointed guardian or conservator for one or more people who are not your relatives, and you charge a fee.
- You serve as a court-appointed personal representative of an estate, you are not related to the person who died, you were not named in the will or given appointment authority by the will, and you are not a beneficiary.
- You serve as a public fiduciary appointed under ARS 14-5601.
The Department of Veterans’ Services is also classified as a fiduciary under the statute. A family member appointed to serve a relative, or a person named in a will as personal representative, does not need this license.
Baseline Eligibility
You must be at least 21 years old and a U.S. citizen. A felony conviction disqualifies you. You must also attest that you have never been found civilly liable in a case involving fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, misappropriation, theft, or conversion.
Every applicant has to consent to the jurisdiction of Arizona courts for any legal action related to their fiduciary duties and appoint the fiduciary program coordinator as their agent for service of process. Once you take a case, you cannot argue later that Arizona courts have no authority over you.
Fingerprints and Background Check
You must submit a full set of fingerprints for both state and federal criminal background checks. The Arizona Department of Public Safety processes the prints and can share the data with the FBI. Self-reporting your criminal history is not enough; the fingerprint screening is a required condition of appointment.
Initial Training and the Exam
Before the Supreme Court will issue a license, you must attend an initial training session prescribed by the court. Applicants also sit for a licensing examination. There is a $100 fee for the initial exam, and the same $100 applies to reexaminations or re-registering for the exam. Trainee registration costs $100.
The $10,000 Bond
Every licensed fiduciary posts either a cash deposit or a surety bond with the Supreme Court, in the amount of $10,000 in total aggregate liability. A surety bond has to come from an insurer authorized to do business in Arizona by the Department of Insurance, be written in favor of the state of Arizona and the Supreme Court, and include a clause requiring the insurer to give the Supreme Court at least 30 days’ written notice before cancellation. A cash bond of $10,000 is deposited with the state treasurer in a non-interest-bearing account.
The bond protects the people you serve. If you mismanage assets or violate conduct rules, the Supreme Court can require forfeiture of the bond to cover its investigation and hearing costs. It sits alongside any case-specific bond a superior court may require in an individual guardianship or conservatorship.
What You Will Pay
Fees vary by whether you are applying as a private or public fiduciary, and as an individual or a business.
Initial licensure:
- Private individual or business: $700 if the license expires more than one year after the application date, $350 if it expires in less than one year.
- Public individual or business: $400 if the license expires more than one year out, $200 if it expires in less than one year.
- Trainee registration: $100.
- Examination: $100 for initial licensure, reexaminations, or re-registration.
Renewals come around every two years. The biennial private renewal is $600 for an individual or business; the biennial public renewal is $400. Inactive status runs $200. A late renewal carries a $100 surcharge, and delinquent continuing education adds another $100 penalty. All of these fees feed the confidential intermediary and fiduciary fund established under ARS 8-135.
Continuing Education After You Are Licensed
The continuing education cycle runs from April 1 through March 31 of the following year. You must complete at least 10 approved hours each year, for a minimum of 20 hours by March 31 of every even-numbered year. Of the 10 annual hours, at least 1.5 must be ethics, and those ethics hours do not count toward the remaining 7.5 hours of general education. You cannot bank extra hours from one year into the next.
Approved topics cover guardianships, conservatorships, personal representative duties, trust administration, powers of attorney, mental health, the Arizona court system, and management skills such as accounting and financial planning. Ethics coursework covers cooperation with lawyers and judges, impartiality, the line between providing information and giving legal advice, and professional conduct standards. Entity licenses held by businesses rather than individuals are not subject to the continuing education requirement.
Your First Duty on Appointment
When you begin serving as a guardian or conservator, you must give written information to the ward or protected person and to every person entitled to notice under the guardianship or conservatorship statutes. That notice, in language prescribed by the Supreme Court, has to explain that you are licensed and regulated by the Supreme Court and reference the code of conduct that governs your work. The people affected by your decisions need to know who oversees you and how to raise concerns.
Keeping the License
The Supreme Court publishes a code of conduct that every licensee must follow. Anyone can file a complaint, and superior courts are required to notify the Supreme Court when they believe a fiduciary has violated the licensing rules. Complaints are screened, investigated, and reviewed by a probable cause evaluator; matters with probable cause go to the fiduciary board, which can dismiss, issue an advisory letter, impose informal or formal discipline, or hold a formal interview.
If the Supreme Court finds a violation, it can revoke the license, impose other sanctions, and levy civil penalties. Every superior court in the state receives notice of the action, which effectively ends your ability to take new appointments in Arizona. The court can also require forfeiture of your $10,000 bond to cover the costs of investigation and hearing. The statute bars direct appeals to the Supreme Court from licensing decisions.
Who Does Not Need to Apply
Financial institutions are fully exempt from the licensing requirements, though a superior court can still appoint one as a fiduciary. The Supreme Court also has authority to exempt any individual fiduciary for good cause. The statute does not define what counts as good cause, so those requests are decided case by case. If you are a family member serving a relative or a person named in a will, the program is not aimed at you and no license is required.